I believe there were three names of rival candymakers mentioned in the book which stole secrets from Wonka- Slugworth, Ficklegruber, and one other one.
No … Summer should run the chocolate factory … even if she is a grade-grubber … .
I’m just wondering who’d WANT to spend time with Michael Jacks, er, Neo-Wonka.
Honestly, I wish Hollywood would leave well enough alone.
Hmm. Well, according to an article at Something Awful, Charlie has a lot more business acumen than y’all think…
I wonder if it was written before or after that SNL sketch that’s come up at least twice…
Oh, Mike Teavee, one day you will realize that entertainment exists in forms other than the visual.
Look at it this way. Given the suspiciously secretive nature of his enterprise, Wonka has to have any number of regulatory agencies trying to pry into this operations. Besides the already mentioned appauling labor conditions, he’s also demonstrated a gross disregard for food safety regulations (that open-air lake of lukewarm chocolate is a breeding ground for bacteria), basic R&D safety protocols (Mike and Violet have no problem getting into the middle of experiments in progress), and animal welfare standards (employing squirrels to sort nuts, under God-only-knows what kind of conditions). Also, that he’s been able to foot the bill to construct and maintain an elaborate, whimsical wonderland, when we know that he operates in a cutthroat candybar market that must have razor-thin profit margins, leads me to believe he’s probably got a revenue stream or two that the taxman doesn’t know about.
My bet is that he’s tumbled to the fact that he’s two steps ahead of an indictment, and the Golden Ticket campaign was created for two purposes. First, as a pre-emptive PR campaign to get the public on his side when the feds come crashing through the front gate. Second, to identify the perfect patsy to install at the head of the company for when it hits the fan. Charlie’s honest, a bit naieve, not particularly bright, and loyal to a fault. Wonka will pin everything on him. And while Charlie’s doing a dime in the pokey, Wonka will reluctantly come out of retirement to “clean up the mess” that his successor made of his beloved company.
Ken Lay would be proud.
Band name
Not to mention most of the kids barely got out of there alive…and I doubt certain government agencies would approve of chocolate being sold that a kid nearly(?) drowned in.(“I want you to go up there and poke around in the chocolate with a stick”)
I have no idea where in the world is my copy of the book, but I thought the reason why Willy Wonka picked Charlie is because he listened to instructions? Willy just wanted a kid who would listen to what he says, I guess.
At the end of the Wilder version, Wonka specifically says he could never get an adult to run the company because they would want to do it their way; he intentionally went hunting for a kid that would do things the Wonka way. So, yes, he wanted someone he could mold into his own image, who wouldn’t think for himself, who would be the perfect mini-Wonka.
[rough paraphrase]“Bring the child up in the way that he should go and he shall not depart from it…”[/rp]
Hey, I wouldn’t mind a factory run by Veruca Salt . Chocolate enfused with the power of music? Genius!!