Charlie Bucket’s (Freddie Highmore) adventure in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is triggered by the search for five Golden Tickets hidden in random Wonka bars, and one theory suggests the contest was rigged for Willy Wonka's (Johnny Depp) selfish purposes. In 2005, Tim Burton brought his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a critical and commercial success, and was praised as an adaption of the beloved book.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory follows Charlie Bucket, a young boy living in poverty with his family near Willy Wonka’s mysterious factory. When Wonka launches a contest where five Golden Tickets hidden in random Wonka bars worldwide have to be found, Charlie becomes one of the lucky winners and visits the factory with the rest. Charlie could never have anticipated the unbelievable things he would witness inside the factory, as well as Wonka’s final prize. However, a theory suggests that Wonka had other plans, and Charlie was always meant to find one of the tickets.

Theory Explains Willy Wonka Only Released 4 Golden Tickets To Boost Chocolate Sales

Willy Wonka Had A Different Plan In Mind

The contest launched by Willy Wonka is simple: he hid five Golden Tickets in different Wonka bars that could be anywhere in the world where these candies are sold. Of course, this triggers huge interest in Wonka bars all over the world, with sales skyrocketing and everyone hoping to find one of the tickers. The first one is found by Augustus Gloop, followed by Veruca Salt (whose wealthy father bought hundreds of Wonka bars), Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee. With one more ticket left to be found and all hope lost, Charlie finds it the day before the visit to the factory.

Wonka initially released only four tickets but said they were five, all so the sales of his candies would skyrocket.

However, a theory shared on Reddit suggests the contest wasn’t that simple, and Willy Wonka had other, selfish reasons for launching it. It’s ultimately revealed that what Wonka wants is to find the rightful heir to the factory, but the whole Golden Tickets contest might have been mostly to boost sales. The theory explains that Wonka initially released only four tickets but said they were five, all so the sales of his candies would skyrocket. Wonka knew that once the fifth ticket was found, sales would immediately drop, so he withheld the final ticket until the very last day.

Wonka definitely got high sales numbers with the whole Golden Tickets frenzy, which also re-sparked interest in him, the factory, and the candies. As Wonka kept the fifth ticket until a day before the visit to the factory, the ticket had to be found in the factory’s town, which was perfect for Charlie.

Willy Wonka’s 5th Golden Ticket Was Meant To Be Found In Charlie’s Town

The 5th Golden Ticket Had To Be Released In The Factory’s Town

If Willy Wonka wanted to keep the frenzy over the Wonka bars going for as long as possible, the final ticket, which he purposefully didn’t release with the rest, had to be released in the factory’s town in order for the winner to claim the prize. The first four Golden Ticket winners came from different parts of the world, but because they found the tickets early, they had enough time to arrange for traveling, accommodation, etc. The owner of the fifth ticket, however, wouldn’t have had the time to prepare as Wonka released the ticket one or two days before the deadline.

The ticket, then, had to be found near the factory, so Wonka could have intentionally released the final winning Wonka bar in the town where the factory is. Now, this still makes it possible for Charlie to have enough luck to find the ticket in an organic way, just like he did in the book, the 1971 movie, and Burton’s adaptation – however, others believe that not only was the fifth ticket withheld and later released in Charlie’s town to facilitate the process for the winner, but also that Charlie was chosen as the fifth winner.

Another Theory Adds That The Candy Store Owner Gave Charlie The Winning Chocolate On Purpose

Charlie Might Have Been Chosen For The 5th Golden Ticket

Charlie had no money to buy more Wonka bars to test his luck, but luckily, he found a bill on the street that was enough for him to buy one more Wonka bar. To his surprise, that was the bar with the fifth and final ticket, and after being overwhelmed by different offers to buy his ticket, he ran home to share the exciting news with his family. Accompanying the theory above is one that adds that the candy store owner who gave the Wonka bar to Charlie chose Charlie to be the fifth winner.

The owner might have seen the kindness in Charlie that made him deserving of the Golden Ticket.

The candy store owner might have been an ally of Wonka during the contest, making sure that the fifth ticket would be found the day before the visit to the factory. The owner might have seen the kindness in Charlie that made him deserving of the Golden Ticket, thus giving him the Wonka bar with the ticket instead of letting Charlie pick whichever bar he wanted. Ultimately, Willy Wonka got what he wanted with the massive sales of Wonka bars, and he found a trusty heir worthy of carrying on with the legacy of his company.

Source: Reddit.