Hands in the air: who skipped this scene as a kid? If you watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as a wee nipper, then your hand is almost certainly in the air right now. Although Roald Dahl wasn't a big fan of the 1971 adaptation of his famous children's book, I think the rest of us can agree that the movie is a great telling - funny, dark, weird and a testament to the imagination (just like the book). Still, the scene where Charlie's mother decides to sing... no thanks. I'm talking, of course, about "Cheer Up, Charlie," that notoriously dull and uneventful song that rears its ugly head at the beginning of the movie, forcing children everywhere to grab for the remote so they can fast forward to the Oompa-Loompas. Whereas there are other, questionable scenes in Willy Wonka (let's not forget the terrifying boat ride into hell), this one is clearly a bit of filler - and it's naff. "Cheer up, Charlie," sings Mrs. Bucket, over and over and again, as Charlie walks around for three minutes, staring at the pavement and generally looking sad. Okay, we get it, Mrs. Bucket - any chance you could have just said it instead, though?
