Get Away From Me Oompa-Loompas and Bubble Gum Girl!

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory scared me more than any other movie

What movie gave you nightmares when you were a child?

For a lot of people close to my age, their answers would most likely be famous scary movies such as The Exorcist, The Omen, Jaws, Halloween, Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, etc.

Demonic possessions, the devil himself, a killer shark, and evil masked characters?

Bah, they were nothing to me.

Bring them on!

(Well, no. Leave them wherever they are, please. I’m not trying to tempt trouble here!)

The movie that scared me the most and gave me a lot of nightmares was Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. I was 5 years old when it was released in theaters in 1971. I don’t remember many other movie-going experiences from back then, but I sure remember that one.

My family took me to see it shortly after I started kindergarten. I remember liking parts of the movie when it started, but I was freaked out when I first saw the tiny little Oompa-Loompa characters. I don’t know if it was because of how little they were or because of their green hair and orange skin, or if it was because of their horrible little “Oompa-Loompa” song — but I thought they were terrifying. I think my parents tried to comfort me at the time by telling me that they were “cute,” but I didn’t find them cute at all.

Then I was even more freaked out when I saw the annoying bubble gum-addicted Violet Beuregarde’s body turn indigo/purple/whatever-freaky-color-you-want-to-call-it and then swell up (see the horrifying photo above)after she chewed some experimental bubble gum and ate some experimental blueberry pie.

What the hell, right?

That’s what I was wondering back then. I regularly chewed bubble gum and ate blueberry pie. Were bizarre things going to start happening to me too?

Who needed that kind of horror in their life? Not a little 5-year old boy in 1971, that’s for sure.

I think I was relatively calm by the time I got home from seeing the movie, but it didn’t last very long. I had nightmares that night about the Oompa-Loompas and that annoying girl Violet.

It was the first of many nights when I dreamt about them. In my dreams, they were usually chasing me around and trying to abduct me and make my body get huge like Violet’s had turned. Other times, they’d all join together and beat me up.

What didn’t help matters was that other kids in my kindergarten class had also recently seen the movie. But those little oddballs from school weren’t scared of it the way they should have been, so they’d spend every lunch hour at school repeatedly dancing around and singing the “Oompa Loompa” song.

There I was trying to enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drink chocolate milk during my lunch hours and those darned kids were ruining it for me.

I’m not sure how exactly long my nightmares went on for, but it was every night for at least a few weeks. The Oompa-Loompas and the bubble gum girl kept chasing me and attacking me.

I’d wake up screaming and crying every time. Years later, my mother told me that she and my dad were actually pretty worried about me at the time and they thought I might need some therapy.

The nightmares finally ended but I was in no rush to watch Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory again. After a few years, the movie started appearing regularly on television, but I always refused to watch it.

As I grew older, if I saw it on TV while I was flipping through channels, I’d tell myself to get over my childhood fears and give the movie another chance. I’d watch it for a minute or so — but then I’d start to feel a little weird and worry about getting nightmares again.

Then I’d happily turn the movie off.

This went on for…hmmm…let’s see — around 48 years.

Sometime in 2019, my wife Penelope said she wanted to watch Willy Wonka, so I agreed to watch it with her — and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Well, for the most part.

When the little orange guys and the not-so-little purple bubble gum girl were on screen, I can’t say I was 100% happy to see them again— but at least they didn’t give me nightmares that time around.

P.S. — In case you’re wondering…yes, in addition to avoiding the Willy Wonka movie for close to 50 years, I’ve also completely avoided the 2005 remake of it that starred Johnny Depp.

Maybe I’ll try that one in another 48 years or so.

This story was inspired by a writing prompt from Ellie Jacobson in her great publication Flint and Steel. The prompt can be found here:

Thank you for the inspiration, Ellie!

And thank YOU very much for reading the above. I hope you have a wonderful day!

P.S. — If you’re planning on watching Willy Wonka any time soon, I hope you enjoy it. Just don’t ask me over to watch it with you.