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Misconception About How Wonka Made His Choice.

posted 2 years ago by Sandman81 (1501)
5 replies | jump to latest

Most people think that when the 4 kids didn't heed Wonka's warnings and had their misfortunes, they were eliminated from the contest to win the lifetime supply of chocolate. Many people also argue that Charlie should have been eliminated for stealing the fizzy lifting drinks. However, that was the not the case. None of the kids were ever eliminated. Had the other kids been able to rejoin the group the way the Charlie did, they would have. The contest was 100% at Wonka's discretion. Even at the end when it was only Charlie left, he still could have just said "You know, Verucia, might be ok once she starts to understand that she can't get everything she wants. I'm picking her to give the factory too."

None of the kids were ever eliminated, and any of them still could have won, up until Charlie gave back the Everlasting Gobstopper. That was the only thing Wonka really cared about. Who could he trust? He didn't really care that Charlie drank lifting drinks, or that Verurca feel down a garbage shoot, he just wanted to know if they would sell his secrets.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7394) 2 years ago

Funnily enough, in the book he does end up giving all the kids a lifetime supply of chocolate. They didn't do that in either movie though.

[–] bistritapcv (1657) 2 years ago

I was wondering about that, but they didn't say he didn't. It was not mentioned whether or not they got the chocolate. And we can assume they didn't give the gob stopper back. But why should they give it back? They just promised not to show it to another living soul (or whatever), Wasn't it theirs to keep?

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12249) 2 years ago

He also still gave the losers their lifetime supplies of chocolate (at least that's what the book says) but you're right. It had almost nothing to do with how the kids actually behaved. It was all about trust. I find it particularly interesting that we never actually meet the real Slugworth; we meet a guy Wonka had hired to dress up and act like Slugworth to secretly test the kids. That makes Wonka extremely clever in my book, and makes the movie version even better-written than the book, because the book didn't have that part in there.

[–] Mikey (404) 2 years ago

Yes, you can thank screenwriter David Seltzer who added the Slugworth double agent plot. He also supplied the final line when Wonka asks Charlie, "Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he ever wanted." In the original screenplay, the final line of the movie was Grandpa Joe shouting, "Whoopee!" The director knew he couldn't end the movie with that, and he desperately searched for Seltzer, who was vacationing in Maine at the time. Seltzer then gave them their final line.

[–] wearsalan (5554) 2 years ago

No, most people don't think that. There was no contest as far as the kids were concerned. They had already won a lifetimes supply of chocolate and a visit to the factory for finding the golden tickets. What they didn't know was that Wonka was looking for a successor. Theories have floated around for years that the tickets were planted and that Charlie was always the one Wonka thought would be a worthy successor but none of that is relevant as there was no competition to be Wonkas successor. nor was there a competition for a lifetimes supply of chocolate.