The Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory Tour Game From Disney and Warner Brothers

The Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory Tour "board game" was featured in an October 1988 issue of The Disney Channel Magazine. The Wonka movies (the original from 1971 and the 2005 version) were made by Warner Brothers, but the studios seem to cooperate with each other to promote their films in the best way possible. Willy Wonka has appeared on the Disney Channel for many years. Lately, Warner Brothers and Disney have worked together to promote the Harry Potter films on Disney-owned networks. The Harry Potter marathons on ABC Family are a prime location for promoting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando (this Florida theme park also has Marvel Superhero Island, home to characters recently acquired by Disney through the company's purchase of Marvel Comics).

I got a kick out of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Willy Wonka (played by Johnny Depp) having a dentist for a father. My childhood dentist looked very much like the original Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder. My dentist was friendly, and at the end of my check-ups, I got to select a toy from a basket shaped like a kangaroo. To me, my dentist was Willy Wonka.

Of course, there is an actual Willy Wonka brand of candy (introduced in 1971) owned by Nestle, selling chocolate and many other candy brands, including those kooky Nerds candies and looney Laffy Taffy.

I was surprised to learn about a dark ride featuring Willy Wonka located at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, England. This is not based on the movies, but rather the illustrations created by Quentin Blake for Roald Dahl's book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The artist for the Disney Channel Magazine's Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory Tour Game is unfortunately not credited. I know it wasn't drawn up by an Oompa-Loompa. Or was it?

Revenge of the (Candy) Nerds--AKA It's Valentine's Day, Go Hug A Nerd

Since I've already posted Valentines, I thought I'd do something different today.

Candy is an important part of Valentine's Day, and this candy apparently needs your affection.

This ad is from 1984. For $6.95 and four proof of purchase seals, you get your own cuddly plush Nerd.

This sounds expensive to me in 2010. I wonder how many kids put all their effort into buying a stuffed Nerd. It doesn't look like you got to pick out which color you wanted, either.

This offer expired June 30, 1985. Sorry to get your hopes up if you wanted one.

Happy Valentine's Day! Remember, the candy is half price tomorrow.

Laffy Taffy: Bad Boy Banana Biker

This "a-peeling" slick character could be seen in a TV commercial for Laffy Taffy with other talking produce items and Daffy Duck in the late 1980s/early 1990s. I believe his name was Ben Ana, and I do know they at least made a plastic pen with his likeness (which I really want). Because of the association with Daffy Duck, I always wondered if Warner Brothers designed the Laffy Taffy spokes-characters. This image is from a plastic candy container, and "For Display Only." I'm not sure how I managed to add this to my collection.

*UPDATE on March 21, 2013:

This character is indeed named Ben Anna.  He was part of a group called The Laffy Taffy Bunch.  Not only did they appear in a TV commercial with Warner Brothers Looney Tunes star Daffy Duck, they could be found in comic books, too.  This particular advertisement was in a 1988 Archie Comic.

Besides Ben Anna, there was a Watermelon, Strawberry, Sour Apple, Sweet and Sour Cherry and Sour Grapes.  I haven't seen the commercial in many years, but I believe Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson on "The Simpsons") may have voiced at least one of the female characters.  Daffy Duck, getting short-changed as usual, was not in the comic.

Bananas are funny for many different reasons, so Ben Anna seemed to be a good fit for a joke-based candy mascot.  In 1988, Laffy Taffy had a joke contest, and some of the prizes featured the Laffy Taffy Bunch.  A Ben Anna pen was 3rd Prize, and to me it seems better than the 1st Prize (a Jar of Laffy Taffy chews).

The Grand Prize was a choice between a Laffy Taffy motorized funny car (cool!) or a custom-built doll house (perfect, I suppose, for a Special Edition Mattel Carmen Miranda Barbie doll).  The prize for 2nd Place was a Laffy Taffy T-Shirt.

By 1995, Laffy Taffy became a Concorde Brand (a division of Sunmark, Inc.).  The Laffy Taffy Bunch could still be found in comic books, though their commercials were no longer on TV.  Some new flavors and characters joined the Bunch, including Pink Lemonade and an Orange.

The Laffy Taffy Bunch got an updated look for this 1995 ad featured in a Disney Gargoyles Marvel Comics book.  Vanilla and Fruit Punch flavors are mentioned here, but I don't know if they had corresponding characters.

Eventually, the Laffy Taffy Bunch lost their job as mascots and the candy became a Willy Wonka Candy Company brand released by Nestle.  Who's laughing now?  Daffy Duck, probably.