.theguardian - 2 days ago

The latest in our series of writers highlighting their mood-lifting watches is a travel back to 1971 for the definitive Roald Dahl adaptationThere are some days when the only thing that can lift your mood is seeing a man in a top hat play the flute to summon a jodhpur-wearing Oompa-Loompa. Luckily, Willy Wonka the Chocolate Factory has plenty of that and a lot more besides. I don’t care if you’ve just received a terminal diagnosis or found out your wife’s been having an affair with Chris Martin, you stick this film on and you’ll smile.The last time I watched it, before rewatching for this article, was with my wife and infant son in the week after his birth. He was too busy crapping himself to understand what was going on so the film was obviously just for us. Why would two thirtysomethings choose to watch a children’s film from the 1970s? Perhaps we were nostalgic for our own lost childhoods of watching it every Christmas and bank holiday, perhaps we were excited for the near future of a new childhood, or perhaps because this is a film where a man eats a microphone instead of answering a reporter’s question. No hands. Just eats it and goes back to his meal like it was nothing. Silly, odd and utterly joyous. And the silliest, oddest and most joyous thing of all is Wonka himself. Continue reading...

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