Original artwork, not a still
Oompa Loompa doompadee doo. I've got a perfect puzzle for you.
— Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory · 1971
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The Oompa-Loompas are the film's chorus: small, cheerful and entirely unbothered, they turn each child's downfall into a catchy moral. The first song sets the pattern with a hook you cannot shake and lyrics that are a little cruel. Fans still sing the 'doompadee doo' tune at anyone who is overdoing it, and it is the sound people remember first from the factory.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryShow the scene
This is the first Oompa-Loompa song, sung right after Augustus Gloop is sucked up the pipe, and it explains why too much eating ends badly. The songs return after each of the other bad children goes: Violet, Veruca and Mike each get a verse, opening with the same hook but 'another puzzle for you' in place of the first song's 'perfect puzzle'. The songs were written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, hired after Richard Rodgers and Henry Mancini declined.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryOompa Loompas sectionReference checked
- Wikipedia: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryLead; Production > SongwritingReference checked
Context reviewed
