Do You Think That Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Is The Most Underrated Musical? I Think Its Pretty

Do you think that Charlie and the chocolate factory is the most underrated musical? I think it’s pretty good and pays nods to the original book.

Of the ones we've seen? Absolutely.

I think a lot of people dismiss the source material as they grow up- 'it's a horror story for children'- forgetting that it's as much wary warning to adults as it is kids. And I think this lead to a lot of people seeing a Musical version of this as nothing more than 'a kid's play'.

But oh god, anyone who's seen the musical... [insert nervous laughter] knows that's not the case.

--

For context, since versions differ: We saw the original West-End run in its final year, with Jonathan Slinger as Wonka. Which... whereas Hodge went more book-Wonka, and Jennings had this almost uncaring selfishness, Slinger's Wonka was unhinged. He was the perfect mix of 'I am genuinely terrified for my own safety, but if I don't follow this man, I will be all-consumingly curious for the rest of my life'.

He had the same vibe as creatures of myth that would lure people to their demise. You could tell me Slinger's Wonka was a fae, and I could easily believe it. You would have to have the willpower of the gods to not follow him into the dark.

I say all this, because I think a lot of adaptations ignore the cruelty of Willy Wonka. There's a cognitive bias in the story, as it's told from a star-struck child's view of a man who can do no wrong; and let's be honest, Charlie shrugs off trauma after trauma in that factory because of it. But the musical's Wonka makes choices and comments that just feel more true to the character?

The musical felt more adult, like it understood the assignment in a way no other adaptation did. It understood how- mind the language- utterly fucked up the whole tour is, it understood that Wonka is Ambiguously Evil, it understood that it is essentially a horror story mixed with a Wonderlandian Tale. And it didn't shy away from that.

And as someone who, as a child, was utterly confused on how no-one else saw these things of the story... it came out as, easily, our favourite version of the story altogether.

Perhaps it's because we've since grown up, perhaps it's due to our *ahem* personal biases within the system (see: our introject of Wonka was our primary persecutor during childhood), but the take not sugarcoating the whole story as 'look at the wonderful Willy Wonka!' and seeing it for what it is, was so utterly refreshing.

I wish more people had seen it. I wish Jonathan Slinger's run was recorded.

--

It wasn't perfect though. The first act is slow, but we do like that it took more time to explore Charlie as a character (we also still prefer that Wonka turns up at the end of act 1; something we know BW!CatCF changed).

The kids also felt incredibly flat. I think Charlie was a strong character, but all of the children in that version felt quite bland and too generalised? There was no subtlety to them, and they were incredibly in-your-face- which I guess is closer to the book, but if you grew up with the 71! & 05! versions, it's just a bit of non-taste.

Also 'Vidiots' is a boomer song about 'Technology Bad', and I know Mike Teavee is essentially that whole concept (even though that boy is obviously just undiagnosed ADHD, and hoo boy we have thoughts about that) but that song is very out of touch and could do with being removed or potentially taken from a more sympathetic angle. The only good thing that came out of it was Doris Teavee Jam Session lessss goooo baybee. hi we love west-end mrs. teavee if you could not tell, she's adorable and relatable when you're hitting 30 and stressed all the time.

That's all we can think of off the top of our head, but tl;dr: absolutely.

- Vi & Atticus

You know, since there’s an active fandom these days, I’ll reupload this:

Factory Rejects: pg 1 & 2 a post-tour WWatCF comic concept

We made these back in... 2014 I think? It was planned to be based around the psychological effects of the factory on the ticket winners, plus the recovery and eventual friendship between some very troubled kids. Because let’s be real: Willy Wonka was the antagonist.

We decided to take them down after we realised the story was partially mirroring our DID System’s introjects of said characters, and also after a particular subset of the fandom began to discover the comic.

There was one other comic page, which we might post another time.

Daily Diary Doodle - #003 - And We Persist

The New Year is a strange event, if you think about it; we act as if everything changes in one night. But you’re still the same, overall. The real change happens throughout the year, every day, as unnoticed as observing drying paint. We’re trying not to push ourselves this year. We’re a System, we change enough as it is.

???

Mr Kensington; the primary Protector -- 28 - he/they - marionette

Some of you might actually remember Mr Kensington, one of two matching marionettes that we once thought characters, and eventually ‘Mental Guides’. In all actuality- and in hindsight it’s so very obvious- they were both Alters.

Mr K’s been looking out for us since childhood, primarily handling high-intensity situations that the others can’t handle. He's had to put up with a lot of shit, and we’re incredibly appreciative of him and his logical, no-nonsense attitude, and even- dare I say it- his sarcasm.~

- Atlas

Semi-back. Recently we've been working on Videos r.e. our experiences with DID, so expect a lot of the art we post to be related to that at the moment. Whether it be alter photos, experience-sketches, etc.

... or Wonkaposting.

Or, most likely both. Because childhood trauma resulted in us being eternally haunted by a psychologically trialling chocolate factory. ✨✨👌 it's not as weird as it sounds, I promise lmao

For mild context, here's an emulation of the place for a series we've been working on. You don't need to have watched the others to understand the vibe, and the opening section actually explains it:

Draw This in Your Style challenge - What's Mr. Joy Made Today?!

We're currently hosting a DTIYS challenge- with a twist.

If you accept the challenge, you get to draw the local neighbourhood Definitely Human (cough) ice cream man, Mr. Joy! He's something straight of the 1950s, and his ice cream is to Die for. But, despite that, he has this odd, insatiable hunger... and your people food just ain't gonna cut it.

💎 Deadline: January 15th

1st prize will be a bust-shot piece akin to the DTIYS image.⁣

2nd prize is a lined sketch piece (if we get to 10 entries, it'll be coloured).

⚠️ Rules

Please post to the #OtherbuttonsDTIYS tag, and @ us. is DM us the entry with what's in the Ice Cream.

You have to draw both Joy and the Ice Cream. If you really can't think of a flavour, feel free to use the examples listed. You're also welcome to change the pose, background, make it creepier, etc. Just gotta be Joy and his Ice Cream.

the Ice Cream must be Non-Food based in flavour, and generally look inconspicuous. Sweet-based toppings are fine. Outside of meats, Mr Joy has a visceral reaction to savoury-salty based foods & condiments, so those are big no-gos.

🍦  Fun Joy Details

Joy has too much of one thing, and too little of the others: Four extra teeth, two on each side of his mouth near the back. The ring finger on his left hand is missing, having been cut cleanly from its base; the fourth toe on his left foot is also cut cleanly off. It's fine though; he still has ten toes (his right foot has six).

Joy always seems a little... melty, in the sunlight. Not too much, just in the droops of his wrinkles and such. And usually around the cold of freezers, his cheeks and nose are often a-blush; although... they're a-blush even in the warmth, too. If you'd like to know more about Joy, or get more inspiration, his bio is linked in our bio!