Time: 116 Minutes
Age Rating: PG
Cast:
Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka
Calah Lane as Noodle
Keegan-Michael Key as the chief of police
Paterson Joseph as Arthur Slugworth
Matt Lucas as Gerald Prodnose
Mathew Baynton as Felix Fickelgruber
Sally Hawkins as Willy Wonka’s mother
Rowan Atkinson as Father Julius
Jim Carter as Abacus Crunch
Natasha Rothwell as Piper Benz
Olivia Colman as Mrs. Scrubitt
Hugh Grant as Lofty
Director: Paul King

Armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, young chocolatier Willy Wonka manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time.

I was cautiously optimistic at the idea of the Wonka movie when it was announced. It would be focussing on a younger Willy Wonka, who would be played by Timothee Chalamet, and directed by Paul King (known for the Paddington movies). However, I grew very doubtful and sceptical when I saw the trailers; it just didn’t look really good at all. In spite of this, I watched it, and I have to say that it’s one of the more surprising movies of the year for me.

Within the first five minutes, I found myself being sucked into the movie, and I was on board pretty quickly. I found it to be charming and entertaining throughout, and surprisingly funny with lots of wacky humour. Wonka definitely lacks the occasional bursts of darkness seen in the original 1970s Willy Wonka movie, and instead is a little closer in line with the tones of the Paddington movies, which is fitting enough. It is definitely an absurd movie, but in a wonderful way, down to the cartoonishly evil villains who are literally referred to as The Chocolate Cartel. It is also quite heartfelt and I thought that the dramatic beats worked well enough. It is something of a prequel to the 1970s Willy Wonka movie. However, I personally prefer to view this Wonka movie as its own thing. While you can definitely see connections between the two movies, it doesn’t rely too much on you recognising classic Willy Wonka references in order for you to enjoy it.

Everyone in the cast does a good job and play off each other very well. Timothee Chalamet plays Willy Wonka; this is definitely a young and more childlike and innocent take on the character, and for this take, I thought he gave a great performance. He was charming and did well in the singing and dancing. The supporting actors including Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell are good, and Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman and Paterson Joseph were the standouts. Hugh Grant is also funny in his few scenes as an Oompa Loompa.

Paul King does a really good job directing this movie, and his whimsical style is on display here. It was more than likely already mentioned in the lead up to its release, but something that wasn’t emphasised in the trailers was the fact that it is a musical. Its not just a few scenes of singing, there’s full on singing and dancing sequences with plenty of new original songs. These musical numbers are enjoyable, and the choreography and songs are great.

Wonka is a delightful and whimsical musical, entertaining from beginning to end, incredibly directed and with a stellar ensemble led by a great Timothee Chalamet. Even if the trailers put you off from watching, I recommend checking it out.