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Where to Watch the 'Willy Wonka' Movies Before 'Wonka'
Every generation has their own set of shared pop culture frights. I grew up in the ’90s, so like every other latchkey kid riding high from that toxic combination of Squeezits and Dunk-a-roos (you don’t just eat, you Dunk-a-roo!), I was petrified of Unsolved Mysteries. The true-crime series was a terrifying watch for a ten-year-old. The spooky theme song, Robert Stack’s silky yet horrifying voice, the friendly reminder that the Grim Reaper’s reach is both indiscriminate and inevitable, Unsolved Mysteries single-handily kept the night-light industry afloat. Before the Stack Man was around to remind us that an unchecked parade of murderers were running amok across the continental United States offing anyone and everyone with reckless abandon, kids were petrified by comparatively trivial pop culture staples: gremlins, E.T. getting sick, and, of course, the blueberry scene from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.
Premiering in 1971, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, which is now streaming on Prime Video, centers on an eccentric entrepreneur, Willy Wonka, and his place of business, a chocolate factory. One of the most memorable aspects of the film is Wonka’s cheerful indifference to the safety of the children who won a tour of the carnival of horrors he calls a chocolate factory. This leads to a kid falling in a chocolate river and another one getting his dad into a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids type situation, but the most iconic scene centers on renowned brat Violet Beauregarde turning into a blueberry. This moment petrified children of the ’70s and ’80s. If you’re thinking about letting your kids watch this scene and find yourself in the market for some unsolicited parenting advice from a childless idiot, you’re in the right place!
Don’t let them watch it. That’s my advice. It’s great for adults, but kids seem to have some weird hangup about being transformed into a blueberry and having a bunch of terrifying tiny people roll you around a glorified funhouse while singing about your inevitable demise. My mom loves to tell the story about how my older sister Wendy, who first saw Willy Wonka when she was seven, was frightened by this scene, resulting in her being afraid of blueberries. If anything she should’ve been scared of chewing gum, lyrical strangers in top hats, or lousy manners, but there’s not a ton of logic when it comes to trauma.
Always willing to go one step beyond the bare minimum when it comes to my journalistic endeavors, I texted Wendy for her take on the scene:
Save yourself the trouble and wait a few years before introducing the kids to the delirium of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Or blatantly ignore my advice and stream in on Prime Video. Either/or. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Also, I’m still waiting on that $50, sis.
