Wonka: Film Review
If you want a heartwarming film this Christmas, look no further than Paul King‘s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel Wonka.
Set many years before the events of Roald Dahl‘s book (and the previous film adaptations), Wonka stars Timothee Chalamet as the young chocolate inventor. He hopes to open his own shop but there are some hurdles – chocolatiers Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) and Prodnose (Matt Lucas) don’t want the competition and will stop at nothing to ruin his dreams. Also, he has been packed off to the workhouse by Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) for failing to pay his rent.
Wonka is a delightful, feel-good film for all the family. I never should have doubted King, who gifted the world with two wonderful Paddington movies. Wonka has the same heart and soul as Paddington, with a ragtag bunch of good people working together to succeed and the baddies getting their comeuppance. Add a dash of whimsy and a healthy dollop of singing and dancing and you’ve got your movie.
Yes, it is a musical, and one that will melt the most cynical of hearts within no time. While I enjoyed them at the time, I can’t remember any of the new songs. Some of them are staged in really imaginative, magical ways (aided by top-tier CGI). However, I would have liked more group choreography moments. Those are my favourite sequences in musicals and we only get a couple of brief routines.
It is all very light-hearted and silly but that’s what we want! The film is oodles of fun and I had a smile on my face throughout. Some jokes worked better than others, but the comedy was solid overall and I laughed out loud a bunch, particularly at Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa. His performance is golden and the highlight of the film. I just couldn’t get over seeing his face on a CGI orange body.
Out of all the young actors working today, nobody looks the part as much as Chalamet. He is so perfectly cast. He can sing and dance (although there isn’t a ton of dancing) and he is very charming. However, his characterisation of Wonka felt inconsistent; sometimes he was a quirky oddball whereas other times he seemed like just an ordinary young man with a dream. I would have liked more consistency with the eccentricity.
There are so many supporting cast members but the standouts are the panto-style villains played by Colman, Joseph, Lucas and Baynton. Colman particularly seemed to enjoy chewing the scenery as the evil landlady (like the Thenardiers in Les Mis). Calah Lane shines as Wonka’s fellow workhouse prisoner Noodle and they make friends and comrades with the rest of the workhouse ’employees’, played by Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Rakhee Thakrar and Rich Fulcher.
Step into King’s world of pure imagination. You won’t regret it.
In cinemas from Friday 8th December