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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.", October 26, 2005
In 1971, Mel Stuart directed a wonderful musical fantasy entitled "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", based upon the 1964 children's novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" written by Roald Dahl (1916-1990), who also wrote "James and the Giant Peach" in 1961. The story is about a little boy named Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) who works as a paperboy to help his impoverished & widowed mother (Diana Sowle) pay their expenses by working as a paperboy. Living with Charlie and his mother are all four of his grandparents: Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson, 1907-1981), Grandma Georgina (Dora Altmann, 1881-1971), Grandpa George (Ernst Ziegler, 1895-1980) and Grandma Josephine (Franziska Liebing, 1900-2000); none of which have gotten out of bed for twenty years. In the same town where Charlie lives is the famous chocolate factory owned by Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder). One day while Charlie is in school with his strange schoolteacher, Mr. Turkentine (David Battley, 1935-2003), a momentous announcement is made: Willy Wonka has started a contest to win a lifetime supply of chocolate. The entire world becomes crazed with finding the five hidden golden tickets that are hidden in five Wonka chocolate bars. Only the bearer of a golden ticket will have the opportunity to enter the mysterious chocolate factory and obtain the lifetime supply of chocolate. Various children from around the globe find the golden tickets, including Charlie to the amazement of his family. The winning children, and their accompanying adults, enter the most fantastic place that any of them have ever seen; but none of them could have imagined what their actions could merit. The other four children and their accompanying adults include the selfishly whiney Veruca Salt (Julie Dawn Cole), Mr. Henry Salt (Roy Kinnear), the conceited Violet Beauregarde (Denise Nickerson), Mr. Sam Beauregarde (Leonard Stone), the television-addicted Mike Teevee (Paris Themmen), Mrs. Teevee (Nora 'Dodo' Denney), the gluttonous Augustus Gloop (Michael Bollner) and Mrs. Gloop (Ursula Reit).
Probably one of the most important elements that made "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" so memorable is its wonderful music. In fact, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music from the Academy Awards. Below, I have listed each of the film's songs that was composed by Anthony Newley (1931-1999), Leslie Bricusse and Walter Scharf (1910-2003) along with with my ranking for each:
1. "Main Title (Golden Ticket/Pure Imagination)" (5, instrumental). This really captures the musical tone of the film.
2. "The Candyman" (5+, performed by Aubrey Woods). One of the most memorable songs from the film.
3. "Charlie's Paper Run" (5, instrumental).
4. "Cheer-up, Charlie (5, performed by Diane Sowle). A sad, but beautiful song.
5. "Lucky Charlie" (5, instrumental). Played when Charlie finds a golden ticket.
6. "(I've Got a) Golden Ticket" (5+, performed by Peter Ostrum & Jack Albertson). Charlie & Grandpa Joe singing and dancing after Grandpa Joe finally gets out of bed after 20 years.
7. "Pure Imagination" (5++, performed by Gene Wilder). Probably my personal favorite song in the film.
8. "Oompa Loompa" (5, performed by the Oompa Loompas). The first rendition of the Oompa Loompa song.
9. "The Wondrous Boat Ride" (5+, performed by Gene Wilder). Some people don't like this somewhat bizarre song, but I think it's quite fun!
10. "Everlasting Gobstoppers/Oompa Loompa", (5, performed by the Oompa Loompas). The Oompa Loompas sing their song again, but with a different emphasis.
11. "The Bubble Machine" (4.5, instrumental). Charlie & Grandpa Joe get into some trouble.
12. "I Want It Now/Oompa Loompa", (5, performed by Julie Dawn Cole and the Oompa Loompas). A very well performed song that includes another Oompa Loompa rendition.
13. "Wonkamobile, Wonkavision/Oompa Loompa", (4.5, performed by Gene Wilder and the Oompa Loompas). Another very fun song that concludes a darker version of the now-familiar Oompa Loompa song.
14. "Wonkavator/End Title (Pure Imagination)" (5, part instrumental, partly sung by the Oompa Loompas). A wonderful closing song to an amazing film.
Overall, I rate the soundtrack for the classic "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.
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23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rare gem from the 70's., December 30, 2001
Willy Wonka is another one of those perennial favorite movies. It was one of the very few notable movie musicals to come out of the early 70's ("Fiddler on the Roof" and "Man of La Mancha" are the only others that come to mind). It is a lavish movie musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's most famous children's book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." While most of the lavish productions of the period, such as "Camelot" and "Hello Dolly" failed, the popularity of "Willy Wonka" endures today.The score is one of the many things this movie has going for it. It is just fabulous. While none of the cast are excellent singers, the score is best sung by those who are correctly cast in their roles. Fortunately, every one is perfect in his or her role and the singing comes off just fine. The sound quality on this album is excellent. Highly Recommended.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Songs from the Candy Man., October 23, 2003
WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is a charming movie. This soundtrack to the film is a delight to own for any fans of the film. My favorites on the album are:"Golden Ticket" "Candy Man" "Pure Imagination" "Oompa Loompa" My only complaint about this album is that the tracks aren't organized very well. For example, except for the first "Oompa Loomp", the rest of the "Oompa Loompa" songs are at the end of other tracks so you have to fast forward or rewind to find what you're looking for. Also, there is a lot of dialogue and sound effects contained in some of the song tracks. I'm glad it's on there, but it would have been better if the dialogue and sound effects were on separate tracks than the songs. However, if you can deal with those little nuances, this is a wonderful cd to own.
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~ Danny Elfman
~ Robert B. Sherman
by Leslie Bricusse
by Richard R. George
by Anthony Newley 
