Sweeter than fiction! All the candy in the latest Wonka movie was edible, the director reveals

Every sweet eaten in the latest Willy Wonka film can actually be eaten – its director has revealed – and there was even a full-time chocolate factory on set.

Speaking to the Radio Times, as reported by TelegraphPaul King, who also worked on Paddington’s beloved films, revealed that “everything consumed in the film is properly edible and delicious, even the flowers and leaves.”

Wonka – which will be released in the UK on December 8 – will explore the origin story behind Roald Dahl’s much-loved, mad confectionery protagonist.

And Paul said an expert was on hand to make sure – unlike previous adaptations where the actors later recounted working with a fake “smelly” and “disgusting” river of chocolate – the sweets in the film taste as good as they look.

Gabriella Cugno – a high-end pastry chef and chocolatier – lent her talents to bring the film’s fantastical creations to life.

Paul recounted a moment when he felt inspired by the 1971 Willy Wonka movie and the Chocolate Factory movie.

“There was an amazing thing on set one day. I remembered the part where Gene Wilder eats a cup of tea,” he told the report.

“And I said, ‘Oh, if I thought about it, we could have a cup of chocolate that Willy could make.’

With just an hour to go before filming began, an “unconscious” Gabriella produced “half a dozen perfect little cups and saucers, made of what looked like different blue leaves.”

Paul was also full of praise for her ‘hoverchocs’ – which in the film, happily, make people fly. The chocolatier created between 700-900 sweets for the film.

Speaking in the past to Entertainment Weeklyshe recounted how she and Paul would brainstorm about the candy.

“At the first show and say, I showed [Paul] about 10 different chocolates from the script, but I would do maybe five different variations of one chocolate,” he explained.

“One of the variations would be a really wacky version or a really soft version. Would I look at Paul and what is he drawn to for that particular scene?

“Each chocolate is so different. Little by little I would understand what his vision is.’

The commitment to edible chocolates comes as cast members from the 1971 adaptation have previously spoken about the “disgusting” river of chocolate used in the film.

Michael Bolner – who played Augustus Gloop – said Polygon in 2021: “It wasn’t actually chocolate. It was terribly cold. It was stinking water! And it was all day, jumping in and jumping out, and walking around in wet clothes.’

Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) called the river “disgusting things that had been sitting there for three weeks”.

“It had the lights on and people were emptying their coffee grounds,” he added.

According PEOPLEGene Wilder himself said that “about a third” of the sweets consumed on set were actually edible.

However, the infamous teacup chewing scene was made of wax – and the actor had to brave it until the take was over.

Answering fan questions at Reddit Nine years ago, Paris Themmen – who played Mike Teevee – said that “generally, if we ate it in the movie it was real, and if we didn’t, it was fake”.

He added: “The gummy bears in the Pure Imagination room were mostly plastic with a sticky ear. This is an example of how they did it.’

However, Paris revealed that they ate “a lot of candy on set.”

“My favorite candy was actually the ‘gum’ that Violet eats and it’s a three course meal,” she said on social media.

“This wasn’t actually chewing gum, but a very tasty coffee-based candy. It was used in close-ups, so they didn’t have many of them, and after I ate a couple, I asked for a third and they wouldn’t give it to me.’

Writing in Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, director Mel Stuart also praised Harper Goff for creating the artistic vision behind the film, saying, “Harper and his crew covered the space with a fantastic brightly colored carpet that contained candy.

“There were giant mushrooms filled with whipped cream, trees that bore chocolate and loads of other treats.”

Meanwhile, according to MetaflixTim Burton’s 2005 film – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – saw Nestle provide 1,850 real chocolate bars like the one children find their golden tickets.

The company also provided 110,000 fakes for the scene depicting them being made in the factory.

The special effects company that worked on the design of the infamous chocolate river – Vickers Laboratories – also opened the process.

Talking to you World of ChemistryCEO Julian Driver explained how 1.25 million liters of artificial chocolate were needed for the effort.

“Hydroxyethyl cellulose is a gelling agent that causes water to coagulate,” he added.

“We were able to control the viscosity of the final product with varying amounts of this material.”

Julian continued: ‘They asked us to secure it for six weeks and the shoot took twelve weeks – so towards the end we were putting all kinds of biocides to stop it going off… They just asked it to go rancid!’

The Willy Wonka origin story – based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – hits UK cinemas on December 8 and US theaters on December 15.

Wonka also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant and newcomer Calah Lane.

Timothy earned $9 million to play the title character after beating out Tom Holland, Donald Glover, Ezra Miller and Ryan Gosling for the role.

The eccentric genius, who delighted in punishing naughty children, was created by Gene Wilder in Mel Stuart’s 1971. favorite classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.