Pure Imagination was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, released in 1971. Gene Wilder sings it as Willy Wonka while leading the children into the Chocolate Room, turning the song into the film's statement of wonder and invention. The track appeared on the original soundtrack and has since been covered many times, sampled in other media, and shared widely online as a shorthand for creativity, nostalgia and magical discoveries, which keeps this short Wilder excerpt in constant use by editors and fans.