A young Willy Wonka embarks on a mission to spread joy through his chocolate, which quickly becomes a phenomenon.
- Released: 2023-03-16
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
- Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby, Rich Fulcher, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Paterson Joseph, Calah Lane, Matt Lucas, Colin O'Brien, Rakhee Thakrar, Ellie White, Mathew Baynton, Jim Carter
- Director: Paul King
Comments
- chiapet-25426 - 17 June 2024
a mixed box of chocolates
'Wonka' is the origin story no one asked for. And it's a musical one at that.
'Wonka' promises a magical chocolate sundae for the eyes but it's more of a mixed box of chocolates. It's not all rainbows and unicorns and much of the first half of the film is tough to watch.
Young and earnest Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) moves to London and finds that it's a tough town. Scammers rip him off, taking virtually all of his money. Needing a place to stay, he's steered to an inn operated by a grotesque couple straight out of Charles Dickens. They trick Willy into signing a contract forcing him into a lifetime of servitude in their dreary basement laundry prison. Apparently at this place, guests check in but they don't check out.
Willy befriends his fellow prisoners, chief among them a ragamuffin named Noodles (Calah Lane), who more or less becomes his sidekick.
Much of the screentime of 'Wonka' is devoted to Willy and friends plotting and hoping to one day be free again. It's certainly not what most film-goers signed up for.
The film can't truly take off until Willy breaks out of the prison and starts to spread his magical chocolates to Londoners.
Still, it's an amiable film with themes about friendship and defying the odds.
There are songs here and there but none better than a reprise of "Pure Imagination", wriiten by Leslie Briscusse and Anthony Newly for the 1971 film 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"
Timothee Chalamet is likeable as young Wonka. The supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins and Rowan Atkinson.
Leaving the theater, I wanted to eat a candy bar. - sb-487-173392 - 20 May 2024
was a bit dissappointed
Granted, there was a lot of attention to physical detail on the sets, but the script was not what held true to the spirit of the tale. Mr. Dahl is a personal favorite of mine and while his tales all have some darkness to them( as the grimm tales).
This script for my taste, seemed to really try to be more "this century" and adapted many things to cause more intrigue that needed. I am not sure why all movies today must be written with this type of spin. The lessons are there anyway and if we must always have them handled in the same way puts a cookie cutter stamp on the whole thing. While some was original and was very nice, the whole sentiment was just not as dazzling for me. Just my opinion. - jewelwhite-63873 - 2 May 2024
Love this movie more every time I watch it!
I'm a huge Willy Wonka fan and the original has long been one of my favorite all time movies. I've loved it since I was a child. I was skeptical since I was not a huge fan of the prior remakes, but was pleasantly surprised to see this was a prequel and not a remake. Every single person I've told did not realize this was a prequel and seemed more interested after I told them, as the other remakes were disappointing to us all. I was also skeptical about the choice for Wonka and the Oompa Loompa, but they were both awesome! They were both very pleasant surprises, especially Hugh grant. The magical story line and scenes really made this movie for me and I just loved Noodle. The scene with she and Willy at the zoo is my favorite from this movie and I will continue watching this one just like I do the original!
