Awesome moments specific to the 1971 film adaptation go here.
Original Novel
- A small one: the owner of the sweet shop where Charlie finds his ticket telling the adults who are trying to force the poor kid into selling it to them to back off. This is faithfully incorporated into the 2005 film.
- The fact that Wonka built an entire palace out of solid chocolate counts as one.
2005 Film
- The opening sequence
, scored by Danny Elfman, is made of awesome - it has a pumping, industrial-sounding soundtrack, and features a huge amount of Scenery Porn, showing us around the factory as Wonka bars are manufactured, and setting up the film's Dark Fantasy setting with its darker tone, establishing for the audience that it is definitely not going to be the whimsical, Technicolor, psychedelic world we are shown in the 1971 film. - Grandpa Joe gets most of the glory since he accompanies Charlie to Willy Wonka's factory, but grumpy Grandpa George has a CMoA when he responds to Charlie's suggestion that they sell his golden ticket.Grandpa George: Young man, come here. There's plenty of money out there. They print more every day. But this ticket — there's only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?
Charlie: No, sir.
Grandpa George: Then get that mud off your pants. You've got a factory to go to!- It's the fact that he's The Cynic at all other times that makes his advice (happiness is better than money) so touching.
- The fireworks room during the elevator ride.Mike: Why is everything here so pointless?!
- Danny Elfman's ability to take the lyrics from Dahl's novel and set them to various musical genres is commendable in itself.
- Each musical number is a fun little parody/Expy and they have a number of Genius Bonus shout-outs. Augustus Gloop nods to Bollywood musical numbers (at the suggestion of Deep Roy), Violet Beauregarde is a little nod to techno/funk; Veruca Salt is a gentle ballad with a Beatles vibe; and Mike Teavee has punk anger and a spray of pop-culture references (along with another nod to the Beatles in its bridge).
- As The Nostalgia Critic points out in his Old vs New video of the two movies, the Oompa Loompa songs also tribute musical styling of various eras. Augustus's is '40s mambo, Violet's is '70s Blaxploitation funk, Veruca's is '60s psychedelic rock, Mike's is early '80s Progressive Rock.
- Wonka gets his CMoA when Veruca adamantly continues to demand a squirrel despite his already having turned down her father's offer to buy one for her. Wonka's response? He imitates Mr. Salt perfectly ("I'm sorry, darling. Mr. Wonka's being unreasonable.") just to mock them. (Also a Funny Moment.)
- Mr. Salt standing up to Veruca for the first time in his life at the end of the film.
2013 Stage Musical
- "It Must Be Believed to Be Seen", the Act One finale and Willy Wonka's introductory song, is a terrific song in and of itself. The staging makes it even more spectacular — the Obfuscating Disability trick that sets up an Instant Costume Change...the entire assembled crowd of Golden Ticket finders and press becoming a troupe of backup dancers seemingly out of sheer reverence...the gloomy factory's windows first being lit up with a deft wave of his cane and then changing colors until the whole place looks like the mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind... the delightfully ominous Door-Closes Ending. If the right kind of Large Ham is playing Wonka (and Douglas Hodge, the role originator, was indeed that), the cumulative effect of all this is a sense of sheer power rolling over the audience.
