Chris Aldrich’s Reviews > Charlie and the Chocolate Factory > Status Update

Mike is sent by television.

I was a bit disappointed by the title of the final chapter which gives things away paragraphs earlier than it should have. It makes the build up to the big reveal a bit less than lackluster.

The 70's version of the film has a stronger finish than the novel by showing Charlie's nobility. In particular it was even better given the overall morals put forth by the book.

The big day finally arrives and the children enter the chocolate factory with Mr. Willy Wonka. We see the chocolate waterfall and river and see the first Oompa-Loompas.

I'm not quite sure how Mr. Wonka (and interestingly he's always called Mr.), managed to get sunlight down into his underground chocolate room--I'm presuming all the edible plants grow somehow.

Circumstances for our poor hero Charlie become far more desperate before they begin to turn for the better.

I suspect at the time this was written many of these horrid children were hyperbole. It now seems like people accidentally read this as a model for how children should be and they totally missed the fact that Charlie was the hero.

Donald Trump was 18 years old when this book was released. Sadly, I strongly suspect he never read or benefited from it.