The song Wonka sings on the boat ride ("There's no earthly way of knowing... ") are the only song lyrics taken directly from Roald DahlRoald Dahl's book. All other songs were written specifically for the film.
Jean StapletonJean Stapleton was the first choice to play Mrs. TeeVee (Mike's mother) but turned down the part in favor of doing a TV series pilot instead. That series was, of course, [All in the Family].
After reading the script, Gene WilderGene Wilder said he would make the film under one condition: that he would be allowed to do a somersault in the scene when he first meets the children. When asked why, Wilder replied that having Willy Wonka start out limping and end up somersaulting would set the tone for that character. He wanted to portray him as someone whose actions were completely unpredictable. His request to do the somersault was granted.
The lines to the song "Sweet lovers love the spring time... " are from William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare's play As You Like It.
Willy Wonka's line, "The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last" is a quote from [?] Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest.
The quote "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker" is from a poem entitled {Reflections on Ice Breaking} by [?] Ogden Nash.
The quote, "We are the music-makers... " is from [?] Arthur O'Shaughnessy's {Ode}, which also gave us the phrase "movers and shakers." The quotes "Where is fancy bred... " and "So shines a good deed... " are William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
Among Wonka's lines are the following quotations, "Is it my soul that calls me by my name?" from William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by" from the [?] John Masefield poem {Sea Fever}; "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" from [?] John Keats's {Endymion: A Poetic Romance}; and "Round the world and home again, that's the sailor's way!" from [?] William Allingham's {Homeward Bound}.
As the group is about to enter the "nerve center" of the factory, Wonka plays a "musical combination" on the door. Mrs. TeeVee says "Rachmaninoff," but the score is really from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.
