1971's three major Willy Wonka movies in total, but the original remains the most popular. Mel Stuart's enchanting fantasy has grown in popularity over the years, and it continues to find new irers over 50 years later.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory tells the story of Charlie Bucket, a child from a poor background who finds a golden ticket which entitles him to a tour of a world-famous chocolate factory. Once he and his fellow contest-winners enter the factory, they find a magical world beyond their wildest dreams, as they are accompanied by the chocolate company's eccentric owner. With some wonderfully creative sequences and a few catchy songs, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has stood the test of time as a must-watch for Roald Dahl fans, even though the author disliked the final product.

What Happens In Willy Wonka's Ending

Willy Wonka Shows A More Aggressive Side, But Not For Long

As Charlie and Grandpa Joe move through the factory, the other children on the tour come undone one-by-one, as they are unable to resist their vices. Augustus Gloop falls into the chocolate river, Violet Beauregarde turns into a giant blueberry, Veruca Salt is expelled down a chute by a group of geese and Mike Teevee is shrunk down to the size of a chocolate bar. This leaves Charlie as the only child remaining, but Wonka refuses to give him and Grandpa Joe the prize that he promised them on the grounds that they had snuck away from the tour to take some Fizzy Lifting Drinks.

When Charlie returns the gobstopper rather than selling it to one of Wonka's rivals, he proves that he's the noble and kindhearted successor Wonka was looking for.

In the end, Wonka's aggressive outburst is merely a charade. Once Charlie returns the Everlasting Gobstopper, Wonka reveals that giving each child one of his new candies was part of a test to see who could take over his factory. When Charlie returns the gobstopper rather than selling it to one of Wonka's rivals, he proves that he's the noble and kindhearted successor Wonka was looking for. The film ends with one last song and one last burst of absurd fantasy, as Wonka shows Charlie and Grandpa Joe into his flying glass Wonkavator, which lets them soar over the town.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, even though Roald Dahl's book does have a follow-up. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator was published in 1972, but it's never had a film adaptation. The sequel sees Willy Wonka, Charlie and Grandpa Joe traveling into outer space, where they run into a race of shapeshifting aliens known as the Vermicious Knids at an empty space hotel. It would have been interesting to see the same cast returning for this bizarre story, but Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory leaves the audience with the image of the Great Glass Elevator nonetheless, although the film calls it the Wonkavator.

How The Ending Of Willy Wonka Is Different In The Book

Mel Stuart Made The Story His Own

Roald Dahl was initially hired to write the script for his own adaptation, but was cut from the project after failing to meet deadlines. Dahl already had some notable screenwriting credits to his name, having penned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. For whatever reason, the production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was different, and the story changed significantly after Dahl left the production. The fact that the title changed from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory gives some indication of how much the film deviates from the book.

There are several major changes to the novel throughout the film. For example, the book sees a group of trained squirrels labeling Veruca Salt a "Bad Nut", rather than a group of geese labeling her a "Bad Egg". The ending has a few significant changes in quick succession. What's important is that Charlie and Grandpa Joe never take the Fizzy Lifting Drinks in the book, so there's no reason for Wonka to lash out at them. He simply congratulates them for ing his tests along the tour and rewards them with his factory.

Another subtle change that ends up making a big difference comes right at the end. In the book, Charlie's ride in the Great Glass Elevator allows him to see the other children from the tour leaving the factory. This is also something that takes place in the 2005 Willy Wonka adaptation, but the original film has no such scene. The fact that the children are never seen again has fueled all sorts of dark fan theories which suggest that they are victims in Willy Wonka's murderous factory. While each child needs to learn a lesson, it's nice to know that they survive their ordeals, in the book at least.

The Real Meaning Of Willy Wonka's Ending

Charlie's Honesty Is Rewarded

Although Roald Dahl left the production, and the story subsequently shot off in a new direction, the writer's themes still shine through in the ending of the film. While Dahl objected to the saccharine nature of the ending, with Wonka's sudden reversal and his line that Charlie would "live happily ever after", there's still enough of his original book there to leave an impression. Charlie's moral lesson is the same, especially when compared to the way that the other children fall prey to their impulses.

Dahl's books usually had memorable moral lessons, like most children's authors. What made his novels different from the competition was his dark sense of humor. He didn't believe in talking down to his readers, and this often means that his themes come wrapped up in macabre and frightening stories. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is no different. Despite all the differences between the book and the film, this element of Dahl's work is the same, since Charlie is only rewarded after the bizarre tour through the factory because he's honest enough to return the Everlasting Gobstopper to Wonka.

The ending of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory also reveals a lot about Wonka's character. Gene Wilder only agreed to play the character on the condition that he could introduce him by hobbling along on a walking stick, falling forward and performing a theatrical somersault. This sums up Wonka's showmanship, but it also speaks to his unpredictable nature. Wilder's characterization of Wonka makes it hard to understand his true motivations at times, like in the nightmarish tunnel scene or as he acts indifferently to the demise of Augustus Gloop. The ending reveals his true nature as an eccentric but ultimately thoughtful and kind figure.