Wonka

Memories of Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka performance come to mind and whereas his 1971 version was magical and witty, this 2023 version of Wonka is a bit underwhelming to be honest...

The bad: the songs just dont excite me. They just dont. They are not terrible, but quite average. The songs in the 1971 version of Willy Wonka were superb. I can still remember them to this very day!

More bad: there is a lack of magic and surprise. The story just doesnt take me on a trip like the original did. Sorry, that I keep comparing this one to the original. Perhaps I shouldnt?

Not any good then? This movie will surely please the young kids who ofcourse are the target audience for this movie. It's a nice fantasy musical movie for sure, with a bunch of TERRIFIC English actors, who lift this movie up. Timothee Chalamet did an allright job as well.

Nothing to really dislike about it, but nothing to get really excited about it either unfortunately, for me as a grownup fan of the original Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder.

Paul King, the director behind the enchanting Paddington films entered the fold to direct a prequel to Gene Wilder's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Unfortunately, this outing is overproduced and overdone. And just like chocolate; some things are best had in moderation. Roald Dahl's work in recent times has regrettably been tampered with to remove language related to race, gender, weight, and mental health that today's readers might deem offensive. This film feels like a continuation of that craven desire to be inoffensive. The result is a slightly safe and garden variety end-product which isn't much of a tribute to Dahl, if it even wanted to be.

For me, all things Willy Wonka should be almost like an experiential hallucination; self-contained, a bit mysterious, and open to interpretation, without the need for any elaborate backstory spelling things out. Wonka should be an experience, not a storyboard. He ought be unpredictable, a one-off. In the book he is innovative, flamboyant, stubborn, arrogant, and authoritarian. We saw the innovative and the flamboyant, but none of the rest. Or how those latter qualities might have taken, or were taking, shape. Timothee Chalamet's portrayal, for all its innocent charms and trinkets, simply did not have the comedic and deliciously unpredictable edge of either Wilder or Depp's Wonkas; the dimensionality just wasn't there. That "edge" would have bounced off the sassiness of the stubborn Oompa Loompa perfectly, helping the audience to see how Wonka wins them over (besides just a paltry supposed bribe of chocolate tasting). Here, it's Hugh Grant outsmarting, outshining, and outwitting a bumbling wide-smiling, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Wonka in most of the scenes they share. The musical genre of this film wasn't a bad call, given the iconic hit of Wilder's "Pure Imagination," why not try out a musical style? The original songs here could have a little more oomph, though, lyrically and musically. The trio of main villains were excellently cast, with Matt Lucas, Paterson Joseph (stealing the show), and Mathew Baynton. All three were a treat to see on-screen.

Overall this film is relatively unchallenging for children compared to Wilder's 1971 work under the original source material, or Tim Burton's satirical 2005 outing. Imagining Willy Wonka as sweet, cloying and one-toned as he's shown here with Chalamet doesn't quite hit the sweet spot.

6.8/10.

The beginning of the movie was promising, but then it became quite ridiculous and silly.

None of the songs in the movie were to my liking, with the exception of the opening song which was passable.

The acting was great, and Timothée Chalamet gave a very good performance.

I wouldn't say that I hated the movie, but it didn't do much for me either.

I think it would appeal to children more than adults.

I think the movie would have been better if more effort had been put into the screenplay and story.

I was so happy to see Charlotte Ritchie in the movie, even if it was just for a short time .

I loved the original, hated the remake, this one sits in the middle somewhere. It's definitely a mixed bag. I googled Timothée Chalamet to see how old he was because had he been in his early twenties, I would have given him a pass for a very uninspired performance. As it is, he is 28. Old enough, with enough films under his small belt, to be better than he is.

I got the feeling he watched more Depp than Wilder, unfortunately. You could see it in the smile. Wilder was crazy good and there is no expectation for anyone to equal him, it would still be nice to be more imaginative with the role.

The storyline was a mish-mash of unfocused stereotypes and had a lack of real artistic heart. Someone sat with the script and tried to come up with what they thought an audience would want rather than what these characters and storylines demand. The story skipped around like a ball in a pinball machine. We get that it's fantasy, but at least create a world that functions on the basis of a well thought out set of rules. There was no world building here...just a snap of the fingers.

The music was the most disappointing of all, especially compared to the original songs utilized. When you have great songs like Pure Imagination, you gotta be at least good enough to sit in the same room...these new songs weren't good enough to sit outside in the hallway.

With all that said, this movie was charming in it's own way. Better than the typical superhero repeats, that's for sure.

On paper, Wonka is a cynical cash grab of an idea but in the hands of the extremely talented duo of Paul King and Simon Farnaby it becomes another heartwarming story of a kind person who just wants to make the world a better place. Even if it feels its run time more than King and Faranby's previous work it still remains thoroughly entertaining and emotionally investing.

Timothée Chalamet lacks the darker edge with this interpretation of Willy Wonka and that really doesn't matter considering what the film is going for. His Wonka is innocent to a fault, morally pure with a high level of quirk that Chalamet is able to communicate in his enunciation and movement. It's a nice change of pace compared to his usual roles.

The supporting cast is full of comedians who take it in turns stealing scenes. Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa is an uncanny highlight who takes a while to appear and is absolutely worth the wait. Paterson Joseph excels at playing a full on pantomime villain complimented by Matt Lucas and Matthew Baynton to make for a delightfully evil trio.

Paul King's direction brings the expected whimsy with a nice level of energy to the musical numbers. The songs by Neil Hannon are generally fine, suitably entertaining in the moment without staying power so it successfully goes back to Pure Imagination a few times, with Joby Talbot's score happily sprinkling it in throughout.