‘Willy Wonka’ Child Stars Reveal That Famous Chocolate River Was Actually ‘Stinky’ and Full of Cigarette Butts
When Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory debuted in 1971, the candy-filled set looked like every child’s dream — especially the chocolate river. But according to cast members Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) and Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee), who spoke on a a recent panel at the Hollywood Show, which took place in Burbank, California on September 5 and 6, 2025, the famous chocolate river was disgusting — and full of discarded cigarette butts and coffee cups.
Credit: Karen Ruud, ReMIND Staff
Cole recalled, “Back in the day, lots of people were smoking. I mean, lots of people. I do remember various people did smoke in the workplace in those days, and lots of the stagehands or whatever would be throwing their cigarettes in the river. You wouldn’t want to drink that chocolate.”
Later in the panel, Cole reminisced, “So the river, it was made of an ice cream powder because otherwise it would’ve just been kind of brown water. So they did have to put some kind of ice cream powder in, it was severely diluted.”
She continued, “So once that had sat around for two weeks, three weeks … it was a little bit wiffy and stinky, hot lights and people walking through it and throwing their coffee cups in it. I think we came in on a Monday morning, and it had been a reasonably hot weekend, and it was bubbling, so they drained it all down, and then they had to refill it, and then they had to match the color, which took a bit of fiddling around trying to get that right. So I think they drained it down again and week on the afternoon off or something. That could make you not like chocolate. I didn’t like chocolate as a kid.”
Everett Collection
Michael Bollner, who played Augustus Gloop in the film, once shared with Polygon, “It was actually not chocolate. It was terribly cold. It was stinky water! And it was all day long, jumping in and jumping out, and being around with wet clothes.” Just like the chocolate river, nearly everything in the candy room wasn’t as it seemed … certainly not as delicious as it appeared. Gene Wilder‘s edible flower cup was evidently wax, while the gummy bears were only partially gummy.
Even though the candy was gross, the kids’ wonder in that scene was genuine. Despite the smell and the inedible props, the set made a lasting impression. “It was whimsical, fantastic, and just really cool,” Paris said.
– Contributions from Hollywood Show by Karen Ruud
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