Movie Review: Wonka

 Movie Number 42 of 2023

The Movie: Wonka

The Cinema: Hoyts Melbourne Central

Stars: 4

A film about a chocolate maker is saccharine sweet. Who knew?

My kid brother and I went along to see Wonka tonight. He wanted to go because he likes blockbusters. I wanted to go because I was curious about a lot of things. When it comes to Willy Wonka I'm a purist. I really didn't like the 2005 Johnny Depp version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I have reservations about the frankly creepy 1971 version with Gene Wilder in the main role. I mean, seriously, that scene with the boat - did parents just take it as read that the producers had got into the psychedelics and we thought we wouldn't notice.

This film, thank goodness, is nothing like the other two films (although I'll get to the Hugh Grant/Oompa Loompa thing later). This is a film you can take your young kids to and they won't be fucked up by it. It is pretty twee, over the top cutesy to the point of being 'woke', but in all, if you don't expect much and leave your brain behind, is an enjoyable film. I put a lot of this down to the mostly English cast who know what to do with this sort of material.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. As a prequel it works well. 

It's also a musical, in that it has musical numbers - not too many, and they are very well done. 

So, what is the story about? 

Well, Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), after years at sea, has come to town to make his fortune as a chocolatier in a town known for its chocolate. He is met with scorn by the local chocolate makers, Slugworth, Prodnose and Fickelgruber (played with delight by Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas and Matthew Baynton) Willy finds himself broke and on the streets until he is picked up Bleacher - who takes him back to Mrs Scrubitt's  flop house (the inimitable Olivia Coleman can do no wrong) and laundry. 

After a bad day in town, trying to peddle his wares, Willy finds him indentured to Mrs Scrubitt, doomed to work for eternity in her laundry with a messy gang who've found themselves in the same fate. The accountant, Abacus (Jim "Mr Carson" Carter), Lottie Bell a telephonist (Rahkee Thakrar), Piper Benz, a plummer (Natasha Rothwell) and Larry Chucklesworth, a comedian (Rich Fulcher). He also befriends Noodle (Calah Lane) a young girl who is also stuck at the laundry doomed to never leave. 

And this is where the hilarity starts and the teamwork out a way to get out of their situation. 

Oh, and there is Hugh Grant as the Oompa Loompa. 

A bit has been written about this casting as oompa loompas, in the past, have always been played by actors with dwarfism. Not now. It's noted that Hugh Grant gets all the best lines. He looks like he's having a ball. 

Actually, everybody in this film is having a wonderful time - and this makes up for some of the misgivings I have about it. Some could say it's a bit woke. I prefer to see it as a product of its time. On the good side of things there are plenty of nods to the book and the original film. For a prequel without material, this is well done. the video below explains a few of the call outs without ruining the film. 

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this. I'm also glad you could take young kids along to this and know it's not going to leave them messed up, like the original do to so many of us in the seventies. And like the original, I shed a tear or two at the end. 

They've done a good job on this one. 

Today's song: