See, the idea for the grotesque punishments inflicted upon the children in CatCF is to provide a moral lesson against gluttony, gum-chewing, slothful tv-watching, and plain spoilt brattiness. That lesson is somewhat obviated if the children are entitled to damages for consequences attributable to their own poor behavior. Which, come to think of it, is a good moral for the current state of the tort system.

In the Gene Wilder version, didn't everyone have to sign a waiver before the tour started? Or was that just a confidentiality agreement?

Interesting question about Wilder movie. I don't remember. There was no waiver in this one or confidentiality agreement, even though W.W. was supposedly concerned about spies. I also vaguely remember in the Wilder movie that there was a rule that no one could leave with anything from the factory. That rule was not mentioned or at issue this time.

In the Gene Wilder version, the children and parents were required to sign a contract of about 200 pages after seeing it for about 10 seconds, or they would not be allowed in. In the end, those who violated the contract were left with nothing, except for Charlie, who, even though he violated the terms and was told he would have nothing, still didn't give up the secrets of the Everlasting Gobstopper to the evil Slugworth.

But I doubt the contract would be enforceable in the real world...signed by children without anything resembling a complete opportunity to know the terms? I don't think so.

Actually, in the Wilder version (no pun intended), the children (and maybe the parents) were required to sign a contract written on a wall. The contract started with foot-high letters and as one read it, the print got smaller and smaller until, above the signature lines, the print was so small it was unreadable.

"Under section 37B of the contract signed by him, it states quite clearly that all offers shall become null and void if—and you can read it for yourself in this photostatic copy—'I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained,' et cetera, et cetera... 'Fax mentis incendium gloria cultum,' et cetera, et cetera... 'Memo bis punitor delicatum.' It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal."

The latin translates to...

Fax mind fire fame cultivate

Mindful twice punisher luxuriously

YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY SIR!

As the primary backer of HD DVD, Toshiba spent a lot of money developing technology that they didn't get a lot of use out of. Some features from HD DVD players, like upscaling, fit nicely into standard DVD players. Others, like web-enabled content, aren't quite as applicable. Sure you could put the same capabilities into a DVD player, but with no official standard you'd be hard pressed to get anyone to take advantage of it.