Wonka’s World

A Journey through the Chocolate Factory Trilogy

Karlee Clark and Abigail Allias

February 12, 2024

Step into a world of pure imagination as we take a look at all of the Willy Wonka movies. With the new release, there are three movies based on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The first two movies follow a young boy named Charlie Bucket who is seeking one of Wonka’s golden tickets to be invited to tour the chocolate factory.

The first movie adaptation, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released in 1971 and starred Gene Wilder. This movie portrays the innocence of the children and the lessons that they learn from going to the chocolate factory. Willy Wonka is shown as a kind, quirky man who wants to invite many different kids from different backgrounds to his chocolate factory. Some of the characters like Augustus Gloop are very greedy and dishonest. When that happens, they are the ones who are asked to leave the factory or face consequences for their actions.

Johnny Depp starred as the next Wonka in the 2005 adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This rendition of the famous story was directed by popular film director Tim Burton. Burton has a unique directing style that puts his own spin on the overall connotation of the movie. This remake gave Wonka a more creepy personality opposing the more curious original. This movie follows a similar plot line to the first movie where a young boy is ambitious to get a golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka’s factory, however, because production of this movie started a whole 34 years after the original a lot of modernizations got incorporated into this version to make it more relatable. Whether these changes were as small as replacing geese with squirrels or as big as rewriting songs and melodies. The two movies are the same but have their own individual personalities and target audiences.

The newest installment to the Willy Wonka Universe is the movie Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet. This movie follows young Wonka who has nothing but a hatful of dreams and the ambition to change the world by opening the greatest chocolate store. Unlike the other movies, this one gives Wonka the prequel story of how he gained his success.

All of the Willy Wonka movies have underlying themes to inspire the viewers. The first two movies have the themes of honesty, integrity, and the power of your imagination. The movie shows how well-behaved and honest people are often rewarded.

The movies also talk about social class and how lower-income families have to endure the injustices of poverty. In contrast, the upper-class families get to enjoy the luxuries of wealth and privilege. However, the newest addition to the Willy Wonka movies has a little bit of a different theme.

Wonka is about more than just an eccentric man who sells chocolate. It’s about friendship and the courage and ambition to never give up on your dreams. Wonka keeps getting told that he can’t sell his chocolate by the other chocolatiers in the town. He forms a tight bond with four people he just met and they all agree to help Wonka sell his chocolate. Wonka won’t accept their help for free though. He offers to split the earnings with them to help them all pay back a debt that they owe. His new friends help him through the tough parts of his situation and when he is at his lowest, encourage him to keep reaching for his dreams.

Throughout the movie, Wonka tries to figure out what his mom’s secret is to make the best chocolate. In the end, he found out that, “The secret isn’t the chocolate, it’s who you share it with.” Wonka could have been happy to just eat his mother’s chocolate on his own, but he found it much sweeter to share it with those he had developed a strong bond with throughout the movie. This important message from his mom was written on gold foiling which later inspired the invention of the golden ticket and the way that Wonka gets to share his chocolate with more people throughout the world.

The Wonka movie ends with his story nicely wrapped up so that the next movies can go straight into the success of his chocolate factory. The Oompa Loompas are even introduced in the middle of the movie and by the end are hired by Wonka to aid him in his endeavors.

All of the Willy Wonka movies are great in their own way. The Greater Latrobe student body voted in a poll to decide which movie was the majority of the students’ favorite. Students quickly realized deciding a favorite was not as straightforward as it may seem. A tie emerged between the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and the first remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both movies had 38% percent of the student vote after the poll ran for 24 hours. Of the participating students 24% voted in favor of the 2024 Wonka movie however, not enough students agreed to make it the overall winner.

Something that makes the Chocolate Factory storyline so widely recognizable and continuously popular is the clever and strategic marketing strategies and production timelines pushing the Wonka storyline to people of all ages. The movie trilogies were produced in a timely manner that gave three consecutive generations either the original or a remake version of the original storyline to connect to and associate with.

The student body was asked to nominate a student from Greater Latrobe who most resembles Willy Wonka and would most likely play Wonka in the next generation’s remake. Unlike the first poll being a close race, the students were able to come to a clear agreement as to who would be the next Wonka. Winning 50% of the school body nominations was junior Jack Dixon.

“I feel honored to have gotten nominated for the part. I feel like it would be a fun opportunity [to be Wonka],” said Dixon.

Dixon has been an active member of the Drama Club originating from his shows in Jr. High school. He has played a role in three musicals and two plays. With this acting ability and singing talent being a member of the GLHS chamber choir, Dixon was the students’ first choice.

Movies are a way for people to escape reality and go to a place far away from real life and its problems. Through the Willy Wonka universe, Wonka has allowed people to escape to a world of pure chocolatey delight. A world of sweets and magic. A world of pure imagination.

About the Contributors

Karlee Clark, Staff Writer

Driven by a passion for leadership and learning, Karlee Clark, a junior at Greater Latrobe, is a returning member of The High Post staff. She originally joined to explore her love of writing and is continuing to dive into her passion for sports photography and to help guide new members. Karlee’s interests include archery, which she's enjoyed for over six years, reading, writing, journaling, singing, and playing the flute and guitar among a handful of other instruments. She’s actively involved in the chamber choir, wind ensemble, pep band, and drama club, where she participates in the spring musicals. This year, she takes on the role of choir secretary. Karlee also plays as a defensive specialist for the Girls Varsity Volleyball team, where she values the teamwork and inside jokes and memories shared with the team. She is also a committed manager and statistician to the boys volleyball team dedicating an unimaginable number of hours analyzing stats and doing anything to help out at practices. Leadership is a central part of Karlee’s life. She’s a member of the Lighthouse Leadership team and has been a student council representative since elementary school, currently serving as secretary having just stepped down from student store manager. Her love of learning extends to the forensics team, where she’s competed in persuasive essay and impromptu speaking, qualifying for the state competition in both her freshman and sophomore years. Beyond school, Karlee is committed to volunteering, always eager to make a difference in her neighborhood.

Abigail Allias, Staff Writer

Abigail Allias is a sophomore at Greater Latrobe Senior High School. This is her first year on the staff of The High Post. Abigail enjoys spending her free time dancing, reading, and traveling. She has been a dancer for seven years and takes classes in a variety of different genres including Lyrical, Ballet, Jazz, Pointe, Hip Hop, Modern, and Tap. When she isn’t at the dance studio, she is usually found reading a book. As an avid reader, she will read any and every kind of book. She also enjoys traveling and feels lucky to have taken many vacations with her family. Her very favorite place to visit is San Diego, California. She loves the weather and the positive, laid-back vibe of the city. Abigail also enjoys taking her dogs, Joy (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and Ginger (a Labrador Retriever), for walks around the neighborhood each day. Abigail’s family is very important to her. She has learned from her parents what a diligent work ethic looks like and is going to carry that on to her work at The High Post. Abigail is excited to be working on The High Post as a writer since she enjoys writing, learning about current topics, and sharing her opinions. She looks forward to learning about journalism and further developing her writing skills. Her plans after high school are to further her academic career by attending college. Although she is unsure what she is going to major in, she is looking forward to figuring out what she is passionate about and what she is meant to do in the future.