Arthur Slugworth is the overarching antagonist of Roald Dahl's children book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as its 1971 film adaptation, 2005 film adaptation and the main antagonist in the animated 2017 special Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the 2023 musical fantasy film Wonka.
Like Willy Wonka, he is head of a chocolate making company. After becoming jealous of Wonka, he decided to hire spies to help him steal his competitor's recipes. In the book and mentioned in the 2005 adaptation, one of the recipes are candy balloons that are similar to bubble gum but can be blown into huge balloons and popped if blown to a giant size.
Slugworth is Wonka's biggest business rival and ultimately aimed to bring Wonka's Factory out of business and take the profits for himself. He was portrayed by Philip Philmar in the 2005 adaptation, Paterson Joseph in the 2023 prequel adaptation and Mr. Wilkinson posing as Slugworth in the 1971 adaptation was portrayed by Günter Meisner.
1971 film[]
Slugworth was there during the opening of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. After he would later became one of the rival spies of Willy Wonka, causing Wonka to close down his factory. He would later open his own factory called Slugworth Chocolate Incorporated. After Wonka began releasing Everlasting Gobstoppers, he became jealous, and was worried that Wonka's new invention would ruin his business.
Wonka (prequel film)[]
In the 2023 film, Wonka, a somewhat loose prequel to the 1971 film, Arthur Slugworth serves as the overarching antagonist. He is a wealthy businessman and chocolate worker who owns a candy store at the Galeries Gourmet quarter of the city. He is the leader of “the Chocolate Cartel,” a trio of chocolate and candy makers who conspire together, with the monks of the city’s cathedral which is filled with chocoholic monks and with the police chief to keep down any other competitors. The monks, the cleric and the chief have such great sweet teeth that all they want in the world is chocolate and other candy, and so they pay them for their service in chocolate alone. He is also the uncle of the young girl Noodle in the film, whom he disposed of down a laundrey chute when she was very young so that he could be the sole owner of the immense family fortune.
Books and 2005 film[]
Slugworth is mentioned in the books, as being Wonka's most vicious and untrustworthy rival. In the 2005 adaptation, he is briefly seen taking Wonka's secrets from one of his spies.
