The final scene of the film finds Charlie and his grandfather leaving the factory through the glass Wonkavator. Having earned the factory as a reward for his honesty, Charlie truly breaks through the glass ceiling of his lower class life. The image of the glass elevator emerging unscathed as it shatters the formerly unpenetrable glass of the factory's confines is unmistakingly clear.
In the air, Charlie remarks, "Our town looks so pretty from up here." Though he once wandered alone through the filthy streets of his industrial upbringing, his sudden elevated status allows Charlie a new vision of the life below.
Wonka is similarly upflifted. He tells Charlie "I was looking for a very honest, loving child to whom I can give all my candy-making secrets." In the years before Charlie's arrival, Wonka remained a recluse in his fantasyland and never left the factory. Now, with Charlie's help, Wonka can move out of his glass-walled box.
The movie ends with the ultimate in paradigm shift. As the once-impoverished Charlie floats through the limitless sky, Wonka tells him: "Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted. He lived happily ever after."
