Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator: Roald Dahl

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Insubstantial Ingredients: Certain ingredients in Wonka-Vite are these — "the hip (and the po and the pot) of a hippopotamus", for instance. Shapeshifter Default Form: Vermicious Knids are normally egg-shaped before turning themselves into various shapes. Eye of Newt: Wonka-Vite and Vita-Wonk consist primarily or entirely of such ingredients. The former needs such things as "the trunk (and the suitcase) of an elephant" and "the horn of a rhinoceros (it must be a loud horn)". The latter requires things that can specifically "create age" — ancient trees and animals are the source of these. Not Drawn to Scale: In the first book, the Elevator is large enough to hold a bed that sleeps four people plus several standing occupants, and the ceiling can't be much higher than the occupants because the buttons can be reached and pushed by Willy Wonka. This time out, it's large enough that everyone's floating freely about when it initially goes into orbit and Mr. Wonka, Grandpa Joe, and Charlie have to propel themselves through the air to reach each of the buttons that need to be pushed to stabilize it. Late-Arrival Spoiler: Cover blurbs typically spoil the ending of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Never My Fault: The bed-ridden grandparents blame Mr. Wonka for the whole mess with the Wonka-Vite, never mind that he had flat-out warned them how powerful the pills were yet they proceeded to overdose on them. Scare 'Em Straight: While this isn't the morality play the first book was, the "don't fool around with medicine" Aesop presented in the second half definitely has this vibe, particularly in the Goldie Pinklesweet Show Within a Show, which details how she had to be taken to the hospital and get her stomach pumped among other things. Manchild: President Gilligrass spends most of his time coming up with utterly useless inventions and letting his former Nanny (who still acts as though she's his current nanny) run the country.Mistaken for Spies: The elevator's passengers are first regarded as spies by the rest of the world and the bed is believed to be a bomb. Ultimately, after they help save the Space Hotel crew and guests from the actual aliens that turn out to be in the hotel, they are regarded as heroic astronauts rather than spies. Additionally, during their first appearance, the knids are about four feet tall. During the climax where they're assaulting the elevator, they're drawn to be massive, each one far bigger than the elevator or the space capsule it's escorting. World of Pun: The book is filled with puns, such as the Chief Financial Advisor trying to balance the budget. (It kept falling off his head.)

Stupid Evil: The Vermicious Knids twist their stretchy bodies in to the letters "S-C-R-A-M," thus frightening off their victims and depriving themselves of a meal, because, as Mr. Wonka explains, "They're tremendously proud of being able to write like that," and scram is the only word they know how to spell. The Whole World Is Watching: It's explicitly said that the whole world is glued to their TVs, watching the glass elevator's flight, listening to Mr. Wonka, and then watching the subsequent confrontation with the Vermicious Knids. Chew Toy: Grandma Georgina, making her the standout character among the grandparents this time around.Karma Houdini: In the Oompa-Loompas' song, Goldie Pinklesweet's grandmother faces no apparent repercussions for sneaking out for a double gin and leaving Goldie to her own devices.

Virus and Cure Names: The Fountain of Youth pill Wonka-Vite isn't a virus, of course, but the Rapid Aging counterpart developed specifically to re-age those who are rendered too young is known as Vita-Wonk. Artificial Gravity: The Space Hotel has artificial gravity, so the characters walk normally inside, but the Elevator does not have this, so they float around. Double-Meaning Title: The first chapter is titled "Mr. Wonka Goes Too Far", referencing both his fearless — and to the others, terrifying — decision to send the elevator absurdly high and his inability to stop it from going further up than he planned thanks to Grandma Josephine. He even knows the alien species' name, their modus operandi, and their weaknesses, like The Doctor frequently does about their foe. The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: A curious variant: When Grandma Georgina is aged to 300+ years old via Vita-Wonk, her memories change to reflect the times she would have been born in and lived through had she come to this point naturally. Her earliest memory is arriving in America on the Mayflower. When she is returned to her natural age, these memories apparently disappear.

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Plot Leveling: As the first book ends with Mr. Wonka having found an heir in Charlie and the boy and his family destined to live the good life in the factory, thus leaving the characters without any real needs, continuing their story requires throwing them into new adventures. So the Great Glass Elevator accidentally winds up in orbit, and they encounter killer aliens, and then the bedridden grandparents' stubborn refusal to get out of bed leads into the Wonka-Vite misadventure, which leads to the journey to Minusland... Instructional Title: The final chapter is called "How To Get a Person Out Of Bed". For those wondering how, it's...give them an invitation to the White House. Alternatively, the name "Gilligrass" might also be a reference to "Gilligan" of Gilligan's Island, especially given the president's Manchild personality. No Celebrities Were Harmed: The President of the United States was Richard Nixon at the time of this book's writing, but here he is called "Lancelot Gilligrass". Hotline: This novel was written as the Cold War was going on, and the first thing the President does when he and his underlings suspect the Elevator's occupants are spies is to call up the Russian premier on a hot line. He also has a hot line to the Chinese premier, which uses a special porcelain phone.

On the President's desk, a bright red telephone links to Soviet Russia, and a porcelain telephone links to China.Eldritch Location: Minusland, a place of negative existence, where anyone that overdoses on Wonka-Vite ends up, and which the Great Glass Elevator can visit - but it's extremely dangerous for ordinary humans (see below). Invisible Monsters: The Gnoolies of Minusland are invisible, inaudible insects. The only sign of their presence a human can feel is their bite, and once bitten, the victim is doomed to slowly be divided into more Gnoolies.