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I'm the Junior World Champion Gum Chewer. This piece of gum I'm chewing right at this moment I've been working on for three months solid. That's a record.

–VIOLET DURING HER INTERVIEW, THE 2005 FILM

Violet Beauregarde is one of five children who enters Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. She was portrayed by the late Denise Nickerson in the 1971 film and AnnaSophia Robb in the 2005 remake.

Intro[]

In the original book, Violet Beauregarde is the third of the five children to find one of the Golden Tickets, and is the second child to be expelled from the tour. She exhibits a more competitive personality than the five other ticket winners, particularly in the 2005 movie, in which her ambitious behavior is greatly expanded to include her participation in sports and martial arts. Violet is also a notoriously relentless and competitive gum chewer (holding the record for chewing gum), although she temporarily curbed her habit in order to focus on Wonka Bars and search for the ticket. Most versions have Violet calling her mother simply "Mother," out of arrogance, but in some adaptations, she just calls her mother "Mom" instead. In the book, she is called Miss Violet Beauregarde and is considered a lady in spite of her bad manners.

Appearances[]

Appearance[]

In the original 1971 ‘Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory’ portrayed by Denise Nickerson, she has fair skin, long warm brown hair with finger-bangs, and brown eyes. For most of the movie, Violet wears a long-sleeved deep blue button-up mini dress with gold buttons, a red belt with a gold buckle around the waist, deep blue long pants, and brown shoes.

When she receives the golden ticket, she wears a red long-sleeved shirt, a blue sailor scarf, a red miniskirt, blue high socks, and brown Mary Jane shoes.

In the 2005 remake ‘Charlie and The Chocolate Factory’ portrayed by AnnaSophia Robb, she has slightly tanned fair skin, light honey blonde hair done in a short bob and pale, light grayish cerulean eyes. For most of the movie, she wears a light brilliant arctic blue tracksuit with white stripes going down the sides of it and a blue zipper heart, a blue watch on her right wrist, and white trainers with blue designs.

When receiving the Golden Ticket, she wears a light brilliant cerise tracksuit jacket with ‘Pineapple’ written in silver and silver lining over a white shirt with brilliant amaranth stitching on the collar and matching stars, vivid cerise tracksuit pants with ‘Pineapple’ written in silver and lighter cerise and white tennis shoes.

Role in the novel[]

Violet is described in the original novel as having a "great big mop of curly hair" and as someone who talks "very fast and very loudly." Like Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee her nationality is not mentioned (although she hails from America in the films). Both her parents accompany her to the factory. During her press interview, she talks more about her gum-chewing habit than the ticket. However, she does show off the ticket, described as "waving it around as if she was attempting to flag down a taxicab", and says that when she learned of the Golden Ticket contest, she put a moratorium on her gum-chewing, buying Wonka bars instead as a means to test herself.

She is depicted from illustrator to illustrator wearing jeans and a T-shirt, as a reflection of her tomboyish ways. She loves gum, although more to see how long she can chew it than to enjoy its flavor or to freshen breath. She claims to be a gum-chewing champion and that she had worked on one wad of gum for three consecutive months, sticking it to her bedknob while asleep and behind her ear while eating.

Role in the 1971 film[]

In the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Violet was depicted as a 12 year-old[1] girl from Miles City, Montana, and was played by the late Denise Nickerson and was a girly girl. Her father, Sam Beauregarde, is a "prominent" local politician, civic leader, and a used car salesman who uses Violet's television interview for free advertising of his car dealership. Violet uses her television interview to demean Cornelia Prinzmetel far more than she does in the novel. There is no interaction between Violet and Veruca Salt (or unused character Miranda Piker) in the novel, but in the film, both girls are seen pushing and shoving each other when walking down the Chocolate Room stairs. Violet gets frustrated with Veruca because she finds her obnoxious, resulting to her calling Veruca a nit and a twit. Like Mike Teavee, Augustus Gloop, and Veruca Salt, Violet gets along fairly well with Charlie Bucket. She seems less rude in this film than in the 2005 film and, as the Oompa Loompas say in her departure song, she just needs to improve on her manners.

Role in the 2005 Film[]

In the 2005 film adaptation, Violet (played by AnnaSophia Robb) is 10 years old, but her hometown has been changed to Atlanta, Georgia. However, unlike the novel and 1971 film, she’s mean to Charlie (more than Augustus was), and goes so far as to call him a "loser".

She and Veruca also can be competitive with one another, despite the two of them agreeing to be 'best friends'. The two glance at each other in a way that implies some animosity and that they both intend to outlast the other in the bid to win the special prize. When Violet inflates into a blueberry, Veruca is shown smirking, pleased that her opposing female competition has been eliminated.

Violet bouregarde

Violet with her Golden Ticket.

She’s athletic and has a vicious competitive streak, having won 263 trophies and medals in various events ranging from martial arts competitions to gymnastics, to swimming and to gum-chewing contests; she’s a junior champion and world-record holder in the latter. She’s also shown to be a bad winner and has no friends because of it. Violet and her mother wear matching outfits and have the same hairstyles. Violet had been working on the same piece of gum for three months straight at the time that she had found her Golden Ticket. During the ticket search, she temporarily laid off gum and switched to Wonka Bars, keeping the aforementioned wad stored behind her ear in the meantime. Violet's mother Scarlett Beauregarde (played by Missi Pyle), a former baton champion herself, initially encourages her daughter's unladylike behavior and rude attitude, acting in a true soccer mom fashion; however, her approval and pride of her daughter turn into disapproval and humiliation when they leave the factory and head back to Atlanta, because she had encouraged Violet's act of disobedience to Wonka's commands. However, she also seemed to be worried that her daughter couldn't "compete" anymore in the state she was in. Violet is claimed to have only one parent, because her dad isn't mentioned or noticed in the film.

In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Violet Beauregarde is (instead of being portrayed as white) portrayed as an African-American fame-hungry wannabe from California, with her agent/father Eugene Beauregarde parlaying her mundane talent of gum chewing into celebrity status, with a multitude of endorsements and accomplishment.

In theatrical adaptations, Violet's role was originally identical to her role in the 1970s film. However, unlike that film but like the 2005 film, Violet was accompanied by her mother. In response to the 2005 film, Violet now tends to be a combination of the two versions (with her mother both hushing her gum-chewing habit while secretly encouraging it).

In The Video Game[]

In the 1985 video game based on the book, a level involves the avoiding of blueberries thrown by Violet. The 2005 film's game requires Charlie to roll Violet to the Juicing Room, where he must take her to Wonka's juicer to squeeze her back to normal. Violet seems much slimmer than in the movie and her blueberry form is much smaller and similar to the 1971 movie.

Violet's Endgame[]

In the Novel[]

Wonka has invented a gum that contains an entire three-course dinner: tomato soup, roast beef with baked potato, and blueberry pie with ice cream (pea soup, roast beef, and blueberry ice cream in the theatrical shows), but forbids Violet to chew it as it is not ready for human consumption just yet. Violet rudely snaps that she holds the world record in chewing gum and begins anyway, ignoring Wonka's protests. However, the blueberry pie stage is defective, which causes Violet to turn blue, inflate, and expand into a giant blueberry. She is only able to waddle a little bit due to her girth, and Wonka tells the Oompa Loompas to roll her to the juicing room to extract the blueberry juice immediately, before she explodes.

1971 film[]

Violet's belt

Violet Beauregarde blowing up in the 1971 film

In the 1971 version, when Violet starts to inflate, her belt blocks some of the swelling at first. However, she continues to inflate and the belt pops off and her mid-section is instantly filled with juice, causing it to balloon. Mike pokes at her inflated stomach, knocking her off balance. As her mid-section continues to get bigger and bigger, her arms and legs swell into it, creating a rounded-out blueberry. Only her hands, feet and head have not sunken completely into her body. But everyone (including her father) is still surprised; due to her girth, and before she can waddle too far, she‘s lowered to the ground by the watchful Oompa Loompas. She’s rolled to the juicing room by a team of Oompa-Loompas but isn’t seen again, and there is a twist as Mr. Wonka said she might explode if not squeezed back to normal size. Violet isn’t seen again after being rolled away, but Wonka simply assures Charlie that all the other children will be completely restored to their normal "terrible" old selves, but also says that "Maybe they will be a little wiser for the ware." She with the Oompa Loompas is also the only one present during her song in the 1971 film.

Bahh

Violet Beauregard in the 2005 film

2005 Film[]

In the 2005 version, Violet grows more than just a few centimeters, instead of swelling to an exponentially higher rate than the novel, almost reaching the Inventing Room's catwalks at ten feet tall. She begins to inflate after she has turned completely blue. The inflation begins in her tummy, which Violet feels with her hand, then her bum triples in size, almost knocking her off balance, she turns around to look at her huge bum. By the time she is facing the tour again, her belly has become so big that her tracksuit can no longer contain it. It is here when Charlie announces to the tour that Violet is swelling up like a blueberry. Violet's cheeks then fill up with juice, causing them to bulge out, whilst she is also getting taller. Violet continues to gain height, and starts to feel her huge, blue belly, which is still getting bigger. Here, we can see that Violet's arms are noticeably fatter, and her belly button has also increased in size. Her fattened arms are soon rendered useless, however, as they are sucked in to her rounding body. At this point, Violet loses control of her body and starts to roll from side to side, unable to stop inflating. She continues to round out until she resembles an enormous, ten foot blueberry. When Violet has fully blimped up, she almost rolls onto the tour because she is so big and round. Luckily for Violet, her inflation is complete; she is left looking like an over-inflated, supersized beach ball which is completely blue. Mrs. Beauregarde looks up at her blimp of a daughter in shock, and Wonka creeps up behind her. Wonka says that he's tested the gum on 20 Oompa Loompas, and each one of them ended up as a blueberry, to which Mrs. Beauregarde responds with, "But I can't have a blueberry for a daughter! How is she supposed to compete?" The humiliation doesn't stop for Violet as Veruca then suggests to put her in a county fair, due to her humongous size, whilst Wonka laughs at Veruca's savage roast. In this film, it's never stated that Violet could explode, although it's heavily implied due to her massive size that she will.

She’s also seen exiting the factory with her mother after the tour. She has been deflated by the Oompa Loompas, but rather than just walking, she somersaults, cartwheels, and backflips down the stairs and the front walk, apparently becoming more flexible (implying that the swelling must have stretched her body out) and her skin, hair, and clothes are now a seemingly-permanent shade of indigo. She’s actually pleased with her new appearance. However, her mother is very angry with her daughter for disobeying Wonka's orders and ashamed that she encouraged Violet to do so. Judging by the look on her face and the tone of her voice in her final line ("Yes, but you're blue"), she’s fed up with coaching her daughter and treating her like an overconfident athlete, her exceeding pride in her entirely gone. In the novel, Violet ends up with purple skin but there is no mention of increased dexterity.

She always wanted fame now she bound to explode

Violet in the musical as a blueberry

In the Musical[]

In the 2013 musical, Violet meets a far stickier end.

After the group enters Wonka's Inventing Room, Violet proclaims that Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper "sucks" and that she wants to chew. Wonka has produced a sample of one of his latest inventions, Gastromolecular Unicellulose Mouthmosh (AKA G.U.M.), which contains all of the flavoring sensations of a full three-course dinner (from 1979)! Unable to resist, Violet pops the strip of gum into her mouth and begins to chew.

She tastes such flavors as tomato soup, roast chicken, potatoes, and gravy, fizzy orange, and cheese and crackers. All the while, Wonka warns Violet that the gum is not ready yet and that she must spit it out before it gets to the pudding. Violet does not listen and reaches the pudding, which turns out to be blueberry pie.

At that moment, Wonka explains that she has hit "pudding" as Violet's hips and thighs slowly grow outwards. Violet takes a few seconds to realize that something is happening to her and begins to panic as her father grabs Wonka, demanding to know what is happening to Violet. Wonka cryptically explains that violet has excesses fructose in her fluid sacks which when prompted he reveals means she is literally turning into a blueberry. Immediately the Oompa Loompas begin a 70's roller disco routine and nickname her 'Juicy' in reference to the substance filling her up. They declare that even though she has no talent she has now achieved her dream of becoming the biggest celebrity of all time and that now she is blue everyone will know who she is. Violet meanwhile makes a pathetic attempt to waddle as the skinny Veruca mocks Violet's huge size. She disappears behind a large mixing vat while her unconcerned father simply complains that he cannot put a blueberry on the cover of vogue and tries to call his lawyer but before he can, the Oompa Loompas raise Violet into the air who is now swollen into an enormous ball and blue from head to toe. Violet is then spun around while lights are flashed on her like a giant disco ball for the Oompa Loompas to dance to. After seeing his daughter's new body, a still unconcerned Mr. Beauregarde begins to make plans to put Violet on the cover of Fruit Monthly much to Violet's protest but he takes no heed and greedily calls his lawyer to make the arrangements. As Violet spins, she appears upset as the Oompas mock her incredibly large size. They say that Violet now needs a tent for a dress, because her body is so big and round.

The song builds to a climax when Violet eventually reaches her limits, ending the song with a wet splat as purple goo and confetti rain down, imitating Violet's exploding body and insides raining down.

In a surprising act of concern, Mr. Beauregarde begins to scream that his daughter has exploded while an unconcerned Wonka assures him she has simply burst her bubble. He then orders Oompa Loompas to take Mr. Beauregarde to the Juicing Vat to retrieve Violet's pieces and repair her before she ferments. Veruca is visibly happy at Violet's disgusting death.

In theatrical adaptations[]

In contrast to both films and the novel, Violet sings a song before becoming a blueberry. The song aptly named "Chew it" is basically just a monologue about Violet's obsession with chewing after which Violet grabs the three-course dinner gum from Wonka and chews. This leads into the second verse where the others gawk at her and she swells into a blueberry after which she is carried off by Oompa Loompas. However, in some versions, the song builds to Violet's sticky doom, ending with her being dragged off stage and exploding as a popping sound is heard. Also in some versions, confetti is thrown to simulate parts of Violet. In some versions Violet is carried back on stage to sing a humiliating song whilst in others the Oompas and her mother sing whilst Violet is absent, having exploded into goo only moments ago. Some versions even go so far as to have the Oompa Loompas come on stage covered in blue paint! She is later seen leaving the factory with the other kids and their parents fully restored to her former self, however, some versions have Violet leaving the Factory as a blueberry, never to be fixed.

Behind the scenes[]

How They Made the Blueberry[]

The filmmakers of the 1971 adaptation simulated the blueberry scene by inflating the late Nickerson in a rubber suit and composed her outline in two halves of a styrofoam ball. It took 45 minutes to get her into costume, who was unable to go to lunch during rehearsals; instead, she was rolled around on set every five minutes to keep blood circulating. She recalls that Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca, saw her as the "cool American girl", but "she saw her as a big purple ball, who was completely embarrassed". In the 2005 version, at the request of director Tim Burton, the filmmakers combined real footage of Robb with digital effects in order to increase the overall size of the blueberry rather than just the width (as depicted in the novel). As well as for the scene of Violet and her mother leaving the factory. In the London Musical version, a button on her blue backpack is pressed to make her inflate and she runs around, and is put in a huge metal disco ball for her body.

The Sequel[]

Violet does not appear in the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, along with Augustus, Veruca, and Mike, but is only mentioned, the only "bad child" to be remembered in the departure novel. Wonka is talking about his new formula, "Wonka-Vite" and invites his grandparents to try it, but Charlie recalls "Are you sure? Remember the gum you gave to Violet Beauregarde?" Willy Wonka retorts that he did not "give" her the gum, all gifts from him carry his guarantee and he did not give away a product that he still needed to test out, rather she stole it from him despite his orders not to.

The Witches[]

Violet appears in The Witches, where she was putting already chewed pieces of the chewing gum on the buttons inside of an elevator to annoy people, and accidently revealed that the Witches aren't regular people.

Song[]

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Violet being rolled out of the Inventing Room by a team of Oompa Loompas

The original song in the novel featured a "Miss Bigelow" who chewed gum day in and day out for years before her jaws bit her tongue in two and spent her life quietly, and how the Oompa Loompas wanted to prevent the same thing happening to Violet. In the 2005 version, this song takes place in the Inventing Room, where the multicourse gum was created. It is sung by the Oompa Loompas while they roll Violet around in blueberry form, and the lyrics contain 42 repetitions of the word "chewing". The track uses the same pitch in voice, accompanied by '70's disco music'. In the 1971 version, the song merely talks about how chewing gum for long periods of time is repulsive. In the theatrical shows, her song is called "Chew It", which talks about her love of chewing gum and how it's her lifelong dream to chew the same stick all her life. It is followed by her Oompa-Loompa song, which is either sung by the Oompa-Loompas with her present, by her with the Oompa-Loompas present, by the Oompa-Loompas without her present, or by the actress who plays Violet while backstage with only the Oompa-Loompas and a Violet blueberry model present onstage.

About Violet[]

Violet Beauregarde played by Denise

Violet portrayed by the late Denise Nickerson

Violet obtains a monomaniacal connection with chewing gum. She even tries to break the world record on how long she chews the gum, which she boasts to have beaten her very best friend. In the book, little of her personality is revealed.

However, in the 1971 film, her personality is sassy, head-strong, brash. She once in a while can be seen getting annoyed at her parents at different times by telling them to "Cool it.". She also gets annoyed by Veruca's demanding antics and can shout at her. Additionally, Violet and Veruca constantly got into fights.

Her personality in the modern adaption is more detailed. She is just as arrogant as Veruca Salt (and her mother), and also over-competitive. She shows incredible reflexes in martial arts and almost inhuman speed. Her brash, vicious personality is thickened by her mother's exceeding vanity and unhealthily strong praise of her daughter. Violet looks down towards other people, such as Veruca Salt and Charlie Bucket. She is just as callous as her mother, labeling everyone else as losers and non-entities. However, this callousness is immediately disapproved of by her mother when they exit the factory.

Because of Violet's transformation, her body is now part blueberry, and she is a blueberry-human hybrid; as a result, her skin color is blue and, in the 2005 version, she is unnaturally flexible.


Trivia[]

  • In real life, during the filming of the 1971 movie, the late Denise Nickerson (Violet) and Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) both had crushes on Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket) and took turns in spending time with him.
  • Sometimes during the filming of the 70's version of Violet becoming a blueberry, the Oompa Loompas would (by accident) lose control of the late Denise Nickerson and she would roll and bang against the metal archway of the doors that led to the juicing room. She joked in later years that they did not have their "blueberry driver's licenses".
  • Said by the late Denise Nickerson in the DVD commentary that one day in math class, sometime after filming completed, kids started pointing at her and laughing, and one of her friends told her she was turning purple. The make-up that had been used on her for the film had apparently seeped into her pores and started to resurface (which, she jokingly remarks, prevented her from getting any dates at that school)
  • Violet does not have a father in her life in the 2005 film.
Charlie and the chocolate factory poster2 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Augustus-Gloop-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-31958202-1024-768-1-
Characters

Augustus Gloop · Veruca Salt · Charlie Bucket · Willy Wonka · Grandpa Joe · Grandma Josephine · Grandpa George · Grandma Georgina · Hellen Bucket · Mr. Bucket · Angina Salt · Rupert Salt · Mrs. Gloop · Mr. Gloop · Violet Beauregarde · Scarlett Beauregarde · Sam Beauregarde · Mike Teavee · Norman Teavee · Mrs. Teavee · Reporters · Oompa Loompas

Locations in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory

Glass Elevator · Willy Wonka's yacht · Chocolate Room · Marshmallow Room · Factory Gates · Fudge Room · Chocolate River · Storeroom Number 54 · Cream Room · Whip Room · Bean Room · Inventing Room · Gum Machine · Edible Marshmallow Pillows Room · Lickable Wallpaper Room · Hot Ice Creams Room · Cows that give Chocolate Milk Room · Fizzy Lifting Drink · Square Candies that look round Room · Nut Room · Television Room

Franchises

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 video game) · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1985 video game) · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)

  1. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory script
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