Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Based on the beloved Roald Dahl tale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory follows the story of young Charlie Bucket as he tours the magical and mysterious factory of an eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka. The team at VFX helped to bring the famous chocolate river to life.

Director Tim Burton preferred to use actual liquid for the Chocolate River opposed to computer-generated imagery in order to give a more realistic effect and to allow the actors to engage with their props and environment. The initial enquiry was for 25 gallons of artificial chocolate. Having spoken however to the production team and visiting Pinewood Studios we knew we had the knowledge and expertise to develop a formulation which gave a more realistic effect. Considering the sheer quantities required for the project the sample size rapidly increased from 25 litres, to 10,000 litres to 25,000 litres in order to obtain the correct colour and viscosity. The product we developed was substantially more cost effective. The final amount required was 1.25 million litres. The product needed to be stable for 10 weeks and safe to dispose of. In the end it was decided we would manufacture on set at Pinewood Studios and work alongside the production team to assist in making this spectacular effect. This also meant we could meet an increase in demand as the volume doubled half way through filming, and extra material was needed for the magnificent chocolate waterfall.

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