Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: A Hated Icon of Fatherly Kindness
And why this must change
One of the great mysteries of to-day is how kindly, genial Gene Wilder’s interpretation of Willy Wonka became known as a ‘villain’ and as an ‘icon of evil’. It is honestly one of the most impressive accomplishments by those seeking to subvert the Anglosphere (and much of the rest of the world) succeeded in turning this funny and charming figure into one of Satanic levels of sadism.
Quite how, I’m not sure. There is something in the psyche of a lot of people involved in the various movements populating the world that has seen them turn against the slightest form of discipline.
And this is really what Willy Wonka offered those children who wandered into his halls; discipline that they honestly sorely lacked. Only Charlie was worthy and this lies in the fact that he was kind, patient and had honestly led a life of poverty and difficulty where the others hadn’t. Poverty had taught him many hard lessons, with Charlie having to even at an early age earn his place, and earn every penny and nickel.
Even the parents in some cases were undisciplined prats, so that one could see in the film the struggle that Wonka was going through. Searching for an heir, he is shown to be surrounded by vultures in the form of these parents and children, and has to naviguate dangerous waters.
Likely he’d be taken to court for imaginary crimes were he operating to-day, due to his strict adherence to traditional ideas about honour, goodness and that word again; discipline.
When first introduced he’s playful, and seems to have a genuine love for his factory which is something of a ‘fantasy’ castle in some ways. It is closer to the sort of place you might find in Oz than in 1970s England or America.
The punishments the children and parents trip and find their way into, is often of their own design with Wonka making arrangements that they survive no matter what. And in the film when Grandpa Joe and Charlie cheat, he gets angry and is evidently more upset than with any of the other children.
Why is this?
Well, it’s an easy question to answer. Thematically he’s not some distant mentor like say Gandalf is towards the Fellowship but instead a much closer figure.
Simply put Willy Wonka IS the thematic Father of Charlie. Certainly, they are not biologically related, but it is evident that he intends to adopt Charlie, so that he might retire and enjoy in his old age what he has not had the chance to enjoy in his youth.
He takes to Charlie because Charlie is the only one who honours him as one might one’s father, demonstrating that one virtue that seems wholly lost in recent days in so many parts of the world; filial piety.
Willy Wonka for his part returns the sentiment, and treats Charlie with honour, respect and of course a sense of duty. He is quick to become fond of Charlie, so that in several scenes you can see him going from treating all the children equally to giving the child some measure of special treatment.
Is his act of special treatment or affection wrong? No, why? Because Charlie honours him and the Oompa Loompas and treats all with kindly affection. Charlie to be honest is the mirror image of Willy Wonka, as he is the son in a way (at least on a spiritual level) while Wonka is the father (by the end of the tale it is made clear that Charlie is to be adopted).
Wonka’s decision is one he reaches only AFTER Charlie comes forward, takes ownership of his mistake and shows compassion towards Wonka. Others wished for his factory, while Charlie merely wished for Wonka’s love.
This is why Wonka is a heroic figure; if he were a villain how would he react? Wouldn’t he react by killing or torturing Charlie? Why didn’t he then? The reason is easy to find for anyone who HAS seen the movie; he likes Charlie and is moved by his doing that one thing that no one else hitherto then has done (save for Grandpa Joe); he took responsibility.
Joe was taking responsibility by seeking to protect his grandson, and seeking to defend his interests and dreams. Yet this was the wrong approach with Wonka, who always seemed a lonely figure who has had to fend off rivals and vengeful or greedy relatives. A deeply loving man who cares for his employees, Wonka fears for them and what might become of them after his death, we must therefore bear in mind that he likely felt betrayed by Joe’s anger and reacted.
The depths of his loneliness are unspeakable, as he is the wealthiest guy around and has few friends. It must therefore be mentioned that his initial anger is understandable, does this make Joe wrong? Not really. Does it make Wonka wrong? Sorta’ve. Does it make him evil? Nope, he’s just disappointed in Charlie whom he hoped would prove different from the rest, same goes for his feelings towards Joe.
That said, when Charlie submits to Wonka’s wishes and shows that though his dreams are somewhat dashed, he still clings to his filial love for Wonka, this moves the older male. He is moved and decides to reverse his prior decision to eject Charlie from the factory, to instead as mentioned reward him.
The thing is; the trip through the factory was a moral test. Wonka could have been far crueler in the execution of the punishments, but instead there was little more than humiliation in store for those who failed.
Then there’s the claims that Wonka is supposed to be a demon, we’ve all heard this weird take. It makes no sense, and requires us to examine Wonka’s actions; he welcomes a couple of kids into his factor, where he tries to warn them against taking risks, against doing anything stupid and what do they do? Interfere with the day’s work, and otherwise act like brats, same goes for the adults.
So he spares them, mocks them a little for their stupidity and does nothing more. Is this the comportment of a demon? Not really, he forgives them their misbehaviour and poor decisions. This sounds remarkably lenient and genial, I do wonder theologically who this sounds like? It’s not like there’s a popular western religion and philosophy of thought that speaks of forgiveness and taking responsibility for your own decisions.
So the moral of Willy Wonka isn’t simply kindness, but also forgiveness. Charlie must forgive Wonka, just as Wonka must forgive Charlie.
The reason he must forgive Charlie is because he must realize that Charlie is not perfect as he came to imagine him, rather he is as human as the next boy. Sure, he’s truly an amazing boy but he’s still human.
The last moral of the story is ‘filial piety’ as already explained at some length. So next time some twat online says ‘huhuhu, isn’t Wonka demonic’, one should counter and say that no he’s angelic, he’s fatherly, and ask that bufoon what they have against fatherhood?
This is what comes from only looking at material out of context, which the Internet is so good at doing. If you isolate the "You get nothing!" monologue from the context in which it appears, it appears Wonka is being a villain when he isn't. More than most actors of his time, Gene Wilder was capable of evoking a wide, realistic range of emotions from his characters, dramatic or comic, and that adds a layer of depth to his portrayal of Wonka that is absent from later versions, which tend to focus on the darker nature of the story.
He also embodies a sort of benevolent twist on the trickster archetype, in which the trickster presents a temptation and then warns of the consequences, leaving it up to the subject to resist or succumb. This differs from the more malicious trickster, who presents the temptation and its benefits while withholding information about the consequences. The latter kind is more explicitly demonic, as in the last temptation of Christ or the various villains in Pinocchio. He's giving these kids a test of virtue on easy mode, and they prove that they're unworthy by failing it.