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Supposedly after a 4 year hiatus, the Chocolate Factory re-opens. It remains locked according to Grandpa Joe but continues to pump out more delicious candy than ever before. The Oompa Loompas remain a secret so clearly they aren't the truck drivers and if the factory is locked it can't allow non-Oompa-Loompa drivers within for shipping. Who ships Wonka's goods?
Is there a canon explanation in the book or in either of the movies that I'm missing or is it just one of those things?
In the original Roald Dahl book, the chocolates came out of a serving hatch, ready to be loaded onto Post Office trucks for delivery to the shops.
‘But Grandpa, who,’ cried Charlie, ‘who is Mr Wonka using to do all the work in the factory?’
‘Nobody knows, Charlie.’
‘But that’s absurd! Hasn’t someone asked Mr Wonka?’
‘Nobody sees him any more. He never comes out. The only things that come out of that place are chocolates and sweets. They come out through a special trap door in the wall, all packed and addressed, and they are picked up every day by Post Office trucks.’
‘But Grandpa, what sort of people are they that work in there?’
In the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, we see a Wonka-branded van driven by a non-Oompa-Loompa.
And in the 2005 reboot Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the gates open and automated packing arms extend to load trucks driven by what are presumably non-Oompa-Loompa lorry drivers (because otherwise, why the need for secrecy?)
When Charlie says that "the gates are always closed", he seems to be referring to the factory doors, not the loading-yard gate.
(2005 version) I would think that the delivery trucks are automated. While I was watching the film, I noticed that the tracks in the snow were perfect, and not really differing from one another. The trucks also were perfectly in sync with each other. No driver I’ve seen could do that. So they are automated I would think.
Vehicles may not have access to the factory, but factories have loading bays and gate "Airlocks" for offloading for delivery.
