Movies - Veruca Salt

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	Movies - Veruca Salt

For the 1990s alternative rock group, see Veruca Salt (band)

Veruca Salt is a character from the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, written by Roald Dahl. She appears in the two film adaptations, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
. In the 1971 adaptation, she is portrayed by Julie Dawn Cole, and in the 2005 adaptation, she is portrayed by Julia Winter. Veruca is the only child of the wealthy couple, Henry Salt and Angina Salt (a geography teacher in the revised book only, and named Henrietta in the 1971 film), and is a terribly spoiled brat.

In all three versions, Mr. Salt owns a nut business. When Veruca announced she wanted a Golden Ticket, her father bought thousands of Wonka Bars, and made his factory workers open them. As three days passed, Veruca spent all of them kicking her legs about, while she screamed about how she wanted her Golden Ticket. Finally, a staff member found the ticket, and, as Veruca's father describes it in the book, she is "all smiles again."

Veruca also represents, as do the other "bad" children who visit the factory, one of the Seven Deadly Sins - in her case, Greed.

Veruca in the book and films

In each version, Veruca is portrayed as a spoiled brat, whose parents give her anything she wants, no matter how ridiculous the price. When Veruca is unable to get something she wants, she screams, shouts, kicks, and goes to extreme measures until she has her way. At the start, Veruca's parents both seem to view her as a sweet, innocent young lady; however, after getting ambushed and dirtied in the factory, these opinions change.

In the book, with illustrations by Quentin Blake, Veruca is portrayed as short (her height is never specifically stated), with curly blonde hair and a bow sitting on top. She is dressed in a frilly, pink and purple, tutu-like dress with pink gloves and purple shoes. A mink coat completes her outfit. In the book, she is seen to behave like the "typical" spoiled brat, who kicks, screams, cries, and is generally demanding and mean. She also appears to be a bit whiney, and childish at times. Her father seems to be aware of his daughter's bad behaviour; he confesses to Mr. Wonka that he knows his daughter is "a bit of a frump" but at the same time says that it's also no excuse for his daughter being burned alive.

In the 1971 film adaptation, Veruca has slightly curly, brown hair, which comes down to her shoulders. She wears a red dress with black buttons, light-colored tights, a white collar folded outward, and black, heeled shoes. Here, she looks much older than she does in the book and other film (around 13). Before entering the factory, Veruca wears a mink coat, and a mink hat over her dress (she also says she has three other mink coats at her home in England). In this film, Veruca is shown to be demanding, loud, and aggressive, sometimes resorting to threats. For example, she states her refusal to attend school until she gets her ticket. While she isn't particularly nasty to her mother, Veruca's "target" is her father, since he is easier to coerce. However, in one particular scene of the movie, she is very polite, especially to Mr. Wonka.

In the 2005 film adaptation, Veruca's hair is brown, pulled back with two fancy hair clips, and is styled in oversized ringlets. With her typical mink coat, she wears a pink dress with white tights, and black Mary Janes, carrying a little pink purse. Her personality is neither whiny or aggressive in this version, but calm and straight-forward about what she desires. However, while waiting for her ticket, Veruca stomped her foot, demanding for her ticket. Only when she is denied what she wants does Veruca completely lose her cool. Like the 1971 movie, Veruca isn't particularly nasty to her mom, and her target is her dad. Also, she is very impatient and disobedient.

It should be noted that while Veruca is portrayed as British in the films, her nationality is never mentioned in the book (though, it is hinted) as she uses British words.

Veruca's punishment

In the book and 2005 film, Veruca's demise takes place in Wonka's nut sorting room. After being denied a squirrel by Willy Wonka, Veruca brazenly attempts to take a squirrel for herself; only to be grabbed and knocked down by the creatures. The squirrels drag her across the ground, deem her a bad nut, and throw her into the garbage chute, with her parents quickly suffering the same fate afterwards. Her fate is similar in the 2005 film, but her mother isn't present (although the Oompa-Loompas throw a painting of Mrs Salt down the garbage chute to emphasize how she, along with her husband, spoiled Veruca rotten during the song). Unlike the book, Wonka says that the furnace is always lit on Tuesday only but Mike Teavee then mentions that the day of the factory tour is Tuesday but after Veruca's father falls down the chute, an Oompa Loompa says to Wonka that the incinerator is broken and there is 3 weeks of rotten garbage to break the fall of Veruca and her father.

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Movies - Veruca Salt

Veruca in the book and films

Veruca's punishment

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