Maroon 5’s Amazing Cover of Willy Wonka’s ‘Pure Imagination’

My first thought after hearing the actor who played Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder had died, this was the first thing I wanted to hear.

I've watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at least 20 times in my life. I still remember the look on my then 7-year-old daughter's face. While she was delighted by the movie, she never got 100% comfortable with Willy. Turns out, that's exactly what Gene Wilder was hoping would happen to all of us. In this 2002 Larry King Live on CNN clip, Gene shares his strange request of the filmmakers in order to agree to play the Willy Wonka character.

When I told my daughter, who's now 11-years-old, of Gene's passing, I asked her if she remembered the song Pure Imagination. She said no, so I played the original version for her first.

Then I played Maroon 5's version for her,

Maroon 5 was her favorite. How about you? The original movie version or Maroon 5's