Wonka review

WONKA: 

TIMOTHEE CHALAMET IS DELIGHTFUL IN SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS PREQUEL! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Timothée Chalamet in Wonka

 

            Timothée Chalamet (Little Women (2019), Dune (2021), The French Dispatch) dons the top hat and becomes the legendary candy man (No, not the man covered in bees with the hook for a hand) before he got his wonderous chocolate factory in Wonka, the new film from Paul King (The Mighty Boosh, Paddington 1 and 2). The film serves as a prequel to Roald Dahl’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. 

What can be said about Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory that hasn’t been said already? It’s a beloved and timeless classic with memorable songs, blend of whimsical magic with a subtle dark edge that’s often overlooked when parents show it to their kids, and a pitch-perfect Gene Wilder performance as the titular candy maker. 

            The 2005 adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp is more faithful to the source material than the 1971 film with certain plot elements that aren’t present in the original movie, has a unique visual style both inside and outside the factory, and I respect it for not trying to copy and paste the Gene Wilder film into a soulless remake and instead doing something different with the material. In my opinion, this is what a remake/second adaptation should be like even though Depp’s performance as Wonka is very polarizing amongst viewers. 

            Now we have this prequel movie which I was rather skeptical about when it was announced because didn’t we already see Willy Wonka’s past in the Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, why do we need an entire movie based around that? But I started to become optimistic about it when I realized Paul King was directing it who brought the first two Paddington movies which were some of the best kids and family movies in recent years. 

            While I can’t say it’s on the same level of quality as the Paddington films, I was pleasantly surprised by Wonkaand found it very charming and likable. It probably won’t become a classic like the Gene Wilder movie, but for a prequel that not many people were asking for, it does its job surprisingly well. 

            The film follows Willy Wonka (Chalamet), a young, aspiring inventor and chocolatier trying to pursue his dream of making the best chocolate in the world. However, a roadblock comes in the form of the Chocolate Cartel, a trio of devious chocolatiers consisting of Slugworth (Paterson Joseph-In the Name of the Father, The Beach, Aeon Flux), Prodnose (Matt Lucas-Little Britain, Bridesmaids, Paddington), and Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton-Telstar, The Falling, Bill) who will do anything to eliminate the competition. 

            With the aid of an orphaned girl named Noodle (Calah Lane-The Day Shall Come), a mischievous Oompa Loompa named Lofty (Hugh Grant-Paddington 2, The Gentlemen, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), and a colorful cast of characters he befriends along the way, Wonka opens up his own chocolate shop and creates some of the most extraordinary and “Scrumdiddlyumptious” chocolate the world has ever seen while hopefully taking the Chocolate Cartel down in the process. 

            The film also stars Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, Tomorrowland, Toy Story 4) as the Chief-of-Police, Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky, Paddington 1 and 2, The Shape of Water) as Willy Wonka’s mother, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Johnny English trilogy, Love Actually) as Father Julius, Jim Carter (Shakespeare in Love, My Week with Marilyn, Downton Abbey) as Abacus Crunch, Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Mitchells VS the Machines, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) as Mrs. Scrubitt, Rich Fulcher (High Road, Arthur Christmas, Marriage Story) as Larry Chucklesworth, Rakhee Thakrar (EastEnders, Sex Education, 23 Walks) as Lottie Bell, and Tom Davis (Murder in Successville, Free Fire, Paddington 2) as Bleacher. 

            Overall, Wonka is a solidly-crafted origin story to one of the most beloved children’s book and film characters of all time and yet another high-quality family film from Paul King. Despite some references to the 1971 film and even a couple songs from it sprinkled in here, the movie stands on its own and doesn’t require viewings of either of the previous Wonka movies to enjoy. 

            I like how the origin is essentially a complete reversal of Wonka’s childhood from the Tim Burton movie where in that, he became a chocolate maker because of the childhood he didn’t have due to the strictness of his father (Who was a dentist portrayed by the late Christopher Lee). Here, it’s to pursue the dream from the nostalgic childhood he did have courtesy of his mother, almost like a yin and yang scenario which I found very clever. 

            Timothée Chalamet is extremely likable as a young Willy Wonka and nails the wide-eyed dreamer character perfectly. Granted, he doesn’t have the cynical edge of Wilder or even Depp, but for this kind of story he plays the part well and has charming chemistry with Calah Lane’s Noodle. 

            Wonka and Noodle have this adorable dynamic where each one teaches the other and vice versa with Wonka teaching Noodle about chocolate and this subplot where Noodle teaches Wonka how to read. It’s a genuinely sweet (No pun intended) friendship between the two characters. 

            Unlike Disney’s Wish, just about every side character is memorable and often steal the show from a tyrannical boarding house owner who tricks her guests into working for her for not reading the fine print in her contracts to the friends who assist Wonka pursue his dream, there’s even a great running joke involving the Chief-of-Police that gets funnier and funnier every time and one of the funniest Rowan Atkinson performances I’ve seen in a long time. 

            The songs are genuine toe-tappers, and the musical numbers are lively with some of my favorites being this laundry song performed by the people Mrs. Scrubitt trapped, the film’s opening song, Hatful of Dreams that ends with a humorous joke, and a delightfully sinister song performed by the Chocolate Cartel. 

            The production design is dazzling and really captures the storybook style of both Paul King’s films and Roald Dahl’s stories. This along with the Paddington movies prove that King knows how to make an everyday environment look magical and something out of a fairy tale. 

            Wonka doesn’t quite have the dark edge of other Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptations, but its wholesome story, memorable characters, and heart make it a worthy family watch. Grab your chocolate bars and enter a world of Pure Imagination.