Wonka Brings Paddington-Ish Delights, Except for One Cruel Choice: Review
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The post Wonka Brings Paddington-Ish Delights, Except for One Cruel Choice: Review appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: A young chap named Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet), after years abroad in the wilds of the world, has come to the big beautiful city to make his fortune. Well, not his fortune per se — instead, he wants to make people his signature chocolates, which burst past the boundaries of imagination thanks to his cleverness.
Unfortunately, Willy didn’t contend with two issues: One, if you sign a contract for room and board without reading the fine print, you might find yourself in a financial pickle thanks to your conniving landlady (Olivia Colman). Two, there are already some very powerful chocolatiers in town (Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton), and they’ve got the local police captain (Keegan-Michael Key) on their payroll. Fortunately, with the help of some new friends, Willy’s got a plan to bring his chocolate to the masses, and maybe even make some lives better past a single bite.
Oh and also… everyone sings!
A World of Pure Imagination: For its latest prequel adventure, Warner Bros. couldn’t have picked a filmmaker with more collective goodwill behind him than Paul King, whose Paddington films (especially Paddington 2) are equally beloved by children and #FilmTwitter. And King in fact brings equal charm and verve to the story of Roald Dahl’s famous confectioner’s youth — along with a significant portion of the Paddington 2 cast, including Hugh Grant as Lofty the Oompa-Loompa.
Now, was anyone crying out for a feature-length look at the early days of Willy Wonka’s career as a maker of chocolate? Not necessarily. Yet, as this is narrative territory that hasn’t been explored in depth before, King and co-writer Simon Farnaby find freshness in their David and Goliath approach. Plus, the set-up gives Willy and his new friends several delightful adventures to go on, especially as the heist-adjacent storyline kicks into gear. And the craftsmanship gives the movie a timeless quality, thanks especially to production designer Nathan Crowley creating a singular little world that stands as unique from past Willy Wonka tales.
The Candy Man Can: Trailers and commercials for Wonka have done an impressive job of keeping the secret that Wonka is a full-tilt musical, with engaging if not super-memorable songs by Neil Hannon. Willy’s first lines are sung, not spoken, as a ship brings him to this unnamed city inspired by a mix of European capitals. With his first notes, Timothée Chalamet shows his unflagging commitment to the project, his singing and dancing a revelation — even in an era when the opportunities for full-fledged musical numbers feel few and far between. (See, for reference, the fact that even when studios make musicals these days, they do their best to obfuscate that fact.)
Wonka (Warner Bros.)
Willy Wonka, as depicted by Chalamet, has no hint of Gene Wilder’s vaguely demonic edge; it’s a younger Wonka we’re dealing with, of course, but the mischief he gets into is a result of his passion for chocolate and his unfamiliarity with the urban jungle in which he finds himself. The Paddington vibes are strong here: This is not a Willy Wonka familiar with the concept of bittersweet chocolate; Chalamet’s performance is thus a flatter experience, though bolstered by the actor’s wide-eyed innocent charisma. It’s a take that might not be as interesting as Wilder’s take on the role, but it is singularly his.
Other characters have about as much depth as one might anticipate from a fairy tale like this, but the performers are all committed: Olivia Colman as always seems to be having the best time on screen, this time chewing with gusto into her antagonist role, while Paterson Joseph gets a very deserving spotlight as the most prominent and evil of the chocolatiers; his wide-eyed delight/horror at tasting Willy’s wild concoctions says everything with just one look. And Calah Lane, as a young girl who Willy befriends at the boarding house proves to be both an engaging scene partner and solid dramatic foil for Willy, as despite her youth, she’s far wiser than her years. (Far wiser than him, anyway, about the ways of the world.)
I Have Another Puzzle For You: Wonka’s biggest flaw is a running gag that’s just embarrassing to behold — in the film, Keegan-Michael Key’s police chief gets his bribes from the chocolatiers in the form of absurd amounts of chocolate, and his waistline expands in an equally absurd fashion, courtesy of some extreme prosthetics.
Because apparently it needs saying yet again, even in the year 2023: Fat suit jokes aren’t just lazy, they’re cruel. Why was this considered necessary? As a counterbalance to the many scenes of people enjoying chocolate — a message about the importance of moderation? There had to be a way to communicate that without creating yet another instance of stigmatizing those with weight issues. And for a movie that aspires to deliver happy positive vibes, it’s a huge disappointment to see it stoop to this level.
The Verdict: What’s striking about Wonka is how it covers the start of Willy’s career, but leaves countless questions unanswered, up to and including how he came to employ an army of Oompa-Loompas as factory workers. In short, there’s a lot of potential story still available for a sequel, because sequels to prequels are, one supposes, the next step in this world.
In short, Wonka’s throwback charms make a striking enough impression, especially with Chalamet in the role, that the idea of another musical Wonka adventure isn’t at all objectionable. If, that is, they skip the fat suit next time.
Where to Watch: Wonka arrives in theaters on Friday, December 15th.
Trailer:
Wonka Brings Paddington-Ish Delights, Except for One Cruel Choice: Review
Liz Shannon Miller
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