Critic's Grade: A+

"There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be."

The lines from a song that along with at least a dozen others has captured the hearts and minds of generations of movie lovers and fanciful dreamers everywhere. I think it is safe to say that "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," a brilliant confection of "pure imagination," comes closer than any other movie in history to capturing the essence of the line of dialogue you have just read. Every image of this masterpiece is just bursting with greatness, every character a gem, every song a reason to smile, every viewing just as entertaining and inspired as the first; whether director Mel Stuart and writer Roald Dahl have bred their fancy from the heart or the head, there's no misunderstanding their intentions here, and it is futile to deny the greatness of their achievement.

You see, "Willy Wonka" is not merely a children's movie: it defies the age boundaries with its wonderful brand of humor and dizzying array of visually decadent set pieces and props amidst a story that is simply timeless. The younger generations introduced to the film have no doubt attained a greater appreciation for it in their adulthood; I know I have. I can recall my first viewing of the film as I lay on my grandfather's couch, flushed with a fever and upset tummy; my mother, her instincts always spot-on, flipped through cable channels until she spotted this gem. After two hours of Oompa Loompas, endless amounts of candy and chocolate passing before my wide eyes, and pure hilarity over Gene Wilder's brilliant performance, I was instantly hooked.

Now, exploring the film on it's 30th anniversary, I have an even greater affection for its many trappings. The story still remains as magical as it was before, only better. Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) is a character for the ages, a child who leads a meager existence going to school, working on a paper route, and returning home to his mother and two sets of grandparents. There is a great deal of comfort and love in the family scenes: we see the devotion in Charlie's mother's eyes, the pressing on of a weary woman to give her child a chance to at least dream that things will improve. There is a very touching scene between the two in which she tells him, "One day, things will change, and probably when you least expect it." She speaks in such a tone as only a mother could know how, and it becomes touching all the more because of it.

Charlie's maternal grandfather, known as Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson), is that uniquely warm-hearted character who never fails to keep things from looking glib, even in the face of their troubles. He is especially devoted to his grandson, in whom he sees a light he himself may never have experienced in youth. He takes Charlie by his side one night and tells him the history of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, which rests within their own sleepy town. To hear him regail the events of the factory's close, and its following reawakening, provides a sinister undercurrent throughout the movie, perhaps because up to this point, we've seen little more than a dark, gloomy building enclosed by a concrete wall with an iron gate. Through Grandpa Joe's story, the filmmakers capture us, draw us in, wet our appetites for the proof of his words.

And then that chance becomes a reality. The news of the infamous five Golden Tickets spreads like wildfire across the globe, and through some very enlightening vignettes of everyday people desperately searching their store shelves for the last remaining Wonka Bar, we feel a sense of urgency resonating from poor Charlie ("I want it more than anyone else," he says). We wait with bated breath as each ticket is found, just praying for the moment when our unlucky protagonist will finally receive the chance of a lifetime he has been waiting for. And then, our anxiety dissolves in pure joy and wonderment when, after it appears he hasn't a chance, he opens a Wonka Bar and finds (gasp!) a Golden Ticket!

If this entire first half of the film feels like an appetizer, it is only because Stuart and Dahl have whipped up such a lavish main course that it's highly unlikely anyone who sees it will walk away with a dry mouth. We get to meet the four other contestants joining Charlie on his journey through the factory: the spoiled brat Veruca Salt, played with Vermicious Knid-like snobbery by Julie Dawn Cole, gum-chewing, ignorant Violet Beauregarde played by Denise Nickerson, television aficionado Mike Teevee played by Paris Themmen, and the gluttonous Augustus Gloop played by Michael Bollner.

Most importantly, we finally meet Mr. Willy Wonka, played with such eccentricity and verve by Gene Wilder in the performance of his career. He doesn't just step into the clothes and recite the lines, oh no... he becomes the legendary "Candy Man" of our fondest dreams and fancies, inviting us into a playground where greenery and nature coexist with confectionary delights and even a flowing river of pure chocolate. There are sequences that unfold before our eyes that remain some of the most visionary images ever envisioned for a film: the brilliance with which the factory has been realized for the screen is utterly jaw-dropping. We shift focus from the lighter side to more darker terrain with a bost ride that seemingly descends straight into hell itself, and then we shift back into the humor, the chocolate, the candy, the Everlasting Gobstopper phenomena, the wallpaper that tastes like fruit, the Fizzy Lifting Drinks, the Golden Geese, and let's not forget Hsawaknow, or Wonka Wash spelled backwards.

The songs and score for the film are remarkable. Songwriters Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley capture the very heart and soul of Dahl's characters and story through their music, composing the type of lyrics and melodies that you hear people whistling for no apparent reason. The reason for this is that they transcend time and place: tunes like "The Candy Man," "I've Got a Golden Ticket," "Oompa Loompa," and of course "Pure Imagination," are whimsical and elegant, setting a mood, a tone, and a feeling of sheer magnificence that is relived through each viewing.

And underneath all of this decadence, the movie has a moral lesson it teaches with such great skill through song and ribaldry. Who can forget the various methods by which the four naughty children are extracted from the factory, Augustus making his way to the chocolate boiling room via the river suction pipe, Violet indulging her gum-chewing habit and regretting it soon after ("Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!" never fails to attain a laugh). The Oompa Loompas have more than enough puzzles for these troubled youths, and while their verses denouncing greed and ignorance are funny and enchanting, they are also very meaningful in their own lighthearted way.

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is a timeless example of imagination at its most inventive, vigorous, and extreme. Whether or not Stuart and Dahl foresaw the effect of their efforts on future audiences is unclear, but one thing remains certain: this is, without a doubt, one of the most embraced, cherished, and memorable films of all time, an experience for the ages that should be enjoyed by anyone with the slightest bit of fancy. As Willy Wonka would say, "So shines a good deed in a weary world." I'll lift a glass of Fizzy Lifting Drink to that.

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