Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Maker
Paramount Pictures Corporation
(American, founded 1912)
Date1970-1971
ClassificationsPop Culture
DimensionsOverall: 3 1/2 x 6 3/4 in. (8.9 x 17.1 cm)
DescriptionA "Golden Ticket" prop from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). The ticket is a gold foil rectangular sheet with scalloped edges and black border embellishments. The black printed text reads: "WONKA'S / GOLDEN TICKET / GREETINGS TO YOU, THE LUCKY FINDER OF THIS / GOLDEN TICKET, FROM MR. WILLY WONKA!... / PRESENT THIS TICKET AT THE FACTORY GATES AT TEN O'CLOCK / IN THE MORNING OF THE FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER AND DO NOT / BE LATE. YOU MAY BRING WITH YOU ONE MEMBER OF YOUR / OWN FAMILY... AND ONLY ONE... BUT NO ONE ELSE........ / In your wildest dreams you could not imagine the marvelous SURPRISES / that await YOU!" This screen-used “Golden Ticket” appeared in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), based on the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The small number of screen-used Golden Tickets were meticulously cut by hand to create a unique scalloped border. This ticket was acquired during production by the son of one of the movie's executives from the film's sponsor, Quaker Oats, who worked as a Production Assistant during filming in Germany.
In the film, eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka hides five Golden Tickets in his chocolate bars and rewards the finders with a tour of his factory. Paperboy Charlie Bucket finds one of the tickets and brings his Grandpa Joe with him. As the tour progresses, it becomes clear that the tour is part of a competition, which Charlie eventually wins. Wonka reveals that he created the contest to select an heir for the factory and awards it to Charlie upon his retirement.
