Movie Quote Monday – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
What good are dreams, hopes, ambitions…our big ideas for life…if we don’t use them up? When I think of all the plans I never followed, the dreams I never pursued, the chocolate palaces I never took a bite out of…
Prince Pondicherry: It is perfect in every way.
Willie Wonka: Yeah, but it won’t last long; you better start eating right now.
Prince Pondicherry: Nonsense! I will not eat my palace. I intend to live in it.
So many times we live in the dream, instead of living out the dream.
Holding on to an unused dream is like living in a chocolate palace instead of eating it up. It’s nice to look at, but to taste it is so much more satisfying.
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steadily skipping stones 
“Holding on to an unused dream is like living in a chocolate palace instead of eating it up. It’s nice to look at, but to taste it is so much more satisfying.” That’s a great aphorism! 🙂
I’m glad you liked that! I would definitely eat the chocolate castle – that’s a given. Living my dreams is a bit harder, mostly because I’m not always sure what they are.
This is a nice analysis, I’ll admit I did not see this scene that way, but you make a very strong argument. I did not look deeper into this movie though because in all honesty, I did not like it. I hate saying that because of love Tim Burton. I like the original Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder better than the “newer” Willy Wonka with Johnny Depp. This analysis makes me appreciate the movie more though and perhaps I will watch it to give it another chance.
I’ll admit that I didn’t like the new one much when I first saw it, either. But, I can’t get satellite or cable where I live, and I rarely go to the movies, so I typically buy movies that I think I will like, sight unseen. So, I end up giving things another chance eventually, simply because it’s here. I liked it better the second time, which led to more viewings, and it grew on me more and more each time. Now it’s one of my go-to “bedtime movies”. One thing is that it just appeals to me visually – the colors and tones and textures that Tim Burton created are part of the fantasy for me.
I will always enjoy Gene Wilder’s original take on Willie Wonka the best. But I like the newer version of the family (there was a dad in the book, so why did they get rid of him in the first movie?) – they are more appealing and sympathetic in general. And I just feel more like for the newer version of Charlie. The older version was a whiny kind of feel-sorry-for-myself kind of kid, in my opinion, and I am annoyed by this kid who I’m supposed to be rooting for. Instead of creating sympathy for the character, I feel the opposite. The new Charlie doesn’t ask for my sympathy, because he has no idea he needs it. Therefore, I feel a tremendous amount of it for him. I like both Grandpas equally, though. I like that the new movie has fewer songs, but there are songs from the old one that I miss, particularly Veruca Salt’s song. And I just love the original line when her dad follows her down the chute, that the dad would be happy because “Veruca went first.” What I would like to have is a mash-up between the old and new versions. But that would be just weird.
Anyway, that’s a lot of talk, huh? But that line just always struck me that way. “I intend to live in it!”