I’m a media buff if you haven’t noticed by now. I find art to be most interesting in the way it has developed with technology and is presented to the masses. In the 70’s original version of the highly-acclaimed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, there are many elements of artistic innovation that have never been done before. The candy room, the orange oompa-loompa’s that belted out impromptu jams at the drop of a chocolate bar, and the most intriguing scene to me—the boat scene.
The psychedelic boat trip captures all I ever expected the 70’s to be plus an ontological approach to questioning life. I love that this was a kid’s movie. The boat trip uses a creepy Dr. Suess adapted tune, the flashing of bright lights in a dark tunnel, the indistinguishable images of monsters, and the complete fear of the passengers, to create an artistic message that what we fear is always with us. However, we choose to live in this blind oblivion with candy and the beautiful aspects of life to avoid our fears.
I find the art in the scene to be the true grit of what is visually happening, and what Willy Wonka is saying. He’s not sugar-coating his words, no pun intended. The insertion of the Psychedelic boat scene in the midst of all of the happy and carefree feelings that the movie permits, makes the scene even more noticeable and questionable.
I’m not quite sure what the scene exactly is saying through the visually graphic and trippy images, and I don’t think anyone will ever know unless they ask the writers of the film themselves. My little interpretation of the scene is that it utilizes art as a means to evoke fear and change within people, but we all know from the story only one child truly captures that change.
Here’s the scene in all its glory:
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: Psychedelic Boat Trip
