Do we like them?

Do we like Willy Wonka?

A character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)

Our score: 6 out of 10. Brilliant, generous in the end and fun to follow. But he's careless about the kids in his care, and he waves off the danger. We'd back him, with our fingers crossed.

Willy Wonka owns the best and biggest chocolate factory in the world. In Roald Dahl's darkly comic 1964 novel he is a secretive, eccentric figure who has shut the factory gates to the public. He then announces a contest: five Golden Tickets are hidden in Wonka chocolate bars, and the finders win a tour of the factory. Poor, kind Charlie Bucket is one of the lucky five.

On the tour Wonka is part showman, part prankster and part mad scientist. He is endlessly inventive, proud of his creations and quick with a breezy answer to any awkward question. He also tends to be oddly relaxed when the tour's greedier, ruder and more spoiled guests ignore his warnings and wander into trouble. His mix of wonder, whimsy and carelessness is why the score lands in the middle-to-good range. Even in his quirkiest moments he is more mischievous than cruel.

The tour turns out to be a test. Wonka is looking for an heir he can trust with his factory, and he picks Charlie, the one child who stays honest and decent throughout. That generosity, and his love of making things for others, is what tips us toward backing him.