History Literature / CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory

** Every incarnation of Willy Wonka (whether it be in the book, the film or stage adaptations) is depicted this way. He and his culinary confections are [[LovedByAll beloved worldwide]], to the point where a few rival companies sent spies to steal his recipes. The inside of his factory is amazing, many of his inventions are mind-blowing along with scientifically impossible and has shown shades of being a BenevolentBoss to the Oompa Loompas.

* FlawedPrototype: Mr. Wonka's magic three-course-dinner chewing gum, which simulates the experience of eating the world's most delicious tomato soup, roast beef, baked potato, and blueberry pie, but makes the chewer inflate into a giant blueberry when they get to the last course. Unfortunately, Violet only figures out that it does this ''after'' she's suffered the consequences. (In all fairness, Mr. Wonka did warn her it wasn't ready for testing.)

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Unlikely as it may seem in this book. It's mentioned that Wonka built a palace for Indian royalty out of chocolate, which sounds like a dream to many children. And then it melted in the summer sun when he tried to live in it. Mr. Wonka ''did'' warn the prince, to no avail.

** Deconstructed. A prince in India wanted to live in, rather than eat, a palace made of chocolate, but [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it melted]].

* WorryingForTheWrongReason: Mrs. Gloop fears her son will be turned into marshmallows when he vanishes up the pipes. Mr. Wonka assures her that he won't suffer that fate..."Because that pipe doesn't ''go'' to the Marshmallow Room! It doesn't go anywhere near it! That pipe -- the one Augustus went up -- happens to go directly to the room where I make a most delicious kind of strawberry-flavored chocolate-coated fudge..." (This exchange is memorably incorporated into the 1971 film.)

* PlotHole: As Ron Novy notes in his essay "Willy Wonka and the Imperial Chocolate Factory" (which examines the HappinessInSlavery of the Oompa-Loompas), how did Willy Wonka learn the Oompa-Loompas' language -- and thus communicate with them -- when he came to their country? (Especially in the pre-{{Bowdlerised}} version, in which he was the first white person to venture into their country!) And why did they learn English as his workers when it would have been just as easy for him to continue using their language?

** Mr. Wonka says this ''might'' be the case with Veruca in the bad nut chute. See HopeSpot below for the result.

* GiantFood: The legendary chocolate river is a spectacular example of this. Later, the Great Glass Elevator passes rooms that contain such oddities as a caramel lake and a fudge mountain. As well, because sending something by television results in it being shrunken, the chocolate bar that Mr. Wonka sends in a demonstration is initially the size of a mattress, so it will come out normal-sized on the screen.

** The gold-detecting machine (see AIIsACrapshoot above).
** Hair Toffee. It ''does'' grow hair -- but right now, way too much.
** Fizzy Lifting Drinks are so powerful that using them outdoors is extremely dangerous. (Mr. Wonka realized this the hard way; see PrecisionFStrike below.)
* GoneHorriblyWrong: The three course meal gum is either this or GoneHorriblyRight, depending on how much one trusts Willy Wonka.

* AmbiguousSyntax: The business with the Square Sweets [Candies in U.S. editions] That Look Round hinges on this.

* BigLabyrinthineBuilding: The factory; it has hundreds upon hundreds of rooms and corridors. Between the novel and its sequel the visitors are only privy to a tiny fraction of them.

* ConspicuousConsumption: Prince Pondicherry, who commissioned a palace made entirely out of chocolate from Willy Wonka. Mr. Wonka didn't realize the prince intended to live in it, and tried to warn him that it wouldn't last in the hot sun of India...

* CoveredInGunge: A throwaway gag has Grandma Josephine getting a faceful of Grandpa Joe's cabbage soup when he jumps out of bed upon realizing Charlie's found a Golden Ticket; later this turns out to be the fate of Veruca Salt and her parents, who emerge from the factory completely covered in ''garbage''.

* CrapsaccharineWorld / FalseUtopia: One of the few '''positive''' portrayals of these settings. A mostly cheerful and happy-looking candy factory with dancing Oompa-Loompas who teach children important values but at the same time these children are taught these values in ways that could bring upon their deaths, which would mean that they never have a ''chance'' to learn from their mistakes. The way Mr. Wonka nonchalantly describes these events adds to the atmosphere. In the [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory 1971 film adaptation]] sheer luck spares Charlie and Grandpa Joe from what would be the most gruesome death of the bunch, and the brats' fates are left ambiguous; in the 2013 musical some of the brats may actually ''die'' offstage. And the Oompa-Loompas are only paid in cacao beans and/or chocolate (though they're more than happy to be away from those hornswogglers, whangdoodles, etc.). Still, the Wonka factory is portrayed in an overall positive manner as a land of wonder and imagination in contrast to the grim outside world: full of nasty, foolish, rude, conniving people who seem to get all the breaks in life and feel themselves to be above the rules while the sweet, selfless, rule-following people tend to finish last.

Perhaps Creator/RoaldDahl's best-known work, this 1964 children's novel has since become AdaptationOverdosed with everything from [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory two]] [[Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory films]] (and [[Film/Wonka2023 a prequel to the first film]]) and [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory a stage musical]] to a theme park ride and video games. (This is impressive as it's not yet in the public domain.)

Perhaps Creator/RoaldDahl's best-known work, this 1964 children's novel has since become AdaptationOverdosed with everything from [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory two]] [[Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory films]] and [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory a stage musical]] to a theme park ride and video games. (This is impressive as it's not yet in the public domain.)

** In the 2005 Tim Burton film, this is how Violet Beauregarde is depicted as she and her mother have their news interview in a room surrounded by over hundreds of trophies that she had won. There is also her constant bragging about being a champion.

This story -- particularly the 1971 adaptation -- is a [[Main/StockParodies stock parody]]: CharlieAndTheChocolateParody. It is also the TropeNamer for TheWonka: An eccentric authority figure whose success comes from their quirkiness (rather than in spite of it).

** Every incarnation of Willy Wonka (whether it be in the book, the film or stage adaptations) is depicted this way. He and his culinary confections are [[LovedByAll beloved worldwide by many]], to the point where rival companies sent spies to steal his recipes. The inside of his factory is amazing, many of his inventions are mind-blowing along with scientifically impossible and has shown shades of being a BenevolentBoss to the Oompa Loompas.
** In the 2005 Tim Burton film, this is how Violet Beauregarde is depicted as she is introduced in a room surrounded by over hundreds of trophies that she had won and her constant bragging about being a champion.

* TeleFrag: Played with. After Mr Wonka has demonstrated sending a bar of chocolate by television, which becomes much smaller in the process, Mike Teavee asks if it is possible to send people in this way. This seems to catch Mr Wonka off guard, and he vaguely agrees that it might be possible, and Mike immediately tries it out for himself. When it takes a long time for him to travel, Mr Wonka says (to the horror of Mike's parents) that he hopes that no part of him gets left behind, as happened with a bar of chocolate the previous week.
* TeleporterAccident: Mike's attempt to become the first person transmitted by television works, but also results in him being shrunk to an inch high.