The ending of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is probably nothing new to many people. And that probably goes for the previous hour and half, too.
The movie is far from being an obscure picture. Very much the opposite. So, my take on the ending is probably bleedin' obvious.
But I've heard arguments claiming the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory taught an objectionable lesson. Some argue Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of the movie, is rewarded for "bad behavior" which is a terrible lesson for the film's young audiences. But is Charlie actually rewarded for bad behavior?
But I've heard arguments claiming the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory taught an objectionable lesson. Some argue Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of the movie, is rewarded for "bad behavior" which is a terrible lesson for the film's young audiences. But is Charlie actually rewarded for bad behavior?
This argument bugs me a bit because it's one of those opinions I know isn't the case.
In any good story, the protagonist needs to have a flaw they need to overcome. Otherwise, they usually have something they're trying to achieve or accomplish. There ought to be some kind of imperfection or struggle. It makes the character more relatable, and gives the audience a sense of hope that no matter what sins we've committed in our past. All is not lost.
In Charlie's case, his misdeed is a rather small one, but it's a misdeed none the less.
During the tour of Wonka's factory, Charlie and his grandpa Joe decide to lag behind and take a swig of some bubbly "fizzy lifting drink" Wonka previously said wasn't ready for consumption. He instructed his visitors not to drink any.
In any good story, the protagonist needs to have a flaw they need to overcome. Otherwise, they usually have something they're trying to achieve or accomplish. There ought to be some kind of imperfection or struggle. It makes the character more relatable, and gives the audience a sense of hope that no matter what sins we've committed in our past. All is not lost.
In Charlie's case, his misdeed is a rather small one, but it's a misdeed none the less.
During the tour of Wonka's factory, Charlie and his grandpa Joe decide to lag behind and take a swig of some bubbly "fizzy lifting drink" Wonka previously said wasn't ready for consumption. He instructed his visitors not to drink any.
As they chug, the gas causes them to float higher and higher. At first it's fun, until they float dangerously close to fan blades in the ceiling.
They both cling to the sides of the wall to avoid getting caught up there, until Grandpa Joe realizes that burping will release the gasses, and they'll float back towards the floor. They both think they got away with it, until the end of the movie.
There's also a point in the movie when Wonka shares a secret candy with his visitors - Everlasting Gobstoppers. It's a candy that won't dissolve no matter how long people suck on them. They're "everlasting!"
He makes each child promise not to let theirs fall into the hands on his adversarial competitor, Slugworth, as that would lead to Wonka's ruin.
At the end of the movie (SPOILER for those living in caves over the last 40 or so years and haven't seen this movie), when Charlie goes to collect his life time supply of chocolate promised him when he found the Golden Ticket, Wonka refuses and calls both of them out for breaking the rules by stealing some of his fizzy lifting drink. He tells them that they touched the sterile walls which now have to be sanitized. And according to the huge contract Charlie signed before the tour, the promise of chocolate is null and void as a result.
"You get nothing! You lose!" he shouts at Charlie and his Grandpa Joe.
Grandpa Joe grows angry and vengeful calling Wonka a crook and tries to retaliate by telling his grandson, "C'mon Charlie, if Slugworth wants a Gobstopper, he'll get one!"
But though Charlie already broke a rule, he's not about to break a promise.
Instead, he defies his own grandfather and through his actions admits what he did. He turns back to Wonka, and hands him his Gobstopper. Why? Because Charlie knows he doesn't deserve it for breaking this one rule.
They both cling to the sides of the wall to avoid getting caught up there, until Grandpa Joe realizes that burping will release the gasses, and they'll float back towards the floor. They both think they got away with it, until the end of the movie.
There's also a point in the movie when Wonka shares a secret candy with his visitors - Everlasting Gobstoppers. It's a candy that won't dissolve no matter how long people suck on them. They're "everlasting!"
He makes each child promise not to let theirs fall into the hands on his adversarial competitor, Slugworth, as that would lead to Wonka's ruin.
At the end of the movie (SPOILER for those living in caves over the last 40 or so years and haven't seen this movie), when Charlie goes to collect his life time supply of chocolate promised him when he found the Golden Ticket, Wonka refuses and calls both of them out for breaking the rules by stealing some of his fizzy lifting drink. He tells them that they touched the sterile walls which now have to be sanitized. And according to the huge contract Charlie signed before the tour, the promise of chocolate is null and void as a result.
"You get nothing! You lose!" he shouts at Charlie and his Grandpa Joe.
Grandpa Joe grows angry and vengeful calling Wonka a crook and tries to retaliate by telling his grandson, "C'mon Charlie, if Slugworth wants a Gobstopper, he'll get one!"
But though Charlie already broke a rule, he's not about to break a promise.
Instead, he defies his own grandfather and through his actions admits what he did. He turns back to Wonka, and hands him his Gobstopper. Why? Because Charlie knows he doesn't deserve it for breaking this one rule.
In my more youthful days, I saw this as Charlie loosing his appreciation for Wonka. I thought his returning the Gobstopper meant he simply didn't care for him anymore. But that really doesn't make sense as it would be a really conceited action. Though Charlie isn't a perfect child, he's certainly not conceited and dense like the other kids on the tour.
And unlike the other kids who broke a rule or two, Charlie fesses up as expressed in his actions. That's what made him stand out above the rest.
"So shines a good dead in a weary world" Wonka says to himself when he's given back the Gobstopper.
As Charlie is honest and humble enough to take responsibility for his own actions, and give
something up because he knows he no longer deserves it, Wonka praises him. His honesty and integrity is just the sort of characteristics Wonka wants in a successor for his factory.
Wonka doesn't reward Charlie for stealing. He initially chastises him by denying him the reward - the lifetime supply of chocolate.
"So shines a good dead in a weary world" Wonka says to himself when he's given back the Gobstopper.
As Charlie is honest and humble enough to take responsibility for his own actions, and give
Wonka doesn't reward Charlie for stealing. He initially chastises him by denying him the reward - the lifetime supply of chocolate.
But he rewards Charlie for admitting to what he did, and giving back what he was originally privileged to get but is no longer deserving of. A penitential act, indeed.
If Wonka wanted an absolutely flawless child, he'd never find one.
Incidentally, this is something I hated, hated, hated in Tim Burton's remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Charlie Bucket in Burton's version is portrayed as absolutely flawless. He's so squeaky clean, Charlie is left being completely unrelatable. I mean, he's so perfect, I'm surprised Burton's movie doesn't end with Charlie rising from the dead to redeem us all.
Charlie Bucket in Burton's version is portrayed as absolutely flawless. He's so squeaky clean, Charlie is left being completely unrelatable. I mean, he's so perfect, I'm surprised Burton's movie doesn't end with Charlie rising from the dead to redeem us all.
There are good kids, but no kid is flawless. Whether a child is a good child can be determined by how they deal with their shortcomings, and work to overcome them. This is what distinguishes Charlie from the other kids in the original 1971 version, making him the better choice for a successor to Wonka.
With Burton's movie, there's nothing for Charlie to overcome. Burton's Charlie just takes the tour, looks innocent and cute, watches the other kids get picked off one by one, and then gets his reward. Boring! No lessons. Nothing for audiences to take away. The entire movie is a hot mess, but that's another blog post for another day.
The idea that Wonka simply rewards Charlie despite his misdeed completely misses the point of the ending. So, because of his honesty and humility, he deserved the factory when all was said and done.
The idea that Wonka simply rewards Charlie despite his misdeed completely misses the point of the ending. So, because of his honesty and humility, he deserved the factory when all was said and done.
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