I must say yes, I sat down to watch Wonkathe prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with some prejudices. And I must admit that Wonkacon Timothée Chalamethas absolutely nothing to envy of Tim Burton’s film, with Johnny Depp.
The actor of call me by your name y A rainy day in New York He is wonderful, with the degree of innocence and naivety that this Willy Wonka who is leaving adolescence (well, Chalamet turned 29) needed, and who arrives with his top hat in pre-war Paris with the dream of becoming everyone’s favorite chocolatier.
And he will do it by following the chocolate recipes invented by his mother (Sally Hawkins, from The shape of water), who died when he was younger.
This film, which premiered in theaters in December, is available in streaming, on Max, starting this Friday, March 8.
There are questions that Wonkathe movie, will not respond to fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is not a single mention of Willy’s dentist father (who was played in a flashback by Christopher Lee in Burton’s film) nor are there any glimpses of how this very nice character will transform into the despot, the sinister Wonka that as an adult he will invite five boys to see his factory and who enjoys punishing greedy, candy-devouring children.
Directed by Paul King, who had made Paddington, the character who is a very British bear, was almost a delight, there are points in common between both protagonists. We were talking about Wonka’s naivety, but both also have the help of friends to overcome the most problematic issues of their existence.
Which in Wonka’s case is called fighting envy.
When Willy arrives at the gallery where he wants to open his chocolate shop, a police officer fines him, because you can’t dream. He doesn’t care, but those who do care are the trio of chocolatiers who have a monopoly on cocoa in the place, the villains of the story.
But there are more evil ones, like the couple made up of Olivia Colman and Tom Davis – here the scriptwriters drank in Sweeny Todd, since underneath the house with apartments that they rent hide a very different reality. And there Willy ends up, along with other unfortunate people who, for not reading the fine print of a contract for staying overnight, must work locked in the basement washing sheets for dozens of years.
Roald Dahl’s original story from 1964 had already had its first adaptation in 1971, in Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory, the movie with Gene Wilder. The adult Wonka exploits the Oompa-Loompas as a slave labor force, who here has his relative, much smaller than Burton’s, who comes to charge him for the cocoas he took from his island, and who played by Hugh Grant offers several moments of genuine comedy.
Perfect cast
The whole cast is perfect, from those named to the chocolate-addicted police chief (Keegan-Michael Key), or Rowan Atkinson as a priest in tune with the bad guys, or Calah Lane as Noodle, Willy’s little friend.
Because the film is also permeable to the well-known advice that, with friends, you can achieve even what seems impossible.
Like what Wonka be a comedy, with songs, imagination and discoveries one after another, which does not at all detract from the film by the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp duo.
Comedy/Adventure. United Kingdom / United States, 2023. 116′, ATP. Of: Paul King. Con: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Rowan Atkinson. Available in: some theaters and from this Friday, March 8 on Max, by streaming.