Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 8+
Bright, spirited, and edgy version of Willy Wonka.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this colorful kids' adventure -- like the book -- includes some intense scenes. Obnoxious children are ridiculed visually and in words by the Oompah Loompahs and dispatched. One girl blows up into a giant blueberry, another boy is sucked into a tube, the other girl is attacked and pinned down by squirrels who proceed to throw her down a garbage chute. In one early scene, dolls burn up and their eyeballs pop out. The movie is much closer in dark tone to the book than its cinematic predecessor. Willy Wonka himself seems to disdain families.
- Families can talk about Willy's difficulties with his dentist father. How does his fear of his father's disapproval lead him to rebel? How does Charlie's good relationship with his parents and grandparents allow him to feel self-confident, trusting, and generous? How does the film compare Charlie (as the good child) with bad children (rich, spoiled, greedy, materialistic)? How does the movie show that selfish, silly parents produce selfish, silly children?
The good stuff
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Positive messages: Several kids and parents are repeatedly rude, narcissistic, and unpleasant.
What to watch for
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Violence and scariness: Some physical and emotional abuses of mean children; Willy has mildly scary flashbacks of his dentist father, featuring horrible headgear for his braces.
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Sexy stuff: Not an issue
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Language: At least one use of "hell."
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue