List of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory characters
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This is a list of characters in the 1964 Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, his 1972 sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and the former's film adaptations, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (2017), and Wonka (2023). Listings include actors who have played the characters in various media.
Main characters
Willy Wonka
In the novels and films, Willy Wonka is the eccentric owner of the world's largest candy factory, making candy and chocolate. Wonka holds a contest, hiding 5 Golden Tickets within the wrappers of his chocolate bars, promising their finders a tour of his factory and a lifelong supply of his creations.
In the novels, Wonka has a black goatee and "marvelously" bright eyes, a high and "flutey" voice, a face "alight of fun and laughter", and quick little jerky movements "like a squirrel". He is enthusiastic, talkative, friendly and charming, but is sometimes insensitive and has been given to glossing self-criticism.[1]
In the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, he is portrayed by Gene Wilder. While his personality remains generally the same as in the original but sometimes sinister and a mad man, he is more melancholy here, and frequently quotes books and poems, including William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ("Is it my soul that calls upon my name?") or John Masefield's "Sea-Fever" ("All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by"), and the famous "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker" from "Reflections on Ice-Breaking" by Ogden Nash, among many others. Toward the end of the film, he tests Charlie's conscience by reprimanding him and pretending to deny him any reward, but assumes an almost paternal role when Charlie proves to be honest after all.[2] In the 2017 film Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, adapting the 1971 film but with the addition of Tom and Jerry, he is voiced by J. P. Karliak.
In the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he is portrayed by Johnny Depp. In this version, a backstory was added which reveals his troubled upbringing: Willy Wonka's father (being a dentist) would not let him eat sweets because of the potential risk to his teeth, and the young Wonka ran away from home to travel to Switzerland and Bavaria and become a chocolatier. At the end of the film, Wonka reconciles with his father, who is revealed to have collected newspaper clippings of his son's success.[3]
In the 2023 film Wonka, he is portrayed by Timothée Chalamet. The film tells a standalone origin story of the character about his early days as a chocolatier. In this version, a new backstory was added which reveals his even more troubled upbringing: Willy Wonka's mother (who made chocolate bars) had died and the young Wonka traveled to Europe to open his own chocolate shop. At the end of the film, after exposing the crimes of the local Chocolate Cartel, Wonka opens the last chocolate bar his mother left him, which is revealed to contain a golden paper with a message telling him that chocolate is best shared with others. He and Lofty, an Oompa Loompa, would then acquire an abandoned castle to commence building a new factory.
Charlie Bucket
Charlie Bucket is the second main character of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, its sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and the film adaptations of these books. Dahl's widow said that Charlie was originally intended to be black.[4][5] He is depicted as a kind-hearted and selfless boy who lives in poverty with his mother, father and his four grandparents. In the original film, he has a newspaper route after school; his father is not mentioned and his mother cares for him as a solo parent. He and his family follow the progress of the hunt for the Golden Tickets in newspapers and television. In the 2005 film, Charlie's father is revealed to have lost his job at a toothpaste factory, having been made redundant after the factory purchased a robot to do the job that he had, only to be rehired as a technician. Unlike the first four finalists, Charlie is honest and generous; he is actually worried if the other nasty children such as Augustus and Veruca will actually be alive after their ordeals. This positive depiction of an honest caring young boy contradicted how Dahl negatively portrayed Oompa-Loompas as a racist stereotype of imported African slaves.[6] In the 1971 film, Charlie was portrayed by Peter Ostrum, in his only film appearance. In the 2005 film, Charlie was portrayed by Freddie Highmore.[7]
Grandpa Joe
Grandpa Joe is one of Charlie's four bed-ridden grandparents. He tells Charlie (and the reader) the story of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and the mystery of the secret workers. When Charlie finds the Golden Ticket, Grandpa Joe leaps out of bed in joy and is chosen as the one to accompany Charlie on the tour of the factory. In the sequel book, he and all members of Charlie's family ride with Charlie and Wonka in the Great Glass Elevator and assist the rescue of the Commuter Capsule from the Vermicious Knids.[8] Grandpa Joe's age is given as "ninety-six and a half" in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, making him the eldest of Charlie's grandparents, but in the musical, it is stated he is almost ninety and a half.
The character was played by Jack Albertson in the 1971 film adaptation Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In this film, he is often excitable, paranoid, and stubborn, and convinces Charlie to sneak away from the tour to try Fizzy Lifting Drinks. He becomes angry when Charlie is dismissed without reward and threatens to give the everlasting gobstopper to Slugworth before Charlie returns it of his own volition.[2]
The character was played by David Kelly in the 2005 film adaptation, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Veteran actor Gregory Peck was originally selected to play the role, but he died in 2003 before filming began. This version of the character is written as more calm than the 1971 version. An original backstory to Grandpa Joe's past was added to Tim Burton's film, wherein it is said that Joe worked for Wonka until the latter fired all his workers from his factory due to constant corporate espionage by rival confectionery manufacturers. When he returns to the factory with Charlie for the tour and stated that he used to work for him, Wonka asks if he was one of the spies working for one of his rivals. Joe assures he wasn't and Wonka welcomes him back.[3]
While Grandpa Joe is portrayed sympathetically in all versions, the release of the 2005 film saw the character become the subject of heavy internet parody characterizing him as a "lazy freeloader who spends years in bed...then springs to life the moment there’s something fun for him to do."[9][10]
Other golden ticket winners
Augustus Gloop
Augustus Gloop is an obese, greedy, 9-year-old boy, the first person to find a Golden Ticket and one of the four main antagonists of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He hails from the fictional town of Dusselheim, West Germany in the 1971 film, and Düsseldorf, Germany in the 2005 film. His mother takes great pride in his gluttonous eating and seems to enjoy the attention of the media. In the novel and both films, he is portrayed as "enormously fat". Augustus is the first to be removed from the tour: while drinking from the Chocolate Room's Chocolate River, he accidentally falls into the river and is drawn through a pipe to the factory's Fudge Room. His parents are summoned to retrieve him from the mixing-machine. In the book, he is depicted leaving the factory extremely underweight from being squeezed in the pipe.
In the 1971 film, despite eating constantly, he is not as obese as he is in the book and has decent table manners. Although he appears uninterested in Charlie and the other three finalists due to his only aspiration being that of eating, he is seen as being polite to them. When Augustus falls into the chocolate river, Charlie tries to rescue him using a giant lollipop. He is portrayed by Michael Böllner in this film. Since Böllner could not speak fluent English at the time of the film's production, the 1971 Augustus has fewer lines and less screen time.
In the 2005 film, Augustus is always shown consuming chocolate. He has a binge eating disorder and often has food smeared on his face, additionally, his obesity is far more severe than the 1971 portrayal, causing him to have a slower, lumbering walk relative to the other children. He also displays a superiority complex, such as when he offers Charlie a bite of his Wonka Bar and then retracts it, saying that Charlie should have brought some himself. As in the book, he is shown leaving the factory underweight toward the end of the story; but in this version, he is his normal size, licking his fingers to remove the adherent chocolate that he is still coated in, to which his mother begs him to stop, but Augustus refuses, saying that he tastes "so good". The actor, Philip Wiegratz, wore a fatsuit for the production.
In the book, both of Augustus's parents accompany him to the factory. Both film versions contradict this, however, and only his mother goes with him.
In the 2013 London musical, Augustus Gloop is known as "the Bavarian Beefcake" in his Alpine community. His mother and father indulge his eating habits with sweets and pieces of sausage of which they (and sometimes Augustus) butcher themselves. In his number, "More of Him to Love", Frau Gloop reveals that she had vital organs removed to retrieve Augustus from the womb. They arrive at the factory wearing traditional Eastern European clothing, with Augustus in a red, argyle sweater and green shorts. When Augustus falls into the Chocolate River, Wonka summons the diversionary pumping system to divert the flow, while Oompa-Loompas dressed in red boiler suits sing, "Auf Wiedersehen, Augustus Gloop", as they prepare the chocolate, while Augustus travels through the main industrial pipe, occasionally getting stuck in it. The 2017 Broadway rendition of the musical does not largely alter the character, though he and all the other finalists (sans Charlie) are portrayed by adults. Further, Augustus's father is confirmed to be deceased; it is implied that Augustus actually devoured him.
Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt is a greedy, demanding, spoiled brat and one of the four main antagonists of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She demands everything she wants, and she wants everything she sees. Veruca is the second person to find a Golden Ticket and the third eliminated from the factory tour.
Unlike the other winners, Veruca did not find a golden ticket herself; rather her father instructed the workers of his peanut shelling factory to unwrap thousands of Wonka bars he had purchased until they found a golden ticket.
Showing her wealthy parents no mercy, and no regard for other people's property, Veruca frequently pesters her parents to purchase anything that catches her fancy. For example, when the tour reaches the Nut Sorting Room — a place where trained squirrels test each nut to see if it is good or bad by tapping it with their knuckles — Veruca demands that her parents buy a trained squirrel for her from Mr. Wonka. He refuses, so she goes into the squirrels' area to get one for herself. Instead, the squirrels grab her and declare her a "bad nut". After that, both she and her parents are thrown down the garbage chute. Later, all three Salts are seen exiting the factory "covered in garbage".
In the 1971 film adaptation, Veruca has a fiery temper, rudely demands various desires nonstop, brags about her wealth, and chastises anyone who questions her. In this film, it is not squirrels but geese that lay special golden chocolate-filled eggs for Easter, one of which she demands. In this version, Veruca and Violet bicker on two occasions. There are also indications that she and her father have accepted Slugworth's proposition: in the Inventing Room, she and her father exchange a quick but meaningful look when Mr. Wonka first mentions and shows his Everlasting Gobstoppers, and when Mr. Wonka makes the children promise never to reveal or even talk to anyone about the Gobstoppers he gives them Veruca verbally agrees but crosses her fingers behind her back. Veruca is eliminated at the end of her musical number ("I Want it Now"[11]) after climbing a machine designed to tell whether or not the golden eggs are "good" or "bad" eggs. The machine judges her as a "bad egg", and she disappears down the garbage chute. Her father, who tried to rescue Veruca, is judged the same and follows suit.
In the 2005 film adaptation, Veruca's elimination remains nearly the same as in the book, with only a few changes. Her demeanor is less vehement, but more obnoxious and manipulative, as compared to the 1971 film version. Also in the 2005 film, it is revealed that she owns a pony, two dogs, four cats, six rabbits, two parakeets, three canaries, a parrot, a turtle, and a hamster, totaling up to 21 pets. The pony is not mentioned in the book. When Veruca tries to take one of the trained squirrels used by Wonka to select the best nuts to bake into chocolate bars, she is knocked down by all the squirrels, judged as a "bad nut" and discarded into the garbage chute, with her dad following after when a squirrel pushed him in as he approached the chute. Both are later seen leaving the factory covered in garbage, with Veruca's father trying with extraordinary effort to contain his visible anger against her.
When leaving the factory, Veruca sees the Great Glass Elevator and demands one from her father. Instead of cheerfully catering to Veruca's demands as before, her father tells her sternly that the only thing she will be getting that day "is a bath, and that’s final". Not only has his opinion of Veruca changed, but he also changes his ways of disciplining her, having realized how much he and his wife have spoiled her. When Veruca protests, he fiercely glares at her, prompting her to be quiet.
Veruca's nationality was never specified in Dahl's novel, but she hails from an upper-class family in the United Kingdom in both films, and in the 2005 film she lives in Buckinghamshire. In the book, both of Veruca's parents accompany her to the factory; in both film versions, only her father accompanies her.
In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Veruca Salt is a British billionaire's daughter, dressed in a pink ballerina tutu and baby seal fur coat – "clubbed and tickled pink". Her father, Sir Robert Salt, is portrayed as a spineless dolt for giving his daughter her wishes. In the Nut Sorting Room, Veruca runs afoul of the nut-testing squirrels who deem her a 'bad nut' when she tries to steal one of them. This summons oversized squirrels with Oompa-Loompas riding on their backs. They sing a nightmarish ballad, "Veruca's Nutcracker Sweet",[12] that concludes with Veruca and her father sent down the garbage chute; it has similar lyrics to the original book – although in the book version, both of Veruca parents follow her down the garbage chute. In the Broadway version, Veruca's nationality is changed to Russian, and the squirrels tear her apart limb by limb, but Wonka assures the group that the Oompa-Loompas will be able to put her back together again.
In the Tom and Jerry version of the 1971 film, Veruca's role is the same. Veruca and her father along with Jerry and Tuffy manage to escape the furnace right before it ignites while trapping Tom inside. Veruca demands her father to take her home and buy her a chocolate factory of her own. Having had enough of Veruca's spoiled and selfish behaviour, Mr. Salt finally decides to discipline her as the near-death experience that they have both gone through seems to have finally gotten to him, stating that she is lucky that they weren't incinerated.
Violet Beauregarde
Violet Beauregarde is a skillful, self-centered, rude, and chewing gum-obsessed girl, the third person to find a Golden Ticket, one of the four main antagonists of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the second to be eliminated from the tour. Violet chews gum obsessively and boasts that she has been chewing the same piece "for three months solid", a world record which Violet proclaims was previously held by her best friend Cornelia Prinzmetel. She is also aggressively competitive and prideful and has won trophies for gum chewing and other activities. She has brown hair in the 1971 film, while in the 2005 film, she has blonde hair. In the 1971 film, she is shown to be from Miles City, Montana, while in the 2005 film, she is from Atlanta, Georgia.
When Wonka shows the group around the Inventing Room, he stops to display a new type of gum he is working on. The gum doubles as a three-course meal which is composed of tomato soup, roast beef and a baked potato, and blueberry pie and ice cream. Violet is intrigued and eager to try it out, so despite Wonka's protests, she snatches and chews the gum. She is delighted by its effects but, when she reaches the dessert, blueberry pie, her skin starts turning an indigo color and her body begins to swell up. When her swelling stops, she resembles a round blueberry, causing Wonka to have the Oompa-Loompas roll her to the Juicing Room to have the juice squeezed out of her. She is last seen leaving the factory with the other children, restored to her normal size but still with indigo skin, which Wonka says nothing can be done about.
In the 1971 film, 12-year-old[13] Violet is impatient, arrogant, self-centred, vain, and impulsive; however, she is also polite to everyone, with the exception of Veruca Salt, with whom she persistently argues. She is accompanied by her father, Sam Beauregarde, a fast-talking car salesman who tries to advertise his business whenever he can. She demeans Cornelia Prinzmetel more than she did in the book. Her blueberry form is relatively small, and her hair color remains unchanged. Violet is informed that she must be juiced immediately before she explodes and is last seen en route to the Juicing Room, and her father follows after, crying, "I've got a blueberry for a daughter!"
In the 2005 film, 10-year old Violet is described as being "brash, rude and insanely competitive".[14] Aside from gum-chewing, she also has many other interests that reflect her obsession with always winning, such as in karate. She is accompanied by her single mother, Scarlett Beauregarde (a former baton champion herself), whose own competitive personality appears to have had an influence on her daughter, as Scarlett expresses pride over Violet's 263 trophies and medals. Cornelia Prinzmetel was not mentioned in this film. In this version, when she and Veruca interact with each other, they suggest being best friends, though they do not really like each other. Violet is also shown to be anti-social and malicious, such when she briefly insults Charlie, snatching a piece of confectionery from his hand and calling him a loser when he tries to interact with her. She turns blue, although her lips remain red, her eyes and hair (and clothing) turn blue, and swells up into a 10-foot blueberry before being rolled off to the Juicing Room by the Oompa-Loompas to squeeze the juice out of her body. Violet is shown leaving the factory gymnastically cartwheeling as a consequence of her increased flexibility, which she is actually happy about, although her mother is less than pleased with her daughter's possibly permanently indigo colour.
In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Violet Beauregarde is portrayed as an African-American, Californian fame-hungry wannabe, with her agent/father Eugene Beauregarde parlaying her mundane talent of gum chewing into celebrity status, with multitude of endorsements including her own TV show, line of perfume, and a clothing boutique franchise. Her theme is called "The Double-Bubble Duchess". It is revealed that Violet's chewing "skill" was picked up when she was a baby and her mother tried to get her to stop talking all the time. Violet and her father are escorted by an entourage to the factory entrance. Violet comes dressed in a sparkly purple and pink disco jumper and a pink backpack. Upon swelling in the influence of the experimental gum (which consisted of tomato soup, roast chicken, potatoes and gravy, Fizzy Orange, cheese and crackers and blueberry pie), she panics and runs away as the Oompa-Loompas break into a disco number, "Juicy", and roller skate along the stage as Violet lifts into the air, resembling a giant purple disco ball. Mr. Beauregarde phones his lawyer excitedly, with intent to profit from Violet's new size, until Violet explodes. Wonka's only reassurance of her survival is the prospect of rescuing the pieces and de-juicing them. In the Broadway version, the song "Juicy" is cut out (the only child-exit song to be cut from the London version), and Violet instead becomes a blueberry and explodes in the background when an Oompa-Loompa blows an air-dart at her while Wonka explains how he met the Oompa-Loompas to the group.
Mike Teavee
Mike Teavee is a 9-year-old boy who does nothing but watch television, both the fourth Golden Ticket finder and the fourth to be eliminated from the tour, and one of the four main antagonists of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was described as adorned with 18 toy pistols that he "fires" while watching gangsters on TV. He is bad-tempered and slothful, but also intelligent, and asks Wonka several questions (which go unanswered) throughout the tour. How he found his Golden Ticket is never explained in the book or the 1971 film, as he is too absorbed in his television viewing to talk to the press about it. In the 2005 film, he does have an explanation on how he found the Golden Ticket: he used an algorithm to find it as an intellectual exercise. In the book, both of Mike's parents tour the factory with him. During a display of miniaturisation technology, used to transport chocolate, Mike shrinks himself to a tiny size, and Willy Wonka has an Oompa-Loompa take the Teavee family to the Gum-Stretcher Room to get Mike stretched back to normal. Mike is last seen exiting the factory, now "ten feet tall and thin as a wire" because the Oompa-Loompas had overstretched him. His last name resembles the word TV in connection to his love of electronics.
In the 1971 film, Mike is played by Paris Themmen and his surname is spelled "Teevee" in the credits. Mike is nine years old and accompanied to the factory by his high-strung mother. He is from the fictional town of Marble Falls, Arizona, enjoys Western films and wears cowboy attire. He makes constant references to television shows throughout the factory tour and comes across as somewhat of a know-it-all. Although easily annoyed, he does not have any major anger issues and gets along relatively well with the other kids. After being shrunk to 3 inches (7.6 cm), Mike is taken to the Taffy Pulling Room to be stretched back to normal, which causes his mother to faint. Unlike the book, he (on the advice of his mother) is receptive to Slugworth's bribe.
In the 2005 film, 13-year-old Mike is portrayed by Jordan Fry, and his interests are updated to being very destructive, with the Internet and video games (especially gory first-person shooters) in addition to television viewing.[15] In this version, he is from Denver, Colorado, is accompanied by his father, and is portrayed as more disrespectful and violent. In the Chocolate Room, when Wonka told everyone to enjoy his candy, he did not eat anything, instead he was stomping on a candy pumpkin, completely destroying it in the process, and when Mr. Teavee told him to stop, he ignores him with a brief sentence: "Dad, he said 'enjoy'!" Also, whenever he says something critical of Wonka's company, or his ideas, Wonka reacts as if Mike is mumbling, even though he does not. He is able to find the Golden Ticket by using math and logic, though he admits that he does not even like chocolate. When Mike demands to know why candy is pointless, Charlie tries to reason with him, saying candy does not have to have a point, then he exclaims that candy is a waste of time (like Wonka's father), but then Wonka's flashback reappears again. When they arrive in the Television Chocolate Room, Mike points that Wonka could use his teleportation device to revolutionise mankind, as opposed to distributing his products, ignoring the fact that anything sent by television gets shrunk. When Mr. Teavee tries to reason with his son, the boy insults Wonka and sends himself by television. After the incident in the Television Chocolate Room, Willy Wonka has an Oompa-Loompa take Mr. Teavee and Mike to the Taffy-Puller Room to have Mike stretched back to normal. When Mike and his father are later seen leaving the factory, Mike is 10 ft (3 m) tall, as well as incredibly thin and flat.
In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Mike Teavee (now age 10) lives in a suburban neighbourhood with his disinterested father Norman Teavee and neurotic, alcoholic mother, Doris Teavee; in this version, he is wearing a black shirt with an orange jacket on the outside. Their opening number, "It's Teavee Time!" has Mrs. Teavee presenting her family as a normal, functioning household, downplaying Mike's violent tendencies like setting a cat on fire, chloroforming a nurse, and stealing a German tank. In the Department of the Future, where Wonka transmits chocolate by television, Mike jumps into the machine and transmits himself, much to his mother's horror. Wonka summons the monitors to see on which channel Mike has ended, as the Oompa-Loompas rave around the room, singing, "Vidiots". Near the end, Mrs. Teavee joins the rave, as they conclude that Mike still has a future on "mike.com". When Mike is shrunk as a result of the transporter, Mrs. Teavee happily takes him home, as he can no longer cause trouble and she can take care of him like when he was a baby. Unlike the other versions, he wasn't stretched back to normal. In the Broadway version of the musical, Mike hails from Iowa, and the lyrics in Mike's song and some of Mike's mannerisms reference Donald Trump. In the musical, he is the only one out of the four spoiled children to be confirmed leaving the factory.
Other characters
Mr. Fickelgruber
| Mr. Fickelgruber | |
|---|---|
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | Tony Kirkwood (2005) Mathew Baynton (2023) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
In the book, Mr. Fickelgruber is one of Willy Wonka's rival chocolatiers. Fickelgruber, alongside Wonka's other main rivals Mr. Prodnose and Arthur Slugworth, sent in spies to steal the secret recipes to Wonka's treats where they manufactured it nearly ruining Wonka's factory. In Fickelgruber's case, he made an ice cream that never melted even in the hottest sun.
After Wonka re-opens his factory (operated exclusively by the Oompa-Loompas), Fickelgruber is never heard from again, but it is stated that he and the rest "would give his front teeth" to enter Wonka's inventing room for three minutes.
Fickelgruber makes a split-second appearance in the 2005 film portrayed by Tony Kirkwood.
Fickelgruber appears in the 2023 film portrayed by Mathew Baynton where his first name is Felix. He alongside Prodnose and Slugworth are members of the Chocolate Cartel.
Mr. Prodnose
| Mr. Prodnose | |
|---|---|
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | Chris Cresswell (2005) Matt Lucas (2023) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
In the book, Mr. Prodnose is one of Willy Wonka's rival chocolatiers. Prodnose, alongside Wonka's other main rivals Mr. Fickelgruber and Arthur Slugworth, sent in spies to steal the secret recipes to Wonka's treats where they manufactured it nearly ruining Wonka's factory. In Prodnose's case, he made a chewing gum that never lost its flavor.
After Wonka re-opens his factory (operated exclusively by the Oompa-Loompas), Prodnose is never heard from again, but it is stated that he and the rest "would give his front teeth" to enter Wonka's inventing room for three minutes.
Prodnose makes a split-second appearance in the 2005 film portrayed by Chris Cresswell.
Prodnose appears in the 2023 film portrayed by Matt Lucas where his first name is Gerald. He alongside Fickelgruber and Slugworth are depicted as members of the Chocolate Cartel.
Arthur Slugworth
| Arthur Slugworth | |
|---|---|
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | Philip Philmar (2005) Paterson Joseph (2023) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
In the book, Arthur Slugworth is one of Willy Wonka's rival chocolatiers. Slugworth, alongside Wonka's other main rivals Mr. Fickelgruber and Mr. Prodnose, sent in spies to steal the secret recipes to Wonka's treats where they manufactured their versions of it nearly ruining Wonka's factory. In Slugworth's case, he made candy balloons that could be blown to large sizes.
After Wonka re-opens his factory (operated exclusively by the Oompa-Loompas), Slugworth is never heard from again, but it is stated that he and the rest "would give his front teeth" to enter Wonka's inventing room for three minutes. In the 1971 movie, Willy Wonka states that Slugworth would give his false teeth to get in for just five minutes.
The real Slugworth makes a split-second appearance in the 2005 film where he, alongside Mr. Ficklegruber and Mr. Prodnose, are sending spies to steal ingredients from Wonka's factory just like in the book. He is here played by Philip Philmar in a scene where one of his spies meets up with him after work and gives him a copy of an ingredient.
Slugworth appears in the 2023 film portrayed by Paterson Joseph. He alongside Fickelgruber and Prodnose are depicted as members of the Chocolate Cartel. In addition, Slugworth is the uncle of an orphan named Noodle who he abandoned with the laundress Mrs. Scrubitt so that she wouldn't inherit her claim to the family fortune.
Mr. Wilkinson
| Mr. Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | Günter Meisner (1971) |
| Voiced by | Walker Edmiston (1971, uncredited) Mick Wingert (Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Arthur Slugworth |
| Gender | Male |
"Slugworth" has a role as an enigmatic villain in the 1971 film. Inside Bill's Candy Shop, Wonka's products and signs are the most visible; but Slugworth's Sizzlers are also prominent, and one is even sold to a child. Also seen are signs for Fickelgruber's candy. Grandpa Joe describes Slugworth as the worst of Wonka's rivals. As each Golden Ticket is found, a sinister man approaches the finder and whispers something into his or her ear. After Charlie finds the last ticket, the same man approaches Charlie as well, introduces himself as Arthur Slugworth, and offers the child a bribe to bring him one piece of the newly invented 'Everlasting Gobstopper', allowing him to copy the formula and prevent the future invention from ruining his business. Two of the children (Veruca and Mike) respond to Slugworth's bribe; but Charlie, when tempted, returns the Everlasting Gobstopper to Wonka. Wonka eventually reveals that the tempter is not the real Slugworth, but his own employee Mr. Wilkinson, and that his offer was a moral test of character. Slugworth/Wilkinson was played by Günter Meisner, a West German actor, while his speaking voice is provided by an uncredited Walker Edmiston.
In the Tom and Jerry version of the 1971 film, "Slugworth" is the main antagonist instead of an enigmatic villain. When he first meets Charlie, he sings a cover of Veruca's song "I Want it Now!" and also sings it as a duet with Veruca during her downfall. He teams up with Spike to steal a Gobstopper from the factory, but the two are thwarted by Charlie, Tom, and Jerry. Despite being more emphasised as a villain, he is still revealed to be Wonka's employee Mr. Wilkinson, much to Tom and Jerry's dismay. Nevertheless, the cat and mouse get the last word on Slugworth/Wilkinson and Spike by shrinking them with the Wonkavision[clarification needed].
Prince Pondicherry / Prince Puducherry
| Prince Pondicherry Prince Puducherry | |
|---|---|
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | Nitin Ganatra (2005) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
Prince Pondicherry (renamed Prince Puducherry[16] in controversially revised book version) is a prince who lives in India. He appears in the third chapter of the novel when Grandpa Joe is telling Charlie a story. In the story, Wonka makes him a chocolate palace in India, and advises him to eat it before it melts. He does not take this advice, insisting that he intends to live in the palace, which later does melt in the heat of the sun. His name derives from the city of Pondicherry (officially spelled Puducherry since 2006) in southeastern India.
He is absent from the 1971 film version, but makes a brief appearance in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where he is played by Nitin Ganatra. His story here matches that in the book, except in depicting his wife (portrayed by Shelley Conn). After his chocolate palace melted, the Prince wrote a letter to Wonka demanding a second chocolate palace that won't melt. He did not receive one due to Wonka dealing with problems of his own at the time when his rivals were sending spies to infiltrate his work force and get a copy of the specific ingredients.
In the 2013 musical, he drowns in the melted chocolate from his palace, along with his wife.
The Oompa-Loompas
The Oompa-Loompas (also written as Oompa Loompas) are small humans who were preyed upon by the various predators that reside in their homeland before Wonka invited them to work at his factory. They are paid in their favourite food, cocoa beans, which were extremely rare on their island.[17][18] The Oompa-Loompas are mischievous, "[thinking] everything's a colossal joke"; they love to play practical jokes and sing songs which, according to Wonka, they are very good at improvising. They sing a song at the end of each child's comeuppance.
In early editions of the novel, the Oompa-Loompas (originally called "Whipple-Scrumpets" before publication[19]) are shown as black African pygmies. In the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory they were written to be played by actors with dwarfism and are portrayed as orange-skinned, green-haired men in striped shirts and baggy lederhosen-like pants following criticism from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that the importation of African Oompa-Loompas into the factory had overtones of slavery. Following the film's release, Dahl defended himself against accusations of racism but found himself sympathising with the NAACP's comments.[4] In 1973, Dahl rewrote them to be white-skinned.[17]
In both editions, despite working in the factory, the Oompa-Loompas insist on maintaining their native clothing: men wear animal skins, women wear leaves, and children wear nothing.
In the 1971 film, they were portrayed by Rudy Borgstaller, George Claydon, Malcolm Dixon, Rusty Goffe, Ismed Hassan, Norman McGlen, Angelo Muscat, Pepe Poupee, Marcus Powell, and Albert Wilkinson.[20][21]
In the 2005 film, the Oompa-Loompas are all played by Deep Roy and are virtually identical. They wear their tribal clothing during their time in Loompaland, and typical factory worker uniforms in Wonka's factory. Some of the female Oompa-Loompas, like Doris, work in the administration offices. In the remake, Willy Wonka explained to the visitors how the Oompa-Loompas were hired to work in the factory and Wonka even visits Loompaland in a flashback sequence.[citation needed]
In the 2023 film, the Oompa-Loompas are embodied by the solitary Lofty, portrayed by Hugh Grant, who seeks to hunt down Wonka to repay his debt of "precious cocoa beans" taken from his people, before founding Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory with him.[22] While Grant's portrayal reprised the orange skin and green hair of the 1971 film, both were colored with digital effects rather than make-up or wigs.[23]
The Vermicious Knids
The Vermicious Knids are a fictional species of amorphous aliens that invade the "Space Hotel USA" in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
They are also mentioned in the 1971 feature film adaptation, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, but only as predators of the Oompa-Loompas.
In the book, Vermicious Knids are huge, dark, egg-shaped predators who swallow their victims whole, and are capable of surviving and moving at great speed in the vacuum of space. Although normally oviform, they can assume any shape at will, while retaining their native texture and features. They originate (according to Mr. Wonka) on the planet Vermes, a fictional planet located (in dialogue) 184,270,000,000 miles (2.9655×1011 kilometres) from Earth (52 times Pluto's distance). In the presence of victims, they cannot resist shaping themselves to spell out the word "SCRAM" (the only Earth word that they know) before they attack. They are stated to be extremely voracious, having devoured entire races that lived on Mars, Venus, the Moon, and many other planets; they only avoid Earth because entering the atmosphere causes them to burn up via atmospheric friction.
In Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, a swarm of Knids take possession of the new "Space Hotel USA". When the transport capsule brings the staff to the Space Hotel, the Knids consume some of the staff, and the survivors retreat to the capsule. There, the Knids bludgeon the capsule with their own bodies, until its retrorockets and communications are useless; whereupon Wonka, Charlie, and Grandpa Joe connect the capsule to the Elevator, in hope of towing it to Earth. One Knid wraps itself around the Elevator while the others form a chain, intending to draw the Elevator and the capsule away. The Elevator quickly returns to Earth, and the Knids are incinerated (into "shooting Knids") in Earth's atmosphere.
When Nestlé created its interpretation of Wonka's world to sell chocolate bars under the name "Wonka", they released a number of downloadable flash games, wherein Knids seemed to have entered the factory and had the appearance of flying green blobs with single red eyes.
The etymology of the name was not provided by Dahl. Pronunciation of Knid is said in the book to approximate adding a schwa between the "K" and "nid", or in Dahl's words, "K'nid". Cnidaria is the name of the taxonomic phylum containing stinging aquatic invertebrates such as jellyfish and corals, in turn derived from the classical Greek word for nettle, κνίδη. Vermicious is a real word, meaning "worm-like".
The Vermicious Knids are also mentioned in other Dahl stories, including James and the Giant Peach (where the New York City Police Department misidentify Miss Spider as one) and The Minpins.
Introduced in different adaptations
Mr. Turkentine
| Mr. Turkentine | |
|---|---|
| Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | David Battley (1971) |
| Voiced by | Sean Schemmel (Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
Mr. Turkentine is Charlie Bucket's school teacher and appears in the 1971 film, but not in the book or the 2005 film. He has an odd sense of humour, which he uses to express knowledge. He asks Charlie to assist him in making a medicine using several scientific elements for the class, but the project is interrupted due to the frantic Golden Ticket search for Willy Wonka. Mr. Turkentine, when hearing the news about the Golden Tickets during the project, dismisses the class and runs out. Later, when it is revealed that all of the tickets have supposedly been found ending with a Paraguayan millionaire, he decides to use Wonka bars as an example to teach his class about percentages. He uses a few students as examples for the class, including Charlie. Charlie, however, reveals that he only opened two Wonka bars during the search and so, to help make it easier for his class, as he reveals that: "Well I can't figure out just two!" decides to pretend that Charlie opened 200.
Mr. Turkentine is played by British actor David Battley.
Dr. Wilbur Wonka
| Dr. Wilbur Wonka | |
|---|---|
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character | |
| First appearance | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) |
| Created by | John August |
| Portrayed by | Christopher Lee |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
Dr. Wilbur Wonka, D.D.S. is the estranged father of Willy Wonka in the 2005 film adaptation.
The town's prized dentist, Wilbur imposed strict rules on his son, going as far as putting him in cramped braces to prevent him from consuming sweets. When Willy announced that he wanted to travel to Switzerland and Bavaria to become a chocolatier (against his father's wishes), Dr. Wonka allowed him to leave, but told him that he wouldn't be there when Willy returned. True to his word, Dr. Wonka's building was later found to no longer be in its usual spot.
Decades later, the elder Wonka is even revealed to have collected newspaper clippings documenting his son's success when his building was found by Charlie and Willy somewhere in the arctic. When Dr. Wonka examines his son's teeth, he recognizes him and they reconcile.
Dr. Wonka is portrayed by Christopher Lee.
References
- ^ Dahl, Roald (1964). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. George Allen & Unwin.
- ^ a b Stuart, Mel (director) (30 June 1971). Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Motion picture). Paramount Pictures.
- ^ a b Burton, Tim (director) (15 July 2005). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Motion picture). Warner Bros.
- ^ a b Siddique, Haroon (13 September 2017). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hero 'was originally black'". Theguardian.com.
- ^ Stack, Liam (15 September 2017). "Roald Dahl's Widow Says 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Hero Was Supposed to be Black". The New York Times.
- ^ Cameron, Eleanor (19 October 1972). "McLuhan, Youth, and Literature: Part I". The Horn Book. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ . Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Schaumburg, Illinois: American Veterinary Medical Association. 1 November 2000. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ Dahl, Roald (1972). Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Alfred A. Knopf.
- ^ Notopoulos, Katie (13 November 2014). "Grandpa Joe From "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" Is The Internet's Most Hated Man". BuzzFeed News.
- ^ Blevins, Joe (22 June 2016). "Read This: The hatred of Wonka's Grandpa Joe has only grown stronger". The A.V. Club.
- ^ "Julie Dawn Cole (Ft. Oompa Loompa Cast) – I Want It Now / Oompa Loompa" – via genius.com.
- ^ "Veruca's Nutcracker Sweet Lyrics". www.themusicallyrics.com.
- ^ Dahl, Roald (1970). Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (PDF) (Screenplay) – via scriptwritersnetwork.com.
- ^ August, John (2004). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (PDF) (Screenplay). Retrieved 28 September 2022 – via JohnAugust.com.
- ^ Kelly, Helen (25 January 2016). "You won't believe what Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Mike Teavee looks like now…". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Cumming, Ed; Buchanan, Abigail; Holl-Allen, Genevieve; Smith, Benedict (24 February 2023). "Roald Dahl rewritten: the hundreds of changes made to suit a new 'sensitive' generation". The Telegraph. from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ a b Chryl Corbin. "Deconstructing Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory : Race, Labor, and the Changing Depictions of the Oompa-Loompas" (PDF). Ourenvironment.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Anderson, Hephzibah. "The dark side of Roald Dahl". Bbc.com. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Slate, Jeff (12 September 2014). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 50 Years Later". Esquire.com. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ Goffe, Rusty (27 July 2005). "My life as an Oompa Loompa: 'Willy Wonka was my first and favourite film'". Theguardian.com.
- ^ Knott, Rebeka. "The Oompa Loompas Were African Slaves In The 1964 Book". Groovy History.
- ^ Tinoco, Armando (12 October 2023). "New Wonka Trailer: Timothée Chalamet Stands Up To The Bullies With Help From Oompa-Loompa Hugh Grant". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ Ito, Robert (15 December 2023). "Can the Oompa-Loompas Be Saved?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 December 2023.