Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book, about an eccentric, reclusive candy maker who invites five children to tour his factory, as envisioned in the psychedelic 1970s. From the trippy musical numbers – those Oompa-Loompas are the stuff that nightmares, or at least bad trips, are made of – to the screaming color design, this enchants kids the way the best children’s movies do. Then there is the genius of Gene Wilder as Wonka, eyes dangerously aglow while tossing off non sequiturs that somehow make sense – “We are the music-makers. We are the dreamers of dreams.” Chocolate Factory is a wonderful one.
