'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'

There are many good things about being a parent. A top-5 aspect is passing on your favorite things and forcing them on your children.

This weekend, I got to watch "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with my three-year-old daughter. She dug it. As much as she can dig anything.

I first watched this in intermediate school and instantly loved it.

That same winter, the big Christmas surprise was a brand-new VCR. Even at that age, owning a VCR seemed like a luxury beyond my family's needs (later, I'd learn this was never really an issue ... kids always assume their parents are going broke). The VCR might as well been an indoor swimming pool or a pet camel.

One thing you must know about my parents, they were awful at hiding presents. I would often run into my gifts, kinda hidden, without even looking for them. A day before Christmas, a full 24 hours before we would even have the VCR out of the box, my mother took me to the video store to rent a VHS tape. For a VCR we didn't own. Even at eight, I thought this was kinda stupid.

Therefore, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" was the first film I saw in a house in any recorded medium.

As for the film, still love it. In the history of film, there was never been a more perfect casting decision than Gene Wilder for Wonka.

According to the actor, he demanded the entrance of Wonka (walking out, with cane, cane sticks in ground, Wonka does somersault and lands on his feet) before he accepted the role.

Why? According to Wilder: "because from that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth."

Brilliant.