Film: Wonka

GENRE: Musical Comedy Adventure
RATING: PG for some violence and mild language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 56 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Timothee Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name, Dune)
Calah Lane (newcomer), Keegan-Michael Key (The Prom, The Bubble)
DIRECTOR: Paul King (Paddington 1 & 2)
WRITERS: King & Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2)
PLOT: Willy Wonka needs to overcome adversity including servitude and a chocolate cartel in order to open a shop and help a new friend.

FULL DISCLOSURE: The trailer looked pretty sensational.

STORY STUFF: What a charming and whimsical film. There is delight all around as we follow Wonka and his dream of opening a chocolate shop. There are, of course, a number of obstacles but with friendship, cleverness and a dose of magic, the audience is taken on a wonderful journey. There are plenty of humourous situations, catchy tunes, and eccentric characters mixed with some poignant moments. The pacing was great, the Easter eggs were plentiful, and I left the theatre with a smile on my face. I would say my only wishes were for Rowan Atkinson’s chocoholic priest to get more screen time and for the cartel to be less blatant about their law-breaking. But those are minor infractions.

ACTING STUFF: Chalamet is perfection as Willy Wonka. His optimism, heart and whimsy are on full display. I would love to see further Wonka adventures with him. The rest of the cast is superb and clearly having loads of fun. Well, maybe not Hugh Grant but he’s still a hoot as an Oompa-Loompa. While all the supporting roles are fun to spend time with, the stand out for me was Key as the Chief of Police who takes eating chocolate to a whole new level. Loads of fun.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Even though I saw some dancing in the trailer and expected the “Pure Imagination” and “Oompa Loompa” song, it didn’t occur to me that there would a lot more musical elements in this film. I highly enjoyed the first song (“Hatful of Dreams”), “Scrub Scrub” and “You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This”. Apparently, this is Chalamet’s singing debut and he nails it. While there are a number of things I could talk about I’ll just mention that the production design is incredible. Loved the Oxford locations used. Wonka’s shop and some decked out suitcases are pure imagination. The costumes are also pretty eye-catching. This film is definitely a treat for the eyes.

VERDICT: Five stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You are in the mood to have fun at the theatre.
UPCOMING REVIEW:  American Fiction, Best of 2023