Willy Wonka's limping entrance and flip is a magic moment and has to be one of the greatest actor-devised scenes in film history.
The Story
After reading the script, Gene Wilder said he would take the role of Willy Wonka under one condition: that he would be allowed to limp, then suddenly somersault in the scene when he first meets the children. When the director asked why, Gene Wilder replied that having Wonka do this meant that "from that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth."
So, not just the spectacle of it, but the thought behind it. It's brilliant storytelling and the type that only movies can produce. This is our first glimpse of Wonka. He's a complete mystery, not only to all the characters in the film, but the audience as well. His walk, allowed to play out in full from door to gate, is slow and controlled. His limp plays into many of the rumors we've heard about the chocolatier. And then suddenly, after he loses his cane... a fall, a flip, and the carefully developed tension instantly turns into whimsy. Wonka becomes fascinating from his very first moment.