Is Willy Wonka Evil In Charlie And The Chocolate Factory? 

When it comes to Willy Wonka, the consensus is that he is a crazy man. After all, he lets a lot of kids loose in his factory to pick a successor, so he has to be. We are introduced to Wonka as an eccentric, seemingly cruel man who doesn’t even blink when the children he invites to the factory are met with grim fates (even though said fates are supposedly not deadly) in both the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He just goes on to the next region and the next misfortune. His factory isn’t even in compliance with OSHA! What a jerk, with his outrageously unfair examinations and his obvious disdain for children’s lives! 

After all, Wonka never ought to have been referred to as a monster in the first place. Even if he seems a little odd and somewhat dismissively about what occurs in the movies, all that occurred to those children might have been prevented if only they and their parents hadn’t been so terrible. It’s the children, not Wonka, who is the monster in these movies.

The Kids In Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Are Not Alright But Does This Make Willy Wonka Evil? 

The thing most people point to when they call Wonka a monster: is his treatment of the kids. Gene Wilder’s Wonka tends to receive more hate than Johnny Depp’s in this department, most likely because Wilder’s portrayal was more exaggeratedly unhinged. Most people say that Wonka is a madman who stood by, uncaring, as the accidents occurred, and didn’t so much as lift a finger to help them. While “didn’t lift a finger to help” is accurate – he got the Oompa Loompas to handle the cleanup – “uncaring” isn’t. Wonka does indeed warn the children not to do certain things, such as leaning over the chocolate river and eating certain candies, presumably because he cares at least somewhat about their safety. 

He provides them with the means to avoid problems. He takes the necessary precautions, even if he does this to cover his ass.

“Accidents” is a genuinely dirty word, though. Nothing that occurred to any of the kids was a coincidence. They could have been avoided at all. The kids were warned, yet they disregarded all of the advice. Despite being warned not to tamper with the Chocolate River, Augustus plunged into the drain because he let his avarice take over. Violet is instructed not to chew the gum, but she becomes a gigantic blueberry because she feels she must. 

Even our main character, Charlie Bucket, commits this error, but unlike the others, he is shrewd enough to figure out a way out once he gets into difficulty.

Whether Willy Wonka Is Evil Or Not But Parents Aren’t All Right Either…

Children are, of course, products of those who raise them. To go on the tour and serve as their guardian, every child entering the factory is required to have an adult accompany them. But none of them performed their duties. None of those youngsters would have left with side effects that changed their lives if they had. While it was their responsibility to discipline the youngsters and ensure that they heeded Wonka’s advice, they behaved more like kids themselves, occasionally encouraging misbehavior and then sobbing when something unpleasant occurred. It clarifies the source of it for their kids.

But in all honesty, the parents’ main problem here is that they brought up their kids to be brats. They encourage their misbehavior and place the blame for the repercussions on Wonka, even if the latter is not responsible for the child’s incapacity to obey simple commands. It’s absurd that so many people hold Wonka responsible for everything; parents should be the ones to look after their children. Nobody is paid enough to perform that task on top of the one for which they were employed. Wonka is not a babysitter; he is a businessman conducting a tour.

The Kids Never Desevered To Take A Tour With “Evil” Willy Wonka

Ultimately, all of these tiny monsters—aside from Charlie—did not deserve to even be considered Wonka’s heir. In addition to their typical lack of manners, roughness, and selfishness, after speaking with Slugworth, they were all prepared to sail Wonka up the river. They were only interested in possessing something that very few other people had, and they had no interest in Wonka’s factory. They were unaware that Slugworth was working for Wonka when he gave them what they desired in exchange for the formula for the Everlasting Gobstopper (at least in the 1971 picture.) 

Even though it wasn’t in Wonka’s best interest to assist him steal trade secrets, they appeared to be fully on board with helping him rob the man who had graciously allowed them to tour his factory. Naturally, Charlie ultimately made the proper choice, establishing his suitability to succeed Wonka. The other four golden ticket winners, particularly Veruca, who didn’t even find her ticket, didn’t deserve to be there, in my opinion.

It’s not a monster, Wonka. Not only did he bring children to their doom, but he’s just a person searching for his heir. The kids and their parents disregarded him despite his obvious warnings. The children were spoiled, narcissistic, and disloyal. Wonka was gracious, but they took advantage of the situation to sabotage him. The parents believe they have the right to be angry when something horrible occurs and to blame Wonka, even if they do nothing to discipline their kids. The Golden Ticket winners and their guardians, not Wonka, are the real villains in the movies.