Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory finally makes its way to 4K UHD Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment with an improved 4K transfer.
The Production: 3.5/5
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, much like The Wizard of OZ, is a film that was not well-received upon its initial theatrical release but gained in popularity over the years thanks to theatrical re-releases, television broadcasts, and eventually home video. Based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the title was changed to tie-in with a new line of candy bars from Quaker Oats), Gene Wilder plays the man-child reclusive candy-maker extraordinaire (Wonka would become one of his signature roles) who opens up his factory for a guided tour to five lucky children (and one accompanying adult) who have found a hidden “Golden Ticket” inside one of his candy bars. Four of the children are essentially spoiled brats, except for the last child, Charlie (Peter Ostrum), a local boy living in poverty with his widowed mother and four bed-ridden grandparents. Charlie chooses to take his Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson), who now has the energy to walk after learning that Charlie won the last ticket. Wonka, with help from his factory workers known as the Oompa Loompas, takes the five children and their adult companions on a colorful, and often frightening, tour of his factory, with each child succumbing to his or her own selfish desires.
Willy Wonka was an independent production by David Wolper and Quaker Oats, and released in 1971 by Paramount Pictures. Wolper sold his company’s post-1970 TV and movie catalog to Warner Bros in 1976 which included this film. Warner’s 4K UHD release is very likely the first time the Paramount logo has been seen at the beginning of the film on a home video release.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
Warner’s 2160p HEVC-encoded transfer on this release is definitely an improvement over the aging Blu-ray release (from 2009) included in this set. The image no longer suffers from overblown contrast and highlights, benefitting from deeper blacks with strong shadow details. The disc uses HDR10 high dynamic range, which helps with the improved contrast but also more natural colors with minimal bleeding. IMDB lists the film’s negative aspect ratio as 1.66:1 with an intended theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Prior DVD and Blu-ray widescreen releases have been in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This UHD release is in the “intended” 1.85:1 ratio, and framing appears to be more accurate. For example, there were a few long shots on the Blu-ray release where the shadow of a boom mike was visible which have now been cropped on this UHD release. In addition, the opening title sequence is no longer heavily window-boxed in this release. Film grain is present, but is much more noticeable in shots involving optical effects.
Audio: 3/5
The disc’s default DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds much like the same 5.1 mix used on the Blu-ray’s Dolby TrueHD track. Overall, the mix is wide but extremely front-heavy (no real surprise considering the film’s mono soundtrack origins), with minimal surround activity. There is some occasional distortion and other analog anomalies that must be baked in to the master recordings, sometimes providing for muddy dialogue, but never to the extent where it is not understandable.
Special Features: 3/5
The only extra to be found on the UHD disc is the audio commentary track. Otherwise, everything else can be found on the included 2009 Blu-ray release (which was ported over from a previous DVD release and therefore in standard definition).
Audio Commentary with the Wonka Kids
Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (480i; 30:25)
Vintage 1971 Featurette (480i; 4:02)
Sing-Along Songs (480i/1080p; 9:04)
Theatrical Trailer (480i; 3:11)
Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy (in UHD where available) on Movies Anywhere.
Overall: 4/5
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has never looked better than it has on this 4K UHD release.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (4K Ultra HD +…
51% Off $34.98 $12.99
Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads