“Wonka” (2023) is a musical, fantasy origin story based on the character from Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was adapted for film two times. Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka as a sinister, suspicious businessman in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971) and Johnny Depp imagined the eccentric chocolatier in Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005) as a maladjusted oddball. Timothee Chamalet takes his turn as the itinerant, magical showman, Rube Goldbergian inventor with a dream to settle down and open a chocolate shop in the Galeries Gourmet, a town square where the three biggest chocolate tycoons dominate: the navy-blue suited Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), yellow clad Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and the green garbed Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton). He discovers that it won’t be so easy for a poor, ambitious young man to get ahead with the odds stacked against him, but with a little magic, a group of friends and a drive to change the world for the better, Wonka may be able to overcome them.
I’m not a Chamalet fan, but he is perfect for the role. Depp never worked for me, and Wilder is the definitive version. Chamalet makes the character his own by embracing a naïve, wide-eyed, manic wonder, a zany sense of delivery with a clever, just shy of a Kubrick stare which reveals a trace homage to Wilder’s performance. Adjust his upturned mouth a little more, and he could be mistaken for the Joker’s more stable yet just as excitable cousin. Fortunately, this version of Wonka is a bit more trusting and practical with pure motivations for his chocolate evangelism than making big money.
“Wonka” is “Boardwalk Empire” for kids with chocolate as the alcoholic substitute legal drug of choice. Wonka stumbles upon a town rife with corruption infiltrating every aspect of society, and those forces are opposed to anyone who threatens their power. Director and cowriter Paul King and cowriter Simon Farnaby create a seamless underworld and use the perfectly paced story to reveal the connection between the unscrupulous practices in business, religion, and government. To fulfill his dreams, Wonka must overcome and expose that corruption, which was never his original goal. At this point in his life, Wonka is eager to impress and takes everything at face value, but he is also a bit of a sly, mischief maker because and ever a surreptitious tester with a few harmless punishments up his purple overcoat’s sleeves that detonate soon after maliciousness is revealed….almost as if he anticipated it despite his veneer of naiveté.
The insidious world of “Wonka” conspires to derail people from pursuing their dreams or even pursuing their chosen, useful vocation. It is not enough to enslave and exploit people for their money, but a bonus appears to be robbing them of their sense of self and depriving them of their identity. Wonka’s fellow downtrodden are Noodle (Calah Lane), a bookworm who has never known life without drudgery and emits “Annie” vibes. Accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), who had a solid career and a family, becomes the unwilling overseer. Piper Benz (Natasha Rothwell) is a plumbing and sewer expert forced to become his assistant. Lottie Bell (Rakhee Thakar), a quiet young woman, is such a chatterbox that her true career is as a telephone operator. Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher) is a failed comedian and husband who yearns for the spotlight on stage and in his former wife’s heart.
Chocolate functions as a metaphor for dreams. The chocolate tycoons deliver a diluted product to make money which has deleterious effect on its consumer: addiction, corruption, and gluttony. Wonka’s unique and whimsical product awakens hope and makes it impossible to returning to living a dull life. Chocolate in the right hands acts like a communion wafer, and in the wrong hands, turns men of the cloth into Pharisees. For Wonka, chocolate serves as a vehicle for reliving his childhood memories, feeling loved and having a sense of home. Memories are depicted in the form of movies or animation. It is a “Flowers for Algeron” dilemma unless Wonka can make everyone’s dreams come true irrespective of class. To fulfill Wonka’s dreams of becoming a chocolatier, he enables others to make their dreams come true whether by finding love, being released from a life of drudgery, or returning to their own vocational calling. He makes sure that even villains (or people in villain’s employ) or unnamed extras find love, and that animals embrace their full nature. With the incentive of living a full life, the oppressed connect, communicate, and unite.
While Wonka is devoted to being an artisanal chocolate maker, he also functions like a fairy godmother to others. Wonka describes the practical logistics of being a magician, but he is still like a Mary Poppins figure in the way that some of his tricks cannot be explained. How does or light a candle with his breath? What about his travel factory briefcase? While he has feelings, “Wonka” has a cartoonish quality in the way that he does not remain injured after being the butt of physical harassment. He did not feel the effects of ingesting yeti sweat. Can Wonka be classified as a Jesus figure? Wonka” is not a sexless world, but Wonka has a mother with no human father. He walks on water (with the aid of helium balloons). He turns water into chocolate. He purifies the temple/church. It is not a slam dunk, but an argument can be made.
I wish that I was better versed in talking about music and musicals. During the first viewing, it felt so well-engineered as if there had to be a well-known formula which the lyricist adhered to. I did not believe that the songs were good enough to haunt me and make me want to buy the soundtrack. Upon second viewing, I realized that I could easily sing along and get carried away with the right audience. Also the cast is so perfect that it feels as if they have been performing as an ensemble on Broadway for years. You can’t praise the always superb Olivia Colman’s performance without picturing the deep-voiced, lesser-known Tom Davis. You can’t invoke Hugh Grant’s perfect performance without recalling Joseph, Baynton, and Lucas’ depiction of magnificent magnates. The world invokes a detailed, imaginary world that merges every region into a convincing cultural pastiche with German words stenciled on windows, New York accented cops and British accents. If the filmmakers are manipulating us, they are doing a great job like Cindy Sherman taking a still from a movie that never existed.
“Wonka” is full of CGI that feels magical and timeless, not the creation of underpaid VFX artists. It is well done, and I predict that it will age well. From Wonka’s shop to the erection of Wonka’s factory, these settings feel real. A mint-eating giraffe seems plausible. The DCEU cannot create such convincing worlds. This movie is perfect for all ages, and boy, did Warner Brothers dodge a bullet when it did not cast Ezra Miller in the titular role. Makes me want to check out the “Paddington” franchise, which director and cowriter Paul King and cowriter Simon Farnaby also worked on. Bravo!
If you do not want to see an artsy fartsy, prestigious movie over the holidays, “Wonka” is the movie for you. It is a timeless, newborn classic suitable for all ages.
