The Truth About Charlie's Chocolate Deal in Wonka

The Riveting Origin Story of Willy Wonka

2023's Wonka makes most of the original story more special, but it does the opposite when it comes to Charlie's chocolate deal. The prequel film, starring Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, walks audiences through the riveting origin story of the eccentric candy maker, Willy Wonka. His early days and his battle with the evil Chocolate Cartel are shown in great detail and explain how Wonka's chocolate factory came to be. Wonka's touching backstory makes his massive success even sweeter, as it proves all that he had to overcome, and ultimately serves the franchise well.

The film manages to recreate wholesome moments from the original films, while still crafting something fresh and memorable. Wonka's ability to weave in nods to what came before it and build upon it is admirable and makes it a standout film. These acknowledgements all felt intentional and served to provide explanations for some of the most iconic moments from the original movies. One of these callbacks is to the all-important lifetime supply of chocolate deal offered to Charlie.

Noodle's Deal with Wonka

In the prequel film, Willy Wonka generously offers Noodle a lifetime supply of chocolate. He does this to gain her help to escape and be able to sell his chocolate to the public. Audiences see him starting to make good on this promise, as he gives Noodle pieces of chocolate in Wonka. The prequel film is filled with nods to the original film, and this deal serves as one of them. Years later, in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Wonka offers the same thing to Charlie.

While Wonka's offer to Charlie was still impressive, the fact that it was given to Noodle as well makes it less special. A lifetime supply of chocolate originally seemed incredibly rare, but the knowledge that the deal was repeated diminishes its uniqueness and value. It is no longer seen as an extraordinary gesture, and the deal in the original story has lost a bit of its impact given the revelation of this detail in Wonka.

Noodle's version of the deal was also more valuable than Charlie's. She got the chocolate before it was widely available to the public. She had the opportunity to try Wonka's rare and interesting concoctions, while Charlie won a lifetime supply of something that anyone could easily get their hands on. While having a lifetime supply of chocolate is still an exciting deal, Wonka's inclusion of it does tarnish its overall significance.

Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket smiling at his Golden Ticket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory