Another outstanding movie from the director of the “Paddington” film series, “Wonka” perfectly encapsulates the feeling of unadulterated joy in a way many other movies can’t.
“Wonka” follows the titular Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) as he first arrives in Europe and tries to establish himself at the Galleries Gourmet. With only a hatful of dreams at his disposal he must break the boundaries of what chocolate can be. In order to do this he must overcome the evil Ms. Scrubitt (Olivia Coleman) and the three rival chocolatiers, Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton).
This movie is so incredibly enjoyable to experience. It’s truly impossible to not smile while watching it. Everything is so whimsical and fun that you can feel it emanating through the screen. There are so many moments that are incredibly funny and you won’t be able to help but laugh a little bit. Whenever Chalamet sings you can hear the smile in his voice from the audio alone. Everything from the sets, acting, and wardrobe are all incredible.
The story is nothing groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be. Even though it doesn’t break new ground it still has a solid message about the dangers of greed particularly corporate greed through the three rival chocolatiers who are all exaggerated caricatures of corporate CEO’s.
The music is all stellar. The songs themselves are all very well made and are very catchy with every performance creating a great atmosphere in the movie. Even during the sadder points in the movie the songs still feel hopeful and have glimmers of happiness sprinkled in. As said before you can feel Chalamet’s smile just from his voice while singing and that goes for every other performance in the movie as well.
Chalamet also fits pretty well into the role of Willy Wonka. He’s not as good of a Willy Wonka as Gene Wilder, but will anyone ever be able to beat him? He melds into the movie and never feels out of place with the other characters. The other actors and actresses also give great and comical performances of their characters. The Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant) is probably the weakest part of the movie, but is still good and very fun.
“Wonka” is a lighthearted watch good for all ages. It’s another great movie from Paul King and with great songs and a fun story it’s an easy recommendation this holiday season.
Directed by Paul King
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Rich Fulcher, Rakhee Thakrar, Tom Davis
Rated PG
Runtime: 116 minutes
My Rating: ★★★★½
