From the great mind of Roald Dahl, comes another adaptation of Willy Wonka and his chocolate. This time, it is an origin story where we find out Willy Wonka’s life before he opened up his factory to the lucky few who received the Golden Ticket. In this film, we see inside his younger self as he deals with the challenges he faced while trying to make a name for himself.
Willy Wonka has been portrayed by some of the greats. Both Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp knocked the role out of the park and in this movie, we see Timothy Chalamet don the famous hat and coat. Alongside Chalamet, we see a new face to the acting world, Calah Lane stars in her first movie as Noodle, an orphan Wonka meets early in the film. The film also included well renowned actors such as Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa, Keegan Michael Key as the chief of police and Rowan Atkinson as a priest.
I adore the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory starring Gene Wilder, so I was excited when I heard that this movie was coming out. We never really know what the younger life of Willy Wonka was except for a little bit in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This movie was a musical like the other ones. There were some original song remakes but also a few new songs that were actually quite catchy. I really hope this makes musicals have a comeback because if it is well executed, they could be the next big thing.
The choreography was great, and the singing was awesome. I feel like they could have definitely expanded on the relationships that Willy Wonka has with his counterparts, specifically with the Oompa Loompa. The Oompa Loompas are a massive part of the previous movies, so I was very surprised to see that they didn’t really have a big part in this film. I wish they showed him actually going to the island and recruiting them for his factory.
Like I stated before, the songs were catchy, and Timothee Chalamet was excellent in his deliverance. At first, I was very skeptical about him and how he could best impersonate a young Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp, so I was going in without high hopes. I was very surprised to see that I was wrong. He did a great job and was accompanied with an excellent performance by Calah Lane also. I am hoping to see her in future projects.
Final Thoughts:
I was pleasantly surprised with Wonka. I went into it thinking it wouldn’t even be close to the originals and just another movie ruining a franchise. However, I think this one is a not-quite-up-there film but still a great watch and definitely worth it.
