Bedridden when there's work to do, dances when there's free chocolate? Doesn't sound like the A plus grandpa we're led to believe Grandpa Joe is. In case you're unaware of who this despicable old man is, he's the main lazy grandparent, yes there are others, from the 1964 children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But the little freeloader is best known from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Throughout the beginning of the movie, Grandpa Joe lounges around in bed with the other useless grandparents, while his grandson, Charlie, and Charlie's mother, Mrs. Bucket, slave away trying to make ends meet. Sure it would be polite if Grandpa Joe helped them out, but that would involve him lifting his brittle body up from his comfortable bed and we all know that won't happen (unless of course there's a free chocolate bar involved). In fact, not only is Grandpa Joe lazy but full of broken promises and excuses too! When Mrs. Bucket calls him out for persistently lying about getting out of bed and helping Charlie "soon as [he] gets [his] strength back", he tells her he would help but the floor is too cold! Maybe if his daughter wasn't so busy catering to the lazy old people's every need, she'd have some free time to go get Grandpa Joe a pair of slippers! If you thought he couldn't get any worse, than you thought wrong. When Charlie brings home a loaf of bread his mother asks where/how he got it. But Grandpa Joe couldn’t care less “the point is that he got it” he says. All he is concerned about is shoving the bread Charlie spent his hard earned money on, down his throat. He wouldn't care if Charlie murdered the baker to get that bread as long as he doesn’t have to eat cabbage water anymore. The movie finally gets exciting after greedy Joe pressures his young and naive grandson into finding all 5 golden tickets. He's aware the family can barely afford a stale piece of bread but does that stop him from expecting Charlie to spend endless amounts of money on chocolate until he finds all 5 tickets? Of course not! When Charlie finally finds a golden ticket something extraordinary happens, Grandpa Joe makes a miraculous recovery! Just like magic, Grandpa Joe gains back all his strength the second Charlie says “I wish you could go”, referring to joining him at the chocolate factory. No he doesn’t suggest Charlie take his mother, who breaks her back working everyday while everyone else relaxes in bed, instead he springs up like a jack in the box and breaks out into an unnecessary yet well choreographed dance routine. After a beautiful rendition of "(I've Got A) Golden Ticket" in which Grandpa Joe showcases more selfishness singing the line "I've got a golden ticket" as if he instead of Charlie found the ticket, the two scurry off to the chocolate factory where Grandpa Joe criticizes all the other kids and almost costs Charlie his lifetime supply of chocolate by convincing him to drink the fizzy lifting drinks that they weren't supposed to be touching! It is evident that Grandpa Joe does not have Charlie's nor Mrs. Bucket's best interest at heart. Instead Grandpa Joe only thinks of himself while mooching off of others in order to get what he wants. It's time the world sees this atrocious old man for who he really is. A cunning, manipulative, monster!
