MovieChat Forums > Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) Discussion > How 'Slugworth' Wilkinson managed to be ...

How 'Slugworth' Wilkinson managed to be there...no mystery!

posted 8 years ago by mikeyg24
10 replies | jump to latest

A lot of people talk about the magic and mystery of Wilkinson being there when the tickets are found but is there a simple explanation?

Wonka never actually said that the five tickets would be in circulation at the same time. In fact the only 'details' we receive are from that irritating kid Charlie's teacher questions. It's possible he contrived to have them sent one at a time to specific locations under Mr Wilkinson's keen supervision.

The rate at which bars were being sold, 'No Wonka bars don't ask' etc, if they had all been released at the same time it would have been days not weeks before they were found. When you think about it, Charlie finds the final ticket the day before the occasion in Wonka's town, if that doesn't scream contrivance I don't know what does.

24/04/1916

[–] zane_ibrahim 8 years ago

Fair point, sir.

[–] wears-alan 8 years ago

Well spotted mikeyg24

You're old enough to kill, but not for voting....

[–] Totemkauf 8 years ago

good theory. Makes me wonder though,

like with Veruca Salt. So Wonka gets wind there's a richer who bought a ton of boxes, Wilkinson is sent to observe.

Doesn't it seem likely that Wilkinson would have immediately gone to Wonka and been like "There's no way this greedy brat will ever be fit for the company"

Doesn't it seem like Wonka and Wilkinson would have had enough intel to rule out most of the kids before they even showed up? Why waste all that time and effort if it didn't look like any of them would pass? What's the point of the "will they sell out to Slugworth" test, if they already know the kids are greedy/spoiled/troublesome in some way? They all got so f'd up in some way or another they never even got the opportunity to fail the test and give a gobstopper to Slugworth.

Did he dig himself a hole by having to accept the people that won the tickets, otherwise people would cry 'rabble' and it would be bad for business?

Why would he purposefully seek out the worst kinds of kids just to prove to himself that they would each fail?

[–] wears-alan 8 years ago

Maybe the others were hand picked so Charlie could see them and realise that having everything cn make you just like them unless you are good.

You're old enough to kill, but not for voting....

[–] mikeyg24 8 years ago

Why would he purposefully seek out the worst kinds of kids just to prove to himself that they would each fail?

Well I didn't mean he sought them out exclusively merely that the case with the ticket was sent to a specific store and Wilkinson just hung around until it was discovered. In the case of Veruca Salt he catches wind that her dad has bought up all the bars in the store and gets himself installed in some position in the factory.

What I'm saying is Wonka and Wilkinson just knew where the tickets would be found, not by who. By the time the brats found the tickets it was too late.

Hey! You're not old enough to drink! Now go and die for your country!!!

[–] Totemkauf 8 years ago

Yeah I get that likely Wonka and Wilkinson knew where the tickets would end up and thus be able to be there to chat with each kid.

I like the idea that even though they knew they all had problems, it was really a test for Charlie , and that's especially why Wonka got so mad at him toward the end. It's still funny thought that all the other kids got failed out for different reasons than giving a gobstopper to Slugworth. Maybe the dude Charlie ran into in front of the gate in the beginning was in on it, seeking out someone likely worthy from the start.

[–] cstu11 8 years ago

I like the idea that even though they knew they all had problems, it was really a test for Charlie , and that's especially why Wonka got so mad at him toward the end.

First, Wonka chose four kids that he hated to get the golden tickets simply so he could have bad things happen to them in the factory.

Second, he was never mad at Charlie - the angry act was only a test to see if Charlie would get mad (like Grandpa Joe) and try to sell the Gobstopper.

[–] Promontorium 8 years ago

Your questioning reminds me of questions related to faith and God. Why would God create then test people he knows will fail.

The answer is always free will. Even if it's known in advance, it isn't free will until you give the person the chance to choose.

[–] mail-81278 8 years ago

It's one of those things that makes absolutely zero sense when you think about it, but the first time you see it you don't even think about it. I was familiar with the book as a kid and the creepy looking dude with the scar kept showing up, I knew that wasn't in the book. It was creepy as hell.

[–] cameron-whyte 8 years ago

I've thought for a while the golden ticket bars were planted so "Slugworth" could set up the "test".