Draft:Veruca Salt (character)

Veruca Salt
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character
First appearance	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Created by	Roald Dahl
Adapted by	Mel Stuart (1971) Tim Burton (2005)
Portrayed by	Film: Julie Dawn Cole (1971) Julia Winter (2005) Stage: Matilda Belton (2013) Emma Pfaeffle (2013-2017) Jessica Cohen (2018)
Voiced by	Film: Emily O'Brien (2017) Video games: Julia Winter (2005)

Veruca Salt is a fictional character first appearing in Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, originally portrayed by Julie Dawn Cole in the book's first film adaptation, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). The character was also portrayed by Julia Winter in the 2005 film adaptation, who also voiced Veruca in the 2005 video game.

In most mediums of the story, Veruca is portrayed as a spoiled, obnoxious, and demanding young girl who appears to always get what she wants. In the original book, she is able to win herself a Golden Ticket to Wonka's Chocolate Factory by cheating. Veruca attends the tour with her father (both parents in the book), but is ultimately the third child the be eliminated from it due to her selfish tendencies.

Veruca Salt's characterization has been praised by numerous critics, especially in the 1971 film adaptation. The portrayals of the character in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) by both Cole and Winter respectively have both received praise for their performances, including Cole's vocal performance during the "I Want it Now" musical number in the original film adaptation. In addition to her popularity, Veruca is often identified as one of literature's most recognizable characters, and an identifiable entity within pop culture. Veruca has also been the subject of numerous psychological studies since the book's initial release.

Concept and creation

Casting and portrayals

Julie Dawn Cole was cast for the role of Veruca Salt in 1970, for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Living in the United Kingdom at the time and having to travel to the United States, Cole spent several months away from home in order to be part of the film. In several interviews, Cole revealed that she channeled her "darker side" for the role.

Storyline

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)

Veruca is a young, spoiled brat who is the second finder of the five Golden Tickets. She hails from a wealthy family, whose victory of finding the Golden Ticket was cheated.

Movie adaptations

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

See also: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Veruca lives in England with her family, who are quite wealthy. When it is revealed Willy Wonka has hidden five Golden Tickets in five Wonka Bars, Veruca demands to have one for herself. Her father, Henry Salt, has his workers dig through thousands of chocolate bars to find one. One of Mr. Salt's workers finds a Golden Ticket, and delivers it to Veruca, where she is greeted by "Mr. Slugworth." Slugworth instructs the girl to steal an Everlasting Gopstopper from Wonka's factory for a cash reward. On the day of the tour, Veruca joins the four other children and their parents outside the gates, where they are greeted by Willy Wonka. During the tour, Veruca becomes quite demanding, and continuously asks her father for various things, including an Oompa-Loompa. She witnesses both Augustus Gloop and Violet Beauregarde's "eliminations" from the tour before meeting her end. Wonka shows the remaining three children the Golden Egg Room, where Veruca becomes quite fascinated with the geese and demands her father get one for her. After Wonka denies Mr. Salt's offer, Veruca sings about all the things she wants ("I Want it Now"), and ultimately falls down the garbage chute leading to the furnace. At the end of the film, Willy Wonka assures Charlie the other children have been restored to their former selves.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

See also: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)

After the announcement of the limited edition Golden Tickets, Veruca demands her father that she must acquire one for her own needs. Per request, Mr. Salt has his workers from his own nut factory unwrap thousands of Wonka chocolate bars in order to find the ticket. After at least three days, Veruca's father steals one of the Golden Tickets from one of his employees and gifts it to his daughter. On the first of February, Veruca and her father attend the factory tour, where they are greeted by an ecstatic Willy Wonka. Upon arriving in the Nut Room, Veruca requests that her father buys one of the worker squirrels, but Wonka declines. Frustrated, Veruca disrupts the squirrels and causes them to "test" and see if she's a bad nut, which ultimately leads her to be carried down the garbage chute. Learning of his mistakes by the end of the tour, Mr. Salt later rejects Veruca's demand for a flying elevator.

Other appearances

In video games, Veruca made an appearance in the 1985 computer video game Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the 1964 book. She later made an appearance in the 2005 video game adaptation Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the film of the same name, voiced by Julia Winter. In 2007, her likeness from both the 1971 and 2005 films made appearances in the 2007 online game Poptropica.

Veruca Salt also made an appearance in the animated film Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, voiced by Emily O'Brien.

Reception

Julie Dawn Cole (pictured) portrayed Veruca Salt in the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Veruca's characterization has been praised by numerous critics, with many citing her as one of the book's best characters. On the contrary, Veruca is also often considered one of the worst child characters in fiction. WatchMojo ranked Veruca the second most-annoying child character in film. Joe Robberson for Zimbo listed Veruca (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) as one of the most obnoxious kids characters in movies, describing her as a nightmare. "Veruca is written as spoiled and nasty, but Cole gives her an extra edge she never had in the original book. She deserves the furnace." For Fatherly, Blake Harper described Veruca Salt as bratty, spoiled, and the worst child to have won the Golden Ticket. "[Veruca] verbally berates her limp noodle of a father dad in order to get what he wants, making him stop work at his peanut factory so that thousands of workers can try to find a golden ticket. She has zero self-awareness, tossing off snide remarks towards kids, adults, and even Oompa Loompas and even singing a song about how she has to get what she wants, no matter what."

Despite the character's negative reception, Julie Dawn Cole received praise from critics for her performance as Veruca Salt. Julia Winter, who portrayed Veruca in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), was also met with a positive critical response for her portrayal.

Legacy and influence

The character has been referenced as culturally iconic by several critics. Veruca herself is often regarded as one of the most hated and annoying child characters in fiction, despite the praise for her characterization.

Veruca's demanding personality is numerously referenced throughout pop culture, often through negative depictions of political figures or in the form of parodies, especially her common catchphrase "I want it now." In 2021, Justin Trudeau's face was plastered over Veruca Salt's from the 1971 film during the Canadian election. Amid the campaign, it received mixed criticism from both politicians and voters. Her likeness was also compared to the members of the Scottish National Party by Tory MPs in 2017, according to The Herald. "We've got the political manifestation of Veruca Salt sat just across from us," said Luke Graham. "They go from room to room shouting what they want, demanding more and more, and yet they are never satisfied."

Veruca has been the subject of several psychological studies. Desy Rokhmah and Martha Betaubun used the character as a basis for exemplifying "permissive parenting."

An American band called "Veruca Salt" derived their name from the character in 1992.

In 2004, Julie Dawn Cole guest-starred in a Melbourne Comedy Festival show, Willy Wonka Explained (The Search for Veruca Salt), where she revisited the role of Veruca Salt.

Veruca has been a source of inspiration throughout pop culture. During the creation of Disgust, a character from the 2015 computer animated film Inside Out, the development team and writers cited Veruca Salt (from the 2005 film adaptation Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as a major source of inspiration for the character. Additionally, Veruca Salt served as the major source of inspiration for Unwin Trevaunance, a character from the television show Poldark.

In 2016, Julie Dawn Cole released a book titled I Want It Now!: A Memoir of Life on the Set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on her experiences and memories of Veruca Salt and behind the scenes of the 1971 film.

Some of the character's props from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory were auctioned off in 2016 and 2017. One of the golden eggs used by Veruca Salt in the film made an appearance on Pawn Stars, but was not sold. The golden ticket used by the character, which was gifted to Cole on her birthday in 1970, sold for £15,000 in 2019.