This new “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” theory will make you want to return your Golden Ticket
There are more than just a few nutty Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory fan theories circling the internet. Some suggest Willy Wonka was a serial killer. Others say that the story is an homage to Dante’s Inferno. The latest Willy Wonka theory revolves around the infamous Golden Tickets, and comes from the brain of Reddit user Paulvs88.
Paulvs88 thinks that perhaps Wonka pre-planned Charlie Bucket finding the final Golden Ticket. In an effort to find a locally-based heir to the Wonka Factory with a good head on his shoulders, Wonka and his hired help set up a scenario to find the right kid for the job.
Gene Wilder played the reporter in Paraguay who declared all the Golden Tickets had been found. That implies that Wonka was disguised as the reporter and fabricated that information in order to set up his planned scheme for Charlie Bucket.
Like Wonka’s hired spy, Slugworth, Paulvs88 suggests that Bill the candy shop owner was also working for Wonka. He writes,
"Bill gives the kids candy and sells it as well. He reports to Wonka about everything. Wonka instructs Bill to give the last ticket to a local kid, a poor kid, an unselfish kid. Bill probably already knows these things about Charlie but just need to confirm them."
Charlie buys his Wonka bar from Bill, but before he leaves, Charlie remembers he wants to buy candy for his Grandpa Joe, too. Bill realizes that Charlie is the unselfish, poor child Wonka is looking for, and needing to give the last Golden Ticket away by the end of the day, Bill hands Charlie the Wonka bar from the display case. Paulvs88 writes,
"Charlie NEVER gets to choose what candy to buy grandpa Joe. Bill says 'here, try a traditional Wonka bar this time' and grabs one. He doesn't grab one from the stack as an owner would, he takes the display one and hands it to Charlie. He knew exactly which one had the ticket."
This theory doesn’t seem all that shocking and sinister right off the bat. But when you think about how Wonka pulled other kids into the mix, knowing all along that Charlie was going to win, you might start to see why this theory is a little dismal.
Wonka put the lives of four innocent kids in danger, all to keep an air of mystery around himself and his factory. Or perhaps Wonka had it out for these kids in the first place and used this competition, and Charlie, to punish them.
Maybe we’ll never know if any of these Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory theories actually hold water. But they certainly give people a lot to think about!
