“Wonka,” released Dec. 15, 2023, is a prequel to the childhood classic “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”
“Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” originally released June 30, 1971, follows a group of kids exploring the chocolate factory of chocolatier extraordinaire Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder).
“Wonka” serves as an origin story of Willy Wonka (Timotheé Chalamet) as he begins building his chocolate empire.
In this review, I will be excluding Tim Burton’s adaptation of the film, as it does not follow the same storyline as the original film or the book by Roald Dahl. Comparing the three would only confuse and disrupt the canon the movie establishes.
“Wonka” serves mostly to enhance the experience of watching the franchise as it gives the lovable goofball depth and intrigue. In the first movie, directors and actors worked closely with Dahl to remain true to his vision of the chocolatier. While the character is well-developed, what was missing was motive. Why chocolate?
“Wonka” shows us a young Wonka embarking on a journey to the big city with just a few bucks and a dream of opening a chocolate shop. He developed his love of chocolate from his mother, who would make him the most wonderful homemade chocolate.
He soon faces backlash from the other chocolatiers in the town for his inventive, immersive and delicious chocolates. Intimidated by his success, they do anything they can to stop his success. As assumed, he prevails and is able to open his own chocolate factory, which, as we see in Wilder’s edition, gains universal praise and recognition for its quality and affordability.
An interesting touch the new film brings is giving the lonely chocolatier companions. In the original, Wonka seems to be something of a recluse or outlier to society, but in “Wonka,” he is joined by a spunky bookworm named Noodle (Calah Lane) and a rag-tag group of laundry workers. They help Wonka sell chocolates while avoiding the “chocolate cartel.” Giving Wonka this companionship gave depth to the character and made the mad chocolatier more relatable.
I was more willing to root for Willy when I knew how caring he was, especially due to his portrayal by Chalamet.
Chalamet does an amazing job emulating the whimsical vibe that comes along with the role of Wonka. His singing being less theatrical made it more enjoyable. I didn’t feel like I was listening to show tunes. It kept me immersed in the storyline.
The set design of “Wonka” is thoroughly deliberate. You can see the thought behind each set and each costume. I love the hints and notions of the original movie, such as the chocolate tree and the intricate chocolate-making station. The set designers used color to indicate setting changes, and it is so faithful to the original, with colorful meaning good and dreary meaning bad.
The costumes are also working well in this movie. We see that Wonka’s eccentric style is carried on from when he was younger, and even though he has the funds to change his look, he holds tight to those roots, further proving fame did not change his spirit.
All in all, “Wonka” was an amazing and necessary inclusion to the franchise and quickly became one of my favorite releases of 2023. It further brought Dahl’s vision to light and gave the next generation a lovable weirdo to look up to.