Blue Moon Blog

Here’s that Willie Wonka poster I promised last week, my first for the St. Cloud’s Children’s Theater from a few years back when they presented Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This piece was used as an 11 x 17 promotional poster, as well as for a smaller promo card, and in the programs for the entire theater season.

The challenge for me was to use a different style, find my own slant for Wonka, as the character is so well known. Though the main character is front and center, I wanted to frame him and focus on that moment when Charlie opens the golden ticket, putting the viewer in his shoes. That sense of excitement and anticipation is what I remember most from the Roald Dahl book, and either movie (of which I prefer the former; Depp’s take is just to creepy, in a Michael Jackson kinda way).