Should've Said No

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The British novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been a beloved classic since 1964. There were two movies based off it, such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005. In fact, these two films may have taught some parents how not to raise their children.

In any version of the original novel, the title character, Charlie Bucket, would visit the famous chocolate factory after finding a golden ticket along with four other children who each found one—and those four children happen to be bratty and rotten. But of course, just how bratty those four children were would depend on the version. Now it couldn't be the kids' fault for their behavior—it's usually their parents' fault for spoiling them in the first place.

There was the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, who was obese and greedy when it came to food, especially sweets. He was eliminated from the tour of the chocolate factory after he fell into the chocolate river and got sucked up a pipe into the Fudge Room. In the 1971 movie, he was polite and nice to Charlie, who tried to save him from drowning, so it was hard to dislike him in anyway. In the 2005 movie, he wasn't nice to Charlie, so some viewers might find it hard to feel sorry for him for being sucked up that pipe.

There was the spoiled Veruca Salt, a rich girl whose parents would give her anything she wanted, and she didn't care how to get it, let alone why she couldn't. Now her elimination was different in both the films. In the 1971 film, she wanted a Golden Goose, and while singing "I Want It Now", she got up on a scale that detected whether a golden egg was good or bad—and the scale detected her as a bad egg, so she fell through the chute with her father going after her. In the 2005 film, she wanted a squirrel from the Nut Room, and when she tried to get one, the squirrels detected her as a bad nut and threw down a chute—this is what happened in the original novel. Fortunately, she survived.

There was the arrogant Violet Beauregarde, who was a serious bubblegum chewing champion. In the 1971 movie, she was rather polite to almost everyone, so it was pretty hard to hate her. In the 2005 movie, she was shown to be a bit of a bully. She was eliminated from the tour when she chewed on a piece of gum that doubles as a three-course meal. Violet tried it out, and when she reached the dessert part, her skin turned violet—no pun intended—and her body started to puff up, filling with blueberry juice. She had to be taken to the Juice Room to get the juice squeezed out of her body.

There was the ill-tempered Mike Teavee, who was obsessed with television. His parents let him watch as much TV as he wants, so they wouldn't have to babysit him. He was eliminated from the tour when he was in the Television Room of the factory, and during a display of miniaturization technology, he was shrunk down to size.

As entertaining as the book and movies were, some people may wonder if Dahl wrote this book as a way to show parents what would happen if they spoil their kids—apparently, it taught a certain pair of parents how not to raise their child, who wished some parents did the same.