December 21, 2023
FILM: WONKA
DIRECTED BY: PAUL KING
STARRING: TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, CALAH LANE, OLIVIA COLMAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m part of the generation that grew up on the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring the late great Gene Wilder as the title character. It played regularly on television during various holidays and was always captivating and colorful. I don’t remember much about Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory except for Johnny Depp’s oversized performance. The new film, Wonka, also based on characters created by Roald Dahl, is a prequel that aims to tell us how Willy became the chocolate god that he was. Timothee Chalamet takes on the younger version of Wonka and gives an earnest and spirited performance that will likely make many young people happy. The overall film itself is big, outlandish, and somewhat dark. It’s not hard to use our “pure imagination” to see that this will likely be an enduring hit for a new generation and possibly extend it’s life to additional sequels and/or a stage adaptation.
When we first meet Willy, he’s poor but optimistic with a plan to build a chocolate empire. Unfortunately, he keeps encountering evil townspeople who seem to have a problem with his skill and enthusiasm. They don’t want him making chocolate in their town dammit! This cartel hounds and attempts to terrorize Willy along with a young enslaved girl named Noodle (Calah Lane.) Shady innkeepers, played pretty delightfully and broadly by Oscar winner Olivia Colman and Tom Davis, also entrap them both. Willy doesn’t give up hope though even when circumstances seem pretty bleak. Eventually, he is aided by one of the famed Oompa-Loopa’s played by a shrunken version of Hugh Grant.
This is a big production with elaborate, if also a bit bleak, claustrophobic set designs. The many enclosed spaces appear dark and somewhat foreboding which is appropriate since Willy and Noodle are essentially locked up for a good portion of the film. (Escaping isn’t too much of an issue though.) There is also a lot of big gadgetry that is in keeping with the style of the lavish factory that is at the center of the original film.
This is a musical though and while some of the songs are nicely staged, they are mostly unmemorable and somewhat silly, if also overshadowed by the return of the original film’s much better key song, “Pure Imagination.”
The plot itself gets a bit convoluted at times including a scene with a galloping giraffe that I didn’t quite get. There is also the demonstration of more magic by Willy than I recall being present in the original. Willy is able to create chocolate that allows people to defy gravity and float through the air. It’s not clear how some of these fetes are accomplished (I guess his chocolate is extremely potent!) but this is a fantasy world and we’re just supposed to go along with it. I didn’t really have a problem with all the wizardry but it did seem to be much more commonplace here than in the original film (perhaps Willy’s “powers” wear off when he reaches Gene Wilder’s age.)
Chalamet is fine as Wonka. He has a lot of energy and impresses with his musical comedy chops including singing plenty of songs and using his physical body to dance his way through various production numbers. He’s relatable and interesting to watch. There are also a number of welcome cameos and smaller roles from great actors such as Keegan-Michael Key, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, and half the cast of the British version of TV’s Ghosts.
Wonka is definitely entertaining if a bit dark at times. It’s probably fine for anyone over the age of 10. Those of us from that previous generation will happily greet the Oompa Loompa and its catchy theme song from the original film. While that earlier story emphasized the greed and gluttony of children and their parents, this one is more concerned with how Wonka will eventually reach that period in his life. So, it’s less thematically significant and more of a backstory that does a nice job of accomplishing that storytelling goal.
Wonka is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
FILM: WONKA
DIRECTED BY: PAUL KING
STARRING: TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, CALAH LANE, OLIVIA COLMAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m part of the generation that grew up on the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring the late great Gene Wilder as the title character. It played regularly on television during various holidays and was always captivating and colorful. I don’t remember much about Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory except for Johnny Depp’s oversized performance. The new film, Wonka, also based on characters created by Roald Dahl, is a prequel that aims to tell us how Willy became the chocolate god that he was. Timothee Chalamet takes on the younger version of Wonka and gives an earnest and spirited performance that will likely make many young people happy. The overall film itself is big, outlandish, and somewhat dark. It’s not hard to use our “pure imagination” to see that this will likely be an enduring hit for a new generation and possibly extend it’s life to additional sequels and/or a stage adaptation.
When we first meet Willy, he’s poor but optimistic with a plan to build a chocolate empire. Unfortunately, he keeps encountering evil townspeople who seem to have a problem with his skill and enthusiasm. They don’t want him making chocolate in their town dammit! This cartel hounds and attempts to terrorize Willy along with a young enslaved girl named Noodle (Calah Lane.) Shady innkeepers, played pretty delightfully and broadly by Oscar winner Olivia Colman and Tom Davis, also entrap them both. Willy doesn’t give up hope though even when circumstances seem pretty bleak. Eventually, he is aided by one of the famed Oompa-Loopa’s played by a shrunken version of Hugh Grant.
This is a big production with elaborate, if also a bit bleak, claustrophobic set designs. The many enclosed spaces appear dark and somewhat foreboding which is appropriate since Willy and Noodle are essentially locked up for a good portion of the film. (Escaping isn’t too much of an issue though.) There is also a lot of big gadgetry that is in keeping with the style of the lavish factory that is at the center of the original film.
This is a musical though and while some of the songs are nicely staged, they are mostly unmemorable and somewhat silly, if also overshadowed by the return of the original film’s much better key song, “Pure Imagination.”
The plot itself gets a bit convoluted at times including a scene with a galloping giraffe that I didn’t quite get. There is also the demonstration of more magic by Willy than I recall being present in the original. Willy is able to create chocolate that allows people to defy gravity and float through the air. It’s not clear how some of these fetes are accomplished (I guess his chocolate is extremely potent!) but this is a fantasy world and we’re just supposed to go along with it. I didn’t really have a problem with all the wizardry but it did seem to be much more commonplace here than in the original film (perhaps Willy’s “powers” wear off when he reaches Gene Wilder’s age.)
Chalamet is fine as Wonka. He has a lot of energy and impresses with his musical comedy chops including singing plenty of songs and using his physical body to dance his way through various production numbers. He’s relatable and interesting to watch. There are also a number of welcome cameos and smaller roles from great actors such as Keegan-Michael Key, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, and half the cast of the British version of TV’s Ghosts.
Wonka is definitely entertaining if a bit dark at times. It’s probably fine for anyone over the age of 10. Those of us from that previous generation will happily greet the Oompa Loompa and its catchy theme song from the original film. While that earlier story emphasized the greed and gluttony of children and their parents, this one is more concerned with how Wonka will eventually reach that period in his life. So, it’s less thematically significant and more of a backstory that does a nice job of accomplishing that storytelling goal.
Wonka is currently playing in theaters everywhere.