10 Movie Characters You Didn't Know Got Away With Breaking Laws

The Law is a funny old thing. It’s the fundamental structure by which every individual must live their lives for the betterment of society and the average Joe would never think to go against the law if they could help it.

Movies characters however, seem to believe that they are above these rules and regulations by which we all live. Admittedly, some may not be aware that they are violating the law, but others treat these guidelines with complete indifference. As a result, there's a long list of characters who broke some sort of law on their journey.

Should the authorities become aware of these misdeeds prior to or during each character’s respective films the final act would have been very different. Then again, it’s arguable that few people would have preferred to witness Willy Wonka’s court proceedings for human trafficking over seeing Charlie win his chocolate factory. Or would they?

10. Willy Wonka Is A Human Trafficker – Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)

Let’s start with a sweet, eccentric character beloved by millions of children over the past five decades, but when you start to really investigate Mr Wonka and his actions, he begins to look something akin to a manipulative kingpin.

Let’s start with the Oompa Loompas. He imports them into the United Kingdom from Loompaland under the guise of paying for their labour with cocoa beans. While we could delve into the litany of immigration laws which may have been broken, it is the circumstances surrounding the Oompa Loompas employment under Mr Wonka which raises serious questions.

The chocolatier ensures his workforce conduct all their labour within his factory. The assumption is that they are forbidden from leaving due to no one being aware of their existence prior to entering the chocolate factory. This, and the fact that Willy Wonka fails to pay them even the minimum wage for their efforts suggests that he is using the Oompa Loompas as slave labour. This is backed up when considering the legislation in place prior to release of the remake of the much beloved children’s film starring Johnny Depp.

The act which would land Johnny Depp’s Wonka in serious hot water would be section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004. Here it prohibits the offence of trafficking people for exploitation. As the Oompa Loompas wages is financed through cocoa beans and not the statutory minimum wage. Wonka is breaching Article 4 of the Human Rights Act.

It seems more than likely that the Oompa Loompas will be getting Willy Wonka’s famed chocolate factory in compensation. Sorry Charlie.