Roald Dahl wrote some deliciously creepy kids’ books, but none more so than “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and few were so creepily translated for the screen than Mel Stuart’s 1971 adaptation, starring Gene Wilder in the titular role.

The movie has had serious cult status going on 40 years now. Perhaps it’s the just desserts that befall all the brats who accompany the story’s real hero, Charlie, as they make their way through Wonka’s world of candy-laden poetic justice.

There is Violet Beauregarde turning into a blueberry and having to be squeezed by the Oompa Loompas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCKLhl09Asw

Or Augustus Gloop falling into the chocolate lake and being sucked into the factory’s pipes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdSORiSaRW8

Or perhaps it’s the older members of the film’s audience who have been known to partake of mind-altering substances that are not candy per se that account for the film’s appeal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKZT2u3gYQI

Regardless. Showtime is sundown tonight, on the National Mall, between Seventh and 12th streets Northwest.