List of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory characters

The following is a list of characters in the Roald Dahl children's books Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and the former's film adaptations, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Willy Wonka

In the novels and films, Willy Wonka is the eccentric owner of an extremely prosperous chocolate factory. The inciting action of the story occurs when Wonka holds a contest, hiding five Golden Tickets within the wrappers of candy bars, promising their discoverers a tour of his factory and a lifelong supply of his creations. Implications stand in all three versions that he allows four of his five finalists to disgrace themselves, in hope that one does not.

In the book, Wonka is described by Roald Dahl as having a goatee and "marvelously" bright eyes, a high and "flutey" voice, a face "alight of fun and laughter", and quick little jerky movements "like a squirrel". He is enthusiastic, talkative, and friendly, but given to glossing criticisms of himself.

In the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, he is portrayed by Gene Wilder. While his personality remains generally the same as in the original, he is more melancholy here, and frequently quotes books and poems, Including William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ("Is it my soul that calls upon my name?") or John Masefield's "Sea Fever" ("All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by"), and the famous "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker" from "Reflections on Ice Breaking" by Ogden Nash, among many others. Toward the end of the film, he tests protagonist Charlie's conscience by pretending to deny him any reward, but assumes an almost paternal role when Charlie proves honest.

In the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he is portrayed by Johnny Depp. In this version, a back-story was added that Willy Wonka's father (being a dentist) would not let him eat candy because of the potential risk to his teeth, and that the young Wonka left home to become a chocolatier. The conflict was so bad on young Wonka (portrayed by Blair Dunlop), that he took no interest in the kids when they arrived and couldn't even say the word "Parent". He later gains a soft spot for Charlie and offers him a spoon from the chocolate river. Toward the end of the film, Charlie reconciles the two.

Charlie Bucket

Charlie Bucket is a title character and the protagonist of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, its sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and the film adaptations of these books. He is depicted as a kind-hearted, brave, but poor boy that lives with his mother, father and four bedridden grandparents. In the 1971 film adaptation, he has a newspaper route after school. He and his family follow the progress of the hunt for the Golden Tickets in newspapers and, in the films, on television. Unlike the first four finalists, Charlie is honest and generous. In the 1971 movie, Charlie was portrayed by Peter Ostrum, in his only film appearance.

In the novel, at the end of the tour, Wonka declares Charlie heir to the factory for his refusal of vice, and Charlie's family are permitted to move into the factory. In the 1971 film, Charlie wins the factory when he returns an Everlasting Gobstopper given to him by Wonka, thereby passing Wonka's moral test. In the 2005 film, Wonka initially refuses to allow Charlie's family to join them in the factory, and Charlie rejects Wonka's offer. When Charlie helps Wonka reconcile with his father, the family move into the factory and Charlie becomes Wonka's partner.

Grandpa Joe

Grandpa Joe is one of Charlie's four bed-ridden grandparents. He tells Charlie (and the reader) the story of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and the mystery of the secret workers. When Charlie finds the Golden Ticket, Grandpa Joe leaps out of bed in joy, and later accompanies Charlie on the factory tour. In the sequel book, Grandpa Joe accompanies Charlie, Willy Wonka, and all members of Charlie's family in the Great Glass Elevator and assists the rescue of the Commuter Capsule from the Vermicious Knids. Grandpa Joe's age is given as "ninety-six and a half" in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", making him the eldest of Charlie's grandparents.

The character was played by Jack Albertson in the 1971 film adaptation Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In this film, he is often excitable, paranoid, stubborn and appears anxious that Charlie win the contest, and becomes angry when Charlie is dismissed without reward, despite the fact that they both broke the rules by stealing Fizzy Lifting Drinks, which meant that Charlie breached the contract, not realizing that Wonka had found out what they had done. He tells Charlie that he expects him to find all five Golden Tickets and most certainly expects Charlie to find one when he receives a Wonka Bar for his birthday.

The character was played by David Kelly in the 2005 film adaptation, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Veteran actor Gregory Peck was originally selected to play the role, but he died in 2003 before filming began. This version of the character is written as more calm than the 1971 version. An original backstory to Grandpa Joe's past was added to Tim Burton's film, wherein it is said that Joe worked for Wonka until the latter fired all his workers from his factory. When he returns to the factory with Charlie for the tour, Wonka asks if he was a spy working for a competing factory before he humbly welcomes him back.

Augustus Gloop

Introduced in the opening pages of the book as "a greedy boy", Augustus Gloop is the first person to find a Golden Ticket. He hails from Dusselheim, Germany in the 1971 film, and Düsseldorf, Germany in the 2005 film. His mother takes great pride in his gluttonous eating and seems to enjoy the attention of the media. In the novel and both films, he is portrayed as "enormously fat". Augustus is the first child to be removed from the tour: while drinking from the Chocolate Room’s Chocolate River, he falls into the river and is drawn through a pipe to the factory's Fudge Room, and his parents are sent to fetch him from the mixing-machine. In the book, he is seen leaving the factory, having lost most of his weight, and covered in melted chocolate.

In the 1971 film, although he eats constantly and always thinks of food, he has decent table manners, is not as obese as in other portrayals, and is generally polite to others. He is portrayed by Michael Bollner in this film. Bollner could speak fluent English and, as a result, the 1971 Augustus has fewer lines and screen time.

In the 2005 film, Augustus is always shown consuming chocolate. He has a highly voracious appetite and often has food smeared on his face. He is aloof and cruel towards Charlie in the one instance when they interact, as he offers him a Wonka Bar and then retracts it, saying Charlie should have bought some himself. As in the book, he is shown leaving the factory toward the end of the story; but in this film, is still licking his fingers to remove the adherent chocolate (though he didn't lose weight as he did in the book). The actor, Philip Wiegratz, wore a fat suit for the production.

In the 2013 London musical, Augustus Gloop is known as "the Bavarian Beefcake" in his Alpine community. His mother and father indulge his eating habits with sweets and pieces of sausage of which they (and sometimes Augustus) butcher themselves. In his number, "More of Him to Love", Frau Gloop reveals that she had vital organs removed to retrieve Augustus from the womb. They arrive at the factory wearing traditional Eastern European clothing, with Augustus in a red, argyle sweater and green shorts. When Augustus falls into the chocolate river Wonka summons the diversionary pumping system to divert the flow, while Oompa Loompas dressed in red boiler suits sing, "Auf Wiedersehen Augustus Gloop", as they prepare the chocolate, while Augustus travels through the main industrial pipe, occasionally getting stuck.

Violet Beauregarde

Violet Beauregarde, a young girl who has the habit of chewing gum all the time, is the third child to find a Golden Ticket and the second to be ejected from the tour. Violet chews gum obsessively and boasts that she has been chewing the same piece "for three months solid". She is also aggressively competitive and has won trophies for gum chewing. In the 1971 film she is shown to be from Miles City, Montana, while in the 2005 film she is from Atlanta, Georgia.

When Wonka shows the group around the Inventing Room, he stops to display a new type of gum he is working on. The gum doubles as a three-course meal which is composed of tomato soup, roast beef and baked potato, and blueberry pie and ice cream. Violet is intrigued and, despite Wonka's protests, snatches and chews the gum. She is delighted by its effects but, when she reaches the dessert - blueberry pie - her skin starts turning a violet colour and her body begins to swell up, filling with juice. Eventually, Violet's head, legs, and arms get sucked into her gigantic body. When her swelling stops, she resembles a round blueberry, causing Wonka to have the Oompa-Loompas roll her to the Juicing Room to have the juice squeezed out of her in fear she may explode.

In the 1971 film, Violet is generally good-natured, but also impatient and arrogant. She is accompanied with her father, Sam Beauregarde who is a fast talking car salesman who tries to advertise his business on TV in Violet's interview. She has a notable rivalry with Veruca Salt, and the two often argue. Her blueberry form is relatively small with her hair color unchanged. Violet is told that she must be juiced immediately before she explodes and is last seen en route to the Juicing Room, with her father behind her.

In the 2005 film, Violet has a rude, impatient and competitive personality. This is shown when Charlie asks why she holds onto her gum and not start a new piece, she replies by saying that Charlie is a loser. She is accompanied by her mother, Scarlett Beauregarde who could be responsible for Violet's competitive attitude. She swells up into a 10-foot blueberry almost reaching the Inventing Room's catwalks and also, to the point where her tracksuit can no longer fit. In this film Violet is not told that she might explode but this is visually implied due to her size and so, is rolled off to the Juicing Room by the Oompa Loompas. Violet is shown leaving the factory gymnastically cartwheeling as a consequence of increased flexibility. This may be a result of size of her blueberry body and the juicing process. However, even though she has been juiced to her normal size, her skin has still remained violet. Her mother comments when Violet tells her of her increased flexibility, "Yes, but you're blue."

In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Violet Beauregarde is portrayed as an African-American, Californian fame-hungry wanna-be, with her agent/father Eugene Beauregarde parlaying her mundane talent of gum chewing into celebrity status, with multitude of endorsements including her own TV show, line of perfume, and a clothing boutique franchise. Her theme is called "The Double-Bubble Duchess". Violet and her father are escorted by an entourage to the factory entrance. Violet comes dressed in a sparkly purple and pink disco jumper and a pink backpack. Upon swelling in the influence of the experimental gum (which consisted of tomato soup, roast chicken, potatoes and gravy, Fizzy Orange, cheese and crackers and blueberry pie), she panics and runs away as the Oompa Loompas break into an disco number, "Juicy" , and roller skate along the stage as Violet lifts into the air, resembling a giant purple disco-ball. Mr. Beauregarde phones his lawyer excitedly, with intent to profit from Violet's new size, until Violet explodes. Wonka's only reassurance of her survival is the prospect of rescuing the pieces and de-juicing them.

Veruca Salt

Veruca Salt (in some early editions, Veruca Cruz) is a spoiled child who demands every single thing she wants (and more), the second person to find a Golden Ticket and the third eliminated from the tour. A selfish, rotten brat who shows her wealthy family no mercy and has absolutely no regard for other people's property, Veruca frequently pesters her parents to purchase a variety of different objects for her. But when she interferes with the trained squirrels used by Willy Wonka to select the best nuts to bake into chocolate bars, she is judged as a "bad nut" by the squirrels, discarded into the adjacent 'garbage chute' and her parents follow. All three are later seen leaving the factory "covered in garbage". Her nationality was never specified in Dahl's novel, but she hails from England in both films.

In the 1971 film adaption, Veruca has a fiery temper, rudely demands different desires nonstop, and demonizes anyone who questions her. The squirrels are replaced by geese that lay special golden eggs (with chocolate inside). She and Violet, in this film, argue on two occasions. Veruca is eliminated at the end of her musical number in the movie ("I Want it Now") after climbing the machine designed to tell whether or not the geese's eggs are "good" or "bad" eggs, and it judges her as a bad egg. Her father then follows and also deemed bad.

In the 2005 film adaption, Veruca's elimination remains virtually the same as in the book, with only a few changes made. Her demeanor is less vehement and more passive-aggressive compared to the 1971 version. When she leaves the factory, she demands a facsimile of the Great Glass Elevator. However, her father, having learned a good parenting lesson and finally realizing how much he has spoiled her, sternly tells her that she will only be getting a bath that day instead, and shoots her a fierce glare for trying to argue any further.

In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Veruca Salt is a British billionaire's daughter, dressed in a pink ballerina tutu and baby seal fur coat - "clubbed and tickled pink". Her father, Sir Robert Salt, is portrayed as a spineless dolt for giving his daughter her wishes. In the Nut Sorting Room, Veruca runs foul of the nut-testing squirrels who deem her a 'bad nut' when she tries to steal one. This summons oversized squirrels with Oompa Loompas riding on their backs. They sing a nightmarish ballet "Veruca's Nutcracker Sweet" that concludes with Veruca and her father sent down the garbage chute.

Mike Teavee

Mike Teavee, a boy that does nothing but watch television, is the fourth Golden Ticket finder, and the last removed on-tour. He was described as adorned with eighteen toy pistols that he ‘fires’ while watching gangsters on TV. He is bad-tempered, but also intelligent. In the book, both of Mike's parents tour the factory with him. During a display of miniaturization technology, used to transport chocolate, Mike shrinks himself to a tiny size, Willy Wonka has an Oompa-Loompa take the Teavee family to the Gum-Stretcher Room to get Mike stretched back to normal. Mike is last seen exiting the factory, now 10 ft (3 m). tall. In the ending when he is exiting the factory when his parents lament that he won't be able to attend school, Mike happily says he can continue watching TV. His angry father then blames the TV for Mike's poor behavior and decides to toss it out the window when they get home, much to Mike's anger.

In the 1971 film, Mike is dressed as a cowboy and is accompanied by his high-strung mother. Mike, a nine-year-old American boy who enjoys Cowboy films and wears Cowboy attire, was played by Paris Themmen in the 1971 film, in which his last name was spelled "Teevee" in the credits. He makes constant references to television shows throughout the factory tour and comes across as somewhat of a know-it-all. Although easily annoyed, he does not have any major anger issues and gets along relatively well with the other kids.

In the 2005 film, 13-year-old Mike's (portrayed by Jordan Fry) interests are updated to the Internet and video games (especially gory first-person shooters) in addition to television viewing (the book and the 1971 film predated both of these). Whenever he says anything to Wonka that criticizes the factory or Wonka's ideas, Wonka pretends not to understand what Mike is saying, despite Mike obviously speaking very clearly. After the incident in the 'Television Chocolate' room, Willy Wonka has an Oompa-Loompa take Mr. Teavee and Mike to the Taffy-Puller Room to have Mike stretched back to normal. Mike and his father are later seen leaving the factory where Mike is 10 ft (3 m). tall and incredibly thin as if a 2D shape.

In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Mike Teavee (now age 10) lives in a suburban neighborhood with his disinterested father Norman Teavee and neurotic, alcoholic mother, Doris Teavee. Their opening number, "It's Teavee Time!" has Mrs. Teavee presenting her family as a normal, functioning household, downplaying Mike's violent, psychopathic tendencies like immobilizing a cat and chloroforming a nurse. In the Department of the Future, where Wonka transmits chocolate by television, Mike anxiously jumps into the machine and transmits himself, much to his mother's horror. Wonka summons the monitors to see on which channel Mike has ended, as the Oompa Loompas rave around the room, singing, 'Vidiots'. Near the end, Mrs. Teavee joins the rave, as they conclude that Mike still has a future on 'Mike.com'.

Arthur Slugworth

In the book, Arthur Slugworth is one of Willy Wonka's rival chocolatiers. Slugworth, along with Wonka's other rivals Mr. Fickelgruber and Mr. Prodnose, sent in spies to steal the secret recipes to Wonka's treats, which he plagiarized, nearly ruining Wonka's factory. After Wonka re-opens his factory (operated exclusively by Oompa-Loompas), Slugworth is never heard from again, but it is stated that Fickelgruber would each give his front teeth to enter Wonka's inventing room (laboratory/chocolate room in the book) for three minutes.

In the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Slugworth's company is in business. Inside Bill's Candy Shop, Wonka's products and signs are the most visible; but Slugworth's Sizzlers are also prominent, and one is even sold to a child. Also seen are signs for Fickelgruber's candy. Grandpa Joe describes Slugworth as the worst of Wonka's rivals. As each Golden Ticket is found, a sinister man approaches the finder and whispers something into his or her ear. After Charlie finds the last ticket, the same man approaches Charlie as well, introduces himself as Arthur Slugworth, and bribes the child to bring him one piece of the newly invented 'Everlasting Gobstopper', allowing him to plagiarize the formula. Two of the children respond to Slugworth's bribe; but Charlie, when tempted, returns the Everlasting Gobstopper to Wonka. Wonka eventually reveals that the tempter is not Slugworth, but his own employee Mr. Wilkinson, and that his offer was a moral test of character. Slugworth/Wilkinson was played by Günter Meisner, a West German actor.

Slugworth only makes a split-second appearance in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where he alongside Mr. Ficklegruber and Mr. Prodnose are sending spies to steal ingredients from Wonka's factory. He is here played by Philip Philmar.

Mr. Turkentine

Mr. Turkentine is Charlie Bucket's school teacher and appears in the first movie in 1971, but not in the book or the 2005 film. He has a quirky sense of humour which he uses to express knowledge. He asks Charlie to assist him in making a medicine using several scientific elements for the class but the project is interrupted due to the frantic golden ticket search for Willy Wonka. Mr. Turkentine when hearing the news about the golden tickets during the project dismisses the class and runs out after the created medicine explodes. Later when it is revealed that all the tickets have supposedly been found ending with a Paraguayan millionaire he decides to use Wonka bars as an example to teach his class about percentages. He uses a few students as examples for the class, including Charlie. Charlie however reveals that he only opened two Wonka bars during the search and so to help make it easier for his class, he decides to pretend Charlie opened 200. Mr. Turkentine is played by British actor David Battley.

Prince Pondicherry

Prince Pondicherry is a prince who lives in India. He appears in the third chapter of the novel when Grandpa Joe is telling Charlie a story. In the story, Willy Wonka makes him a chocolate palace in India, that melts in the hot weather, as he had rejected Willy Wonka's advice to eat it before it melted in the heat. His name derives from the city of Pondicherry (officially spelled Puducherry since 2006) in southeastern India.

He is absent from the 1971 film version, but makes a brief appearance in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where he is played by Nitin Ganatra. His story here matches that in the book, except in depicting his wife (Shelley Conn) and stating that the Prince demanded a second palace, but was refused.

Oompa-Loompas

Oompa-Loompas are knee-high beings who originate from Loompaland. The Oompa-Loompas would end up being preyed upon or attacked by the various predators that also reside in Loompaland before Wonka invited them to work at his factory and are paid in their favorite food, Cocoa beans, which were extremely rare on their island. The Oompa-Loompas are also mischievous, loving practical jokes and singing songs which, according to Wonka, they are very good at improvising. With each misbehaving child's exit, the Oompa-Loompas sing moralizing songs of the child's folly.

In early editions of the novel, the Oompa-Loompas (originally called "Whipple-Scrumpets" before publication^[1]) are shown as African pygmies before Dahl rewrote them to be white-skinned and golden haired. In both editions, despite working in the factory, Oompa-Loompas insist on maintaining their native clothing: men wear skins, women wear leaves, and children wear nothing.

In the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, they were written to be played by actors with dwarfism and are portrayed as orange-skinned, green-haired men in striped shirts and baggy lederhosen-like pants. Prominent portrayers included Angelo Muscat and Rusty Goffe.

In the 2005 film, all of the Oompa-Loompas are played by Indian actor Deep Roy. They were wearing their tribal clothing during their time in Loompaland and wearing typical factory worker uniforms in Wonka's Factory. Some of the female Oompa-Loompas worked in the administration offices.

Vermicious Knids

Vermicious Knids are a fictional species of amorphous aliens that invade the Space Hotel "U.S.A." in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

They are also mentioned in the 1971 feature film adaptation, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, but here are mentioned only as predators of the Oompa-Loompas.

In the book, Vermicious Knids are huge, dark, egg-shaped predators who swallow their victims whole, and are capable of surviving, operating, and traveling faster than light, in the vacuum of space. Although normally oviform, they can assume any shape at will, while retaining their native texture and features. They originate (according to Mr. Wonka) on the planet Vermes, a fictional planet located (in dialogue) 184,270,000,000 miles (2.96553818880×10¹¹ kilometres) from Earth (52 times Pluto's distance). In the presence of victims, they cannot resist shaping themselves to spell the word "SCRAM" (the only word they know) before they attack.

In Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, a swarm of Knids take possession of the new Space Hotel "U.S.A.". When the transport capsule brings the staff to the Space Hotel, the Knids consume some of the staff, and the survivors retreat to the capsule. There, the Knids bludgeon the capsule with their own bodies, until its retro-rockets are useless; whereupon Wonka, Charlie, and Grandpa Joe connect the capsule to the Elevator, in hope of towing it to Earth, and one Knid wraps itself around the Elevator while the others form a chain, intending to draw the Elevator and capsule to their home planet. The Elevator then returns to Earth, and the Knids are incinerated in Earth's atmosphere.

When Nestle created their interpretation of Wonka's world to sell chocolate bars under the name "Wonka", they released a number of downloadable flash games, wherein Knids seem to have entered the factory and have the appearance of flying green blobs with single red eyes.

The etymology of the name was not provided by Dahl. Pronunciation of Knid is said in the book to approximate adding a schwa between the "K" and "nid", or in Dahl's words, "K'nid". Cnidaria is the name of the taxonomic phylum containing stinging aquatic invertebrates such as jellyfish and coral, itself derived from the classical Greek word for nettle, κνίδη. Vermicious is a real word, meaning "worm like".

The Vermicious Knids are also mentioned in other Dahl stories, including James and the Giant Peach (where in the New York Police Department misidentify Miss Spider as such) and The Minpins.

Other characters

Portrayed in other media

Excluded from the published book

As detailed in unpublished drafts of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, far more than five children got the golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka's secret chocolate factory, far more than four were eliminated, and the children faced more rooms and more temptations to test their self-control.^[2]

References