Chocoholics in Pop Culture
[source: Warner Brothers]
Saturday, July 7 is World Chocolate Day and we have cocoa and sugar on the brain. To celebrate this (totally valid, completely real) holiday, we’re looking back at some of our favorite chocoholics in pop culture – with a literary bent! Would you expect anything less?
via GIPHY
[source: Warner Brothers]
Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
If the refrain “I want the world. I want the whole world” started playing in your brain, you’re on our wavelength. Veruca Salt proved to be not only the most spoiled kid on the entire chocolate factory tour, but also the richest. Her family bought an exorbitant amount of Wonka Bars, going so far as to shut down business at their factory so that their employees could spend their days shelling wrappers until a Golden Ticket was found. Imagine just how long it would take to eat all that chocolate. Even though we disagree with Veruca on almost every point, we do have to throw her a little chocoholic respect for the sheer volume of Wonka Bars she has access to.
[source: Disney]
The Lost Boys in Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
In an attempt to ensnare the Lost Boys once and for all, Captain Hook goes through the trouble of baking a chocolate poison cake to tempt the brood. Can we take a second to marvel at the scientific knowledge it would take to balance sugar, butter, flour, and poison while still looking delicious? We know we’re not supposed to be rooting for Hook, but that takes skill. And though the Lost Boys never succumbed to the rich chocolatey goodness, Hook knew his targets well. We’re just glad Wendy found the cake first.
via GIPHY
[source: TriStar Pictures]
Bruce from Matilda by Roald Dahl
Clearly, Roald Dahl had a chocolate obsession himself. Why else would he write a whole book about a chocolate factory and then go on to write about Bruce and the chocolate cake victory in Matilda? When Bruce is caught eating Miss Trunchbull’s cake, she punishes him by making him eat the entire (massive) thing in front of the whole school. And while it was difficult to watch in the movie adaptation, the song that Tim Minchin wrote for the musical adaptation of this childhood favorite is just incredible. Even all these years later, we find ourselves cheering when Bruce finishes the final bite.
[source: Miramax Films]
Vianne in Chocolat by Joanne Harris
When Vianne Rocher moves to a small town in France and opens her chocolate shop, she not only sets in motion the first change Lansquenet has experienced in a hundred years, she also establishes herself as the resident chocoholic. In this ultra-Catholic town, the temptation of chocolate during Lent is enough to start a small riot. But Vianne is here to show that chocolate isn’t evil, that happiness and indulgence is paramount, and that love could come when you least expect it. All that from the perfect balance of cocoa and sugar.
[source: Paramount Pictures]
Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
“Life is like a box of chocolates,” Forrest Gump declares. “You never know what you’re going to get.” And you have to be a lover of chocolate – all chocolate, even the coconut ones – if you’re going to use that as a metaphor for life. Lucky for us, Forrest is always in a sharing mood, whether he’s sharing stories or the delicious treat itself. (He’s the anti-Veruca Salt in that way.) We appreciate Forrest’s generosity and sunny disposition. We wouldn’t want anyone else to take us through three decades of American history, box of chocolates in hand.
