I Wasn’t Excited About Timothee Chalamet Playing Willy Wonka—Until the New Trailer

The first trailer dropped for December's "Wonka" and it exceeds all expectations—and makes up for Johnny Depp's portrayal IMO.

Raise your hand if you still feel personally victimized by Johnny Depp’s 2005 wacky take on one of our most beloved childhood movies (and characters)—Willy Wonka. I’m still in shock over his bizarre portrayal of the chocolatier in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—and yes, I know Willy Wonka’s brand is eccentric but to me, Depp made the character unrecognizable and clownish.

I grew up watching the late, great, and iconic Gene Wilder play Willy Wonka in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and it was nothing less than pure perfection. Wilder’s Willy Wonka was wacky and outlandish with just enough compassion that it made sense how devoted he was to the Oompa Loompas or found a kindred spirit in Charlie. Watching him have the best reaction in his non-reaction when Violet turns “violet” or little Mikey shrinks into the TV are part of my fondest childhood memories. After seeing Depp try and recreate those classic scenes, I remember leaving the theater and immediately pulling out my dusty DVD of the original as I desperately needed the palate cleanser!

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So, truth be told, when it was announced Timothee Chalamet was playing Willy Wonka in a new movie simply titled Wonka—I ignored all the headlines and news about the project. Don’t get me wrong—I think Timothee Chalamet is an incredible actor (I noticed him way back in 2012 on the early seasons of Homeland as the spoiled son of the Vice President!) but I was not interested in him donning Willy Wonka’s signature top hat and purple velvet coat. In fact, I was insulted that Hollywood was trying to recreate the magic of Willy Wonka once again because it so clearly was proven with Depp's version that it could not be done.

Until the Wonka trailer came out . . .

I did not realize Wonka wasn’t a remake, reboot, or retelling of the original! Instead, it’s the origin story of how Willy Wonka, a self-proclaimed “magician, inventor, and chocolate maker” turned his daydreams into reality—in a town that penalizes you for daydreaming no less—to become the beloved, offbeat, quirky chocolatier. Seeing Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka makes perfect sense as he has the perfect combo of childlike innocence with a tinge of mystery.

The trailer provides a taste of what we will learn about Willy Wonka and it’s all little details that will make fans of the original movie gasp with big excitement.

Wonka’s just finished traveling the world to perfect his “craft” (AKA chocolate making) and is ready to open his own shop—despite a “chocolate cartel” standing in the way. It also appears Wonka’s mom is his inspiration to follow his heart and chocolate aspirations, as we hear her say, “Every good thing started with a dream.”

We see the beginnings of that infamous chocolate stream (the very one we all wished would magically appear in our own backyards) and Wonka hard at work on those “secret” recipes —including one for chocolate that makes you fly!

The trailer completely sold me that Chalamet has been perfectly cast as a young Willy Wonka but there was one other thing that officially got me excited for Wonka to hit theaters on December 15th. Hugh Grant—yes as in Love, Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’ Diary Hugh Grant—plays a tiny, orange, adorable OOMPA LOOMPA. We see him in a tiny glass jar where he pulls out the famed flute and the opening notes of maybe one of the catchiest tunes in cinematic history starts playing as our Oompa Loompa shakes his tiny butt and dances! So now of course I can’t wait to find out the significance of the flute to Oompa Loompas and how this Hugh Grant Oompa Loompa found his way to Willy Wonka before the rest followed!

Overall, the trailer has restored my faith that classic movies can have a second life. I can’t wait to take my daughter to see Wonka in theaters this December—and create a double feature by watching Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as soon as we get home! 

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