Why did Willy Wonka lose it with Charlie and Grandpa Joe at the end?

“Why did Willy Wonka lose it with Charlie and Grandpa Joe at the end?” This was originally a question that I received on Quora.com a while back. I’m writing an answer here.

Why did Wonka lose it with Charlie and Grandpa Joe at the end of the movie?

Because you’re cherry-picking your “ending” of the movie. There’s more.

You must be referring to this:

Grandpa Joe: “Mr. Wonka?”
Willy Wonka: “I am extraordinarily busy, sir.”
Joe: “I just wanted to ask about the chocolate. …The lifetime supply of chocolate. For Charlie. When does he get it?”
Wonka: “He doesn’t.”
Joe: “Why not?”
Wonka: “Because he broke the rules.”
Joe: “What rules? We didn’t see any rules, did we Charlie?”
Wonka: “WRONG, SIR. WRONG! — Under section 37b of a contract signed by him, it states quite clearly that all offers shall become null and void if, and you can read it for yourself, in this photostatic copy; ‘I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained’ et cetera, et cetera ‘fax mentis incendium gloria cultum’ et cetera, et cetera ‘memo bis punitor delicatum!’

It’s all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You stole fizzy lifting drinks. You bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed, and sterilized, so you get nothing! You lose! Good day sir!”

Fig. 01). Charlie Bucket. Taken from the 1971 film.

But you’re missing a critical part beyond that scene.

Skip a little bit ahead, and you get:

Charlie Bucket: “Mr. Wonka.” [places down gobstopper and starts to walk away]
Wonka: “[whispers] So shines a good deed, in a weary world.

Charlie! My boy. You won! You did it!! You did it! I knew you would, I just knew you would. Oh, Charlie… Forgive me for putting you through this. Please, forgive me.

Come in, Mr. Wilkinson. Charlie — meet Mr. Wilkinson.”

“Slugworth”/Mr. Wilkinson: “Pleasure.”
Charlie: “Slugworth!”
Wonka: “No, no, that’s not Slugworth. He works for me.”
Charlie: “For you?”
Wonka: “I had to test you, Charlie. And you passed the test. You won!”

Fig. 02). Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson and Wonka. Taken from the 1971 film.

Willy Wonka was never truly mad at Charlie. He was yelling for the sake of the test. The whole point of his test, and the factory in general, was to find a good-hearted child to give the factory to. The ENTIRE thing was an elaborate scheme to weed out the ill-moraled greedy kids, and leave the good one in charge of his factory.

Bonus: Gene Wilder hated doing the yelling scene, because he had to yell at a child, and was afraid that that scene would tarnish his legacy.

And you’ll notice, if you watch the scene, that Gene doesn’t even look at Peter Ostrum (Charlie) while he is yelling, at all. Instead, he looks at Grandpa Joe.

How’s that, for condescending Wonka?

Fig. 03). “Condescending Wonka”. Taken from the 1971 film.

Willy Wonka: “But Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted.”

Charlie Bucket: “What happened?”

Willy Wonka: “He lived happily ever after.”

Fig. 04). Wonka-vator breaking the glass roof. Taken from the 1971 film.

Read my original Quora answer here: https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Willy-Wonka-lose-it-with-Charlie-and-Grandpa-Joe-at-the-end/answer/Helix-Possuelo

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