Attack of the purple WonkaCakes I’m sure kids are begging their parents for the new Chocolicious WonkaCakes, a product tie-in with the upcoming Tim Burton film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. WonkaCakes are the same old Hostess cupcakes but with bright purple frosting and filling. As a sane adult, I would never eat these. To me, a purple cupcake is like green ketchup: totally unnatural and gross. Plus, why mess with a classic? And it doesn’t help that a picture of Johnny Depp’s creepy Willy Wonka is on all the packaging. —Posted by Lisa van der Pool

July 12, 2005 | Permalink

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You realize, of course, that the probable reason that red ketchup seems "natural" is because the first people to make it thought that "red", like tomatoes, would be best. If they'd have made it green in the first place, we would all think that red ketchup was unnatural. And I wish everyone would quit picking on the new Willy Wonka - the book was quite fantastic, and very different than the Gene Wilder movie. To me, both were good in their own right. I wish more people would wait and see. Just my 2 cents.
annaq@zrgmail.com

Posted by: Anna Quast | Jul 12, 2005 5:15:32 PM

Okay, I'm just reactionary and old--but ketchup *is* red like tomatoes, and Gene Wilder *is* Willy Wonka. I'm old enough to have read the book when I was part of the book's original target demo. It was a great book, but Gene Wilder's performance and the rest of the original film's casting, art direction and music totally transcended the book for my generation. Younger viewers may soon have similar feelings about Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka, but for me and my peers, Mr. Wilder will always be the Candyman...

Posted by: areaderwrites | Jul 12, 2005 11:58:47 PM

I agree with the last poster. Gene Wilder's performance cannot be topped. I will only let my kids watch that one! If I have to, I'll have him dropped in using Flame and blue screen, so they can see Tim Burton's special effects. It'll cost a lot but it'll be worth it. But this time around, I think they've all realized the marketing potential that they missed out on last time. Everyone wondered why they didn't make wonka bars. I just hope the everlasting gobstopper becomes a reality this time.

Posted by: Len | Jul 13, 2005 7:12:31 AM

I loved the old Gene Wilder film, but it deviated quite a lot from the book. Roald Dahl absolutely hated it and wouldn't sell the studio the right to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator after it was made, so it's a little silly to view the 1971 version as even remotely definitive.

Posted by: anonymous | Jul 15, 2005 8:55:06 AM

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