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It's been 40 years since Gene Wilder last doned his flamboyant purple velvet jacket and pronounced gold bowtie as Willy Wonka, the eccentric chocolate factory owner he so cleverly protrays in 1971's Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. This perennial family classic returns this holiday season with a brand new 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition from Warner Home Video.

This is a movie that's at odds with itself.  What starts out to be an inspiring children's tale about Charlie Bucket, a poor London, England-born boy who stumbles upon great luck makes a sudden turn at the 44 minute mark once we're introduced to the captivating and a bit sociopathic, Willy Wonka.  Once he's introduced, this wide-eyed movie furls our brow as we witness the playful chocolatier escort his doomed ensemble of children into a series of tailor-made traps.  Each room, with its unique set of Wonka inventions, seems to exist not only to create wonderful and magical candy, but also to goad unsuspecting children with extreme character flaws into temptation.  Wonka's pernicious plan works as each kid one by one succumbs to their desires; only to find themselves given a sing-a-long farewell by a bunch of curiously small, orange-skinned and green-haired creatures know as the Oompa-Loompas.

While this movie may have an identity crisis, there's no denying its timeless appeal.  Very few movies, aside from say The Wizard of Oz or Shrek, can walk that fine line between offering dialogue and visuals that can appeal to adults and children alike; and the ones that do rarely do it as well as in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.  Roald Dahl, the author of the novel upon which the movie was based upon, may not have liked director Mel Stuart's decision to change the focus of the movie away from Charlie and onto Willy Wonka, but the results as much mesmerizing as they are entertaining. Gene Wilder arguably gave his best career performance as he managed to create a character that was equal parts charming and creepy.  That's not to take credit away from Peter Ostrum who plays our boy hero Charlie, or Jack Albertson who protrays the bed-ridden grandparent Uncle Joe.  Each of these characters are so well acted it's hard to imagine that this movie could have been the success it was without them.

It's interesting how this innocent story begins so small and plain, eventually evolving into a fairytale and then ultimately a fable.  Each of the children have personalities deemed unfit by Willy Wonka, from Veruca Salt's gimme-gimme attitude, to Augustus Gloop's gluttony and Mike Teavee's unbridled idleness.  In a ruse to find a heir to the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka constructs a plan to tempt children from around the world by offering a tour of his secluded chocolate factory and a lifetime supply of Wonka candy to the five lucky finders of his golden tickets.  As each child unravels a chocolate bar and discovers one of the coveted golden tickets, a mysterious man by the name of Arthur Slugworth speaks to them privately and offers a large sum of money if they bring him the secret recipe behind Wonka's latest creation, the Everlasting Gobstopper.  Little do they know that Slugworth is a covert employee of Wonka's who is on a mission to test their moral principles.

Willy Wonka's chocolate factory seems like a pure reflection of the man himself: it's simultaneously captivating and terrifying.  I'm still amazed at how Stuart managed to inject such horror into this seemingly innocent tale, with chilling scenes like the ride on the Wonkatania forever etched into my brain.  Even the scene with the rich, seemingly uplifting song Pure Imagination is riddled with dark undertone lyrics describing unfulfilled desires and deep introspection, which is further echoed by Wilder's contemplative, empty stare which ends the scene.  It's this constant juxtaposition of good and bad, right and wrong, and wisdom and folly that makes Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory such a great entertaining and ethical tale.

Since this package is called the Ultimate Collector's Edition it is without question aimed at the lifelong Willy Wonka fan.  The double-wide giftset package is enormous, about two and half times as long as your standard collector's edition and about twice as thick.  Inside you'll find a wide range of collectibles ranging from a 144-page production book reprinted with production photos and notes, archival correspondence letters (there's a fantastic must-read note from Gene Wilder to Mel Stuart regarding the Willy Wonka costume), a Wonka Bar-shaped tin box filled with scented pencils and a chocolate eraser, and a replica Golden Ticket which is actually an entry into an instant-win game for a chance to win a trip for two to Los Angeles.

In terms of the actual discs included, there are three: a copy of the movie on Blu-ray, a copy one DVD, and a Special Features DVD.  It's too bad that a digital copy of the movie wasn't included in the box but I guess that would be reaching too far in this case.  This is the third time the same Blu-ray disc has been released, so the extra features are the same as before, including a commentary piece from the Wonka kids satisfying your "where are they now" cravings, a documentary called Pure Imagination that is essentially a video version of the 144-production book telling behind-the-scene stories, and a few sing-a-longs to round things out.  The new DVD contains 26 minutes of additional content including Mel Stuart's Wonkavision, an interview with the director, and a featurette called A World of Pure Imagination that contains an interview with author Roald Dahl.

With this being the 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition, it's without question aimed squarely at the Willy Wonka enthusiast on your holiday list.  Being a limited edition run of only 100,000 copies, each individually numbered, this collector's edition package is sure to go fast given the time of the year.  If you're looking for a good reason to venture back into the decadent world of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, this is as good as it gets, at least until the potential 50th anniversary release in another ten years.

For more information on Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory 40th Anniversay Ultimate Collector's Edition, check out the Futureshop.ca product page here.