Like most of my generation, I’d seen the original 1971 “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” adaptation before I ever read Roald Dahl’s book.
As such, Gene Wilder has always been my preferred Wonka incarnation and even after seeing the newest “Wonka” last week I can safely say my sentiments haven’t changed.
While Wonka benefits from modern CGI graphics and a more light-hearted tone overall, I feel like it wasn’t as impactful.
Plus, this movie focuses on a younger Wonka before he becomes a household name and it tries to settle on tugging heartstrings instead of imparting lessons to viewers.
However, I will say that Lofty the Oompa Loompa manages to steal the show with his few scenes and sassy quips!
Wonka is a musical fantasy film directed by Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby, based on a story by King.
It tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, featuring his early days as a chocolatier.
The film is the third live-action adaptation of Dahl’s book, following Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
The film stars Timothée Chalamet in the title role and an ensemble cast including Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Grant.
The movie clocks in at 115 minutes long and is rated PG for some violence, mild language, and thematic elements.
Willy Wonka (Chalamet), an aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier, arrives in Europe to establish his chocolate shop at the Galeries Gourmet.
Burning through his meager savings, he is coerced to stay at Mrs. Scrubitt’s (Colman) boarding house by her henchman Bleacher (Davis) and signs a contract despite orphan Noodle’s (Lane) warning about the fine print.
To pay them off, Wonka introduces “hoverchocs”, chocolates that make people fly, at Galeries Gourmet, facing mockery from three rival chocolatiers who call the Chief of Police (Key) to confiscate his earnings for disrupting their businesses and selling without a chocolate store.
Unable to pay the exorbitant fees imposed on him by the contract, Wonka is captured and starts to work in a launderette alongside five other captives for Mrs. Scrubitt; including Noodle.
Learning of a “Chocolate Cartel” plot involving the rival chocolatiers, Wonka makes Scrubitt and Bleacher fall in love and facilitates his escape to sell chocolate with the help of Noodle, who will receive a lifetime supply of chocolates.
The Cartel exploits the Chief of Police’s weakness for chocolate to force Wonka to leave town while Wonka tells Noodle that his affinity for chocolate stems from his late mother, who gave him one last chocolate bar.
Wonka then discerns the ongoing theft of his chocolates by an enigmatic, little orange man who has been stealing them for years.
Honestly, my favorite part of the entire movie is every exchange that Wonka has with the thieving Oompa Loompa – but you’ll have to find out why for yourself.
I think this film serves better as a prequel to the 1971 movie we all know and love, but, who knows they could make Chalamet’s Wonka into a series.
This flick is more child-friendly and could serve as a nice introduction to Wonka’s world of chocolate, but be prepared for lots of singing and dancing!
