I was a child when this film was made and I know it's considered a classic. And there's no denying that the sets and the props are outstanding. They truly created a dream world, a child's image of what a chocolate factory would be like. And there are important lessons about how to behave. But the unrelenting meanness of this film was too much. With the exception of the hero, the children are overly obnoxious. What are the odds that of all the winners of the contest, all but one would be among the worst a parent could raise? Julie Dawn Cole is absolutely brilliant in her role as an obnoxious debutante and the other actors do well. Also, the musical numbers are well-written and performed. But it seems as if the naughty are being set up to do bad things so that Wonka can have an excuse to see them suffer. Willie Wonka at times seems to lure the children into misbehaving so he can enjoy watching them get punished. The unrelenting nastiness permeates the entire movie and as a result, I never enjoyed it as much as I wanted to.
