Poster © Paramount Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAdventure, Comedy & Family
RatedNot Rated
Runtime1 hr 40 mins
ReleasedJune 30, 1971
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorMel Stuart
StarringGene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum
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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
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| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory's Details | |
| Genre | Adventure, Comedy & Family |
| Rated | Not Rated |
| Released | 06/30/1971 |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Budget | $3M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory's Interests | |
| General | Golden Tickets, Wonka Bars, Everlasting Gobstoppers, chocolate rivers, Oompa-Loompas. |
| Music | Songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, score by Walter Scharf. "Pure Imagination" lives here. |
| Movies | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Tim Burton and Johnny Depp take the tour. |
| Television | Nailed It. Candy dreams, much lower success rate. |
| Heroes | Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson). Twenty years in bed, then up and dancing for one ticket. |
| Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory's Crew | |
| Director | Mel Stuart |
| Writers | Roald Dahl, David Seltzer (uncredited) |
| Producers | Stan Margulies, David L. Wolper |
| Cinematography | Arthur Ibbetson |
| Music | Leslie Bricusse (songs), Anthony Newley (songs), Walter Scharf (score) |
| Edited By | David Saxon |
| Production | Wolper Pictures, The Quaker Oats Company |
| Distributed By | Paramount Pictures |
Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) is a broke paperboy living with his mom and four bedridden grandparents, right down the street from a candy factory nobody ever goes in or out of. Then reclusive candy genius Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) hides five Golden Tickets inside his chocolate bars, and the winners get a tour plus chocolate for life. The whole planet goes candy crazy. Four bratty kids grab tickets first. Charlie, with Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) in his corner, needs a miracle. Mel Stuart directs. One hundred minutes, pure sugar.
Anyone holding a Golden Ticket. Do not touch anything.
Grandpa Joe hasn’t left his bed in years, then a Golden Ticket shows up and he’s dancing across the room, and nobody in the family asks one follow-up question. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is full of moments like that, and it’s better for them. The weak stretch is the first act. Charlie is a sweet, slightly blank kid, and the movie spends ages on newsreels and ticket hysteria before Wonka appears. Then Gene Wilder limps out of the factory on a cane, tips forward into a somersault, and the movie snaps into focus. He plays Wonka as kind, bored, sarcastic and possibly dangerous, sometimes in a single line. The candy room looks like a dessert you’re not allowed to touch. The boat tunnel is still the scariest thing in any kids’ movie. The Oompa Loompa songs land every time. It holds an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. An 8.5 because Wilder makes a sugar rush feel a little dangerous. $204.17 says you peel back the wrapper on your next chocolate bar and feel a tiny flicker of hope.
What works: Gene Wilder’s mix of warmth and menace, the smug Oompa Loompa songs and that unforgettable boat ride.
What doesn’t: The first act drags through newsreels and ticket panic, and Charlie himself is more of a nice kid than a real character.
Who it’s for: Families on a rainy afternoon, and grown-ups who still remember the tunnel scene a little too clearly.
Spoilers
Charlie and Grandpa Joe sneak a taste of Fizzy Lifting Drink, and Wonka angrily tells them they’ve lost the prize. Charlie quietly returns the Everlasting Gobstopper instead of selling it to a rival, which turns out to be the real test, and Wonka gives him the whole factory as the Great Glass Elevator bursts through the roof and soars over the town.
| Gene Wilder | Willy Wonka |
| Jack Albertson | Grandpa Joe |
| Peter Ostrum | Charlie Bucket |
| Roy Kinnear | Henry Salt |
| Julie Dawn Cole | Veruca Salt |
| Leonard Stone | Sam Beauregarde |
| Denise Nickerson | Violet Beauregarde |
| Dodo Denney | Mrs. Teevee |
| Paris Themmen | Mike Teevee |
| Ursula Reit | Mrs. Gloop |
| Michael Böllner | Augustus Gloop |
| Diana Sowle | Mrs. Bucket |
| Aubrey Woods | Bill |
| David Battley | Mr. Turkentine |
| Günter Meisner | Arthur Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson |
| Peter Capell | The Tinker |
| Werner Heyking | Mr. Jopeck |
| Peter Stuart | Winkelmann |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 1 November 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (247,902 votes) → 7.8 / 10 (248,054 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 25 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (247,741 votes) → 7.8 / 10 (247,902 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (247,730 votes) → 7.8 / 10 (247,741 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +360 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $2.7M; Domestic box office $2.6M; Profit / loss (est.) -$3.2M; Rotten Tomatoes 84%; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 84% (124 reviews); Metacritic 67 / 100; IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (247,730 votes); movie.guru score 8.6.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.