December 18, 2023 · Watch the official trailer
There’s a lot of pressure taking on a role made famous by the likes of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp and the stumbling blocks therein can prove to be fatal for the success of a film and potentially the career of the actor filling those shoes.
Such is the daunting task faced by Timothée Chalamet as he undertakes the origin story of sorts for Roald Dahl’s classic character Willy Wonka in director Paul King’s “Wonka,” which debuted in theaters last weekend.
The film follows a young Wonka as he begins his chocolatier career, making his way to an unnamed European city that seems to be an amalgamation of London and Paris in order to test his mettle against the world’s finest chocolatiers only to find himself bamboozled and imprisoned by a local charlatan.
Incredibly distinctive from the 1971 “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and 2006’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Wonka” only works as well as it does because of King’s unique twist on the narrative that also further his specific directorial style he perfected with his quirky, charming children’s classics “Paddington” and “Paddington 2.”
There is a light, dry British humor and charm to “Wonka” that provides both broad slapstick chuckles, but wry wit as well sure to entertain both children and adults alike. The film also revels in a colorful and majestic production design masterfully shot by cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung and this allows “Wonka” to be a visual cavalcade of prim, proper, bespoke whizbangs and whatchamacallits for which the terrific ensemble cast can play around in.
At the core of the film, Chalamet showcases a lot of passion and emotion as Wonka, less cynical than either of the previous iterations. His wide-eyed wonder has a darling naivety and enthusiasm for making chocolate that becomes infectious over the course of the film.
While his singing is not the strongest, it works within the larger character and culminates in a terrifically emotional rendition of the song “Pure Imagination” originally sung by Wilder in 1971.
Chalamet excels in being effortlessly charming in an off-beat sort of way that feels quintessentially Wonka and the emotions he able to evoke truly work when paired with Sally Hawkins as Wonka’s mother and Calah Lane, who routinely steals scenes as Noodle, a young orphan who becomes an assistant of sorts to Wonka.
Much of “Wonka” relies on broad, dry and sometimes subtle humor that isn’t played for raucous laughter as much as it is a growing smile on audiences’ faces and the film is littered with smaller performances that bring King’s vision to life.
Keegan-Michael Key is the broadest of these efforts, eating up the screen both metaphorically and literally as a chocoholic police chief, while “Mr. Bean” star Rowan Atkinson is understatedly perfect as a cocoa-addicted pastor.
Oscar winner Olivia Colman teams with Tom Davis for a fun twist on the classic “Les Miserables” duo the Thénardiers as the owners of a laundromat Wonka is tricked into servitude for and Hugh Grant does far better than one could possibly expect from a green-screened, green-faced turn as the first Oompa Loompa that Wonka encounters on his adventures.
Family friendly movies for all ages seem to come out every month, but it’s become increasingly rare that a live-action children’s movie is released theatrically with most of those going straight to a streaming service as studios opt to corner the family market at the box office with animated features.
While its eccentricities and quirks may not astound every moviegoer, there’s still enough behind King’s vision and solid ensemble cast that makes “Wonka" the best option for a family trip to the movie theater this holiday season.
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