I remember seeing this on my Facebook a while a ago and thought it was interesting. I just chalked it up to the writing of the movie.
None died, though. At the end (at least in the book), all of his victims leave in their somewhat ruined forms, a sort of fatalistic punishment for their own sins. It serves as a lesson against greed; the poor child who only wanted the experience for something he never had wins against August's gluttony, Veruca's ostentatious demands for pampering, Violet's self-obsessed competitive nature, and Mike's sloth and expectation of being serviced. He banked on knowing that as each child was faced with a challenge to their character, they would fall for it until one was left. Of course, in a children's story that was perfectly planned, the whole thing went perfectly and in near-complete foresight, but within the fantastic context of the story, it was a trial of selfishness which lets Charlie come above the others, on moral strength, not cunning nor brute force nor expectation. Charlie wins because he doesn't expect to as a matter of course, doesn't think he inherently deserves victory over the others. And that was the only kind of person Wonka could have. Yes, I'm passionate about my Dahl; it has a moral in which realism doesn't have to play a complete part.
