Willy Wonka and My Blueberry Nightmares

It is amazing what kind of things that scare children. Often it is not what adults expect. When I look at my own childhood, the number of visual horrors I consumed on my screen was wide. From Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom pulling out a man’s heart to The Neverending Story drowning a horse named Artax. These are just a few movie moments that scarred the GenX psyche.

But what terrified me the most was a little girl turning into a blueberry. Why? Because I was afraid I would turn into a blueberry too.

If you are unfamiliar with the scene that I am talking about then you have probably never read Roald Dahl’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory or seen the movie (not that weird remake) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Believe it or not, good old Willy Wonka is turning fifty-five this year. And when you look back, it is surprising the number of creepy and downright terrifying moments that were included in what is supposed to be a “kids movie.”

And while I was personally scared of Violet Beauregard’s transformation into the aforementioned fruit, the moment that freaked out most people was that trip through the tunnel. The insane images, including a chicken getting its head cut off, were amplified by the brilliantly unhinged performance of the legendary Gene Wilder as Wonka.

No one can ever outdo Wilder’s performance as the eccentric Wonka (sorry Johnny Depp). He brought something to the role that simply can’t be repeated. The producers also lucked out because, originally, the movie wasn’t going to be a musical. By the time that decision was made, Wilder had already been hired. Fortunately, it turned out he had a great singing voice.

The above is just one interesting piece of trivia about the film. Here are a few others:

• It was Wilder’s idea to do the somersault at the gate.
• Gene Wilder wrote fiction books. We have some in the MCPL catalog.
• The actor who played Charlie (Peter Ostrum) never acted again despite being offered parts. He became a veterinarian instead.
• The movie was made to promote a new candy bar from Quaker Oats. Sadly, they got the formula wrong and the bars ended up melting on the way to stores.
• The movie, like a lot of classics, flopped at the box office.
• The actor who played Mike TeeVee (Paris Themmen) competed on Jeopardy in 2018 without ever mentioning who he was. Fans recognized him anyway.There were real edible props, but you probably wouldn’t want to eat any of them.

But the fact I’m glad my child self didn’t know: the actress who played Violet Beauregard (Denise Nickerson) turned blue a couple of days after shooting my nightmare scene. The makeup had gotten so deep into her pores it ended up resurfacing and took about 36 hours to clear.

Happy 55th, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!

Pamela M.
Antioch Branch