Why Willy Wonka is My Favorite Movie Character Ever

Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Today marked the passing of actor Gene Wilder. Over the course of his career, he gave us several memorable characters in films ranging from Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein to Silver Streak and Stir Crazy. To say the least, he is one of the most versatile comedians of his generation, and his impact continues to be felt. Even Tom Cruise is a big fan. However, there is one role that will forever be my favorite of his. It's one of cinema's greatest performances, and a reflection of his gifts as a whole. Director Mel Stuart's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a masterpiece forever rooted in my childhood thanks to incessant viewing. However, it only grew in stature as I aged, and I am ready to come to terms with my theory that he is the greatest cinematic character, or at least my personal pick.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of seeing the 1971 film on the big screen for the first time. As part of a Fathom Event, put on in conjunction with TCM, I got to witness a childhood favorite displayed in the biggest format that I had ever seen it in. I watched as the chocolate dripped into the wrappers and the mesmerizing chords played the melody of "Pure Imagination." Stuart's career in marketing may in fact explain why the film has the vibe of subliminal advertising as bright colors play over "The Candy Man" song, making the audience hungry before the movie hits the 10 minute mark.

The character of Willy Wonka has a myth around him before he gets a second of screen time. His candy empire feels as ingrained in the world's consciousness as religion or automobiles. Everybody wants his product, and the choice to pit the young Charlie Bucket as protagonist only shows the disparaging difference between the rich and the poor. Still, he buys chocolate because he believes in the chance to enter a world of pure imagination. Everybody wants to do so much as see the eccentric yet reclusive personality that has filled their stomachs for decades before falling victim to inside secrets escaping due to spies.

Then there's his entrance, itself perfectly suggested to Stuart by Gene Wilder. He wished to approach the crowd of enthusiastic guests and press with a cane and a limp. His sad demeanor wouldn't be known by the crew, forcing genuine reactions for when he pulled off his surprise introduction: a fall that transitioned into a barrel roll back into the standing position. Without so much as a word, Wilder defined Willy Wonka's playful nature and introduced a character that has unfortunately become reduced to online memes for sarcasm. Yet to witness Wilder in action is to see the perfect embodiment of a recluse trying hard to care before eventually giving up as the third child disobeys his orders.

The rest is a blend of the most fantastical processing factory imaginable. The chocolate is mixed by waterfall. Wonka has Oompa Loompas who sing. The corridors shrink and doors mysteriously move around. The factory is as much a tour of how the food is made as it is a journey into creative abandonment. The lo-fi nature of 70's productions may turn certain viewers off, but the inevitable draw is that of Wonka: a figure passionate about candy. He has an earnestness that makes you believe in his ideas. He is more than a businessman. He comes across as your friend doing his best to hold an expo for future products. After all, the prize for the afternoon is a lifetime supply of chocolate.

It is in the film's later half that one understands what Wilder brought to the film. As much as his introductory stumble presented an unpredictable character, one can read into the character's inflections. He begins the day by rushing to save a child from drowning in a river. He cares with every moral fiber. By the time that a child is transported across the room, he suddenly rolls his eyes and mostly talks in obligation for the child to stop. He suddenly doesn't care, even growing darker in his comments to parents. Whether he speaks truthfully or not, there's comedy in his decreasing empathy for his guests as they drop off. This is all before the enthusiastic meeting where Charlie wins the prize and sees Wonka's room; where everything is split in half for inexplicable reasons.

The film ends with Wonka asking: "But Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted." When Charlie responds, he says "He lived happily ever after." For a film full of dark humor and neglected children, there's a strange and powerful sentiment in that final line as a reprise of "Pure Imagination" leads into the credits. Suddenly a man wanting to sell chocolate expresses a deeper, purer emotion. As much as it's a story of Charlie overcoming his lower class status, the film secretly feels like a journey of Wonka wanting to bond with people and understand what humanity seems like. In a sense, it's a story of connection in an unexpected way, which may be more surprising than anything else that Wilder brings to the character.

It has a sense of adventure and the music is catchy. However, everyone remembers Wilder's performance. It is passionate, slight, and funny. Even if audiences are divisive on the film's other merits, everybody notices the magic of Wilder. Even if the book's author Roald Dahl infamously hated it (and thus halted production on a sequel), everybody else with sense knows that it's about as well as the story will be told. Yes, small details were changed and Wilder looks nothing like book Wonka (in fairness, neither does Johnny Depp). However, Stuart managed to find the heart of a film essentially about capitalism and childhood wonder and blend them into something magical and appealing to audiences. It just so happens to have a character who has quips like "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."

As great as any Mel Brooks collaboration was, it is hard for me to consider any as perfect as Willy Wonka. He embodies the role and strikes a distinctive middle ground that all of Dahl's best work has. He has a bit of a threat in him due to his authoritative stature. However, he is playful and unpredictable in a way that is fun for audiences to try and figure out. His inventions make him the stock kooky scientist, but as I mentioned earlier - there is more going on here than meets the eye. It's true that he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Producers, but he definitely deserved one here as well. Few children's movie characters have become as iconic yet singular to the actor as Willy Wonka to Gene Wilder.

It is especially hard to accept Wilder's death because he has something ingrained in my childhood. When I was an infant, I had a VHS that featured Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Big back to back. When Wilder would enter the Wonkavator and say "Here it comes," it would cut to Big's opening credits. For decades now, it has been a family joke alongside an antagonistic belief that Stuart's film was in fact a drug movie. I watched that VHS constantly, and had I kept track of it, it would probably be my most watched movie ever. Still, it explains why I can pop it on and feel that overwhelming emotion every time. Nothing has shaken my enthusiasm for this film in 27 years. I think it explains why I feel more moved about his death than I would the other big name celebrities. To me, he was a genius beyond Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but it is the film I will always come back to. Nobody does it quite like him, and that's the way that it should be.