WONKA
Rated {G}
116 Minutes
Released December 15th
Wonka is a colorful, imaginative, and genuinely heartfelt movie that lures the viewer into a dreamscape of color, music, and story inhabited by eccentrically lovable characters. The story is a prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The visual world that is created here by director Paul King and production designer Nathan Crowley, is fantastical yet hints at all the details of an earthly environment, treading a fine line between dream and reality. The screen bursts with a cornucopia of color. A subliminal lead character in this movie is chocolate itself, which will play on your senses of smell and taste as you hear the crunch of every piece of chocolate and the expression on each person’s face as savor it. This sensory gift throughout the film adds an extra dimension. Composer Joby Talbot, once part of the UK pop music group The Divine Comedy, has added some new songs and music to the Wonka classics, heightening the emotional elements.
The actors dazzle in this movie. The rhythm lags just a bit in the beginning but perks up and never loses a beat after. This is a movie that does not take itself too seriously, and though there are teachable moments, the fun that the cast is having is palpable. Hugh Grant is hilarious as “Oompa-Loompa.” He has found his niche as a comedic actor. Olivia Colman gives a wonderful, outlandish turn as “Mrs. Scrubitt,” and Keegan-Michael Key and Sally Hawkins give standout performances as well.
Timothee Chalamet exudes depth, charisma, and whimsy as the titular character. His “Willy Wonka” is the classic innocent, whose naivete attracts the pure of heart. Chalamet is an extraordinary actor who attended the La Guardia High School of Music, Art, and Performing Arts. He learned piano as a child and played it beautifully in Call Me by Your Name. He is also a natural at dancing, perhaps inherited from his mother, a professional dancer. So, despite his lack of extensive experience as a Broadway performer, he exudes charm in his musical numbers. Director King had only one choice for the role of “Willy” and cast Chalamet without an audition after seeing his high school musical performances on YouTube. This is not just a musical; it’s a live-action movie as well, and sometimes the dialogue morphs into a song. That is a notoriously difficult shift to pull off without breaking from the environment that the audience has been drawn into. Credit the director and the actor for completely seamless transitions all the way through this movie.
The other actor who really steals the show is Calah Lane in a break-out role as “Noodle.” This young actor/singer/dancer/writer, who is now 14, glows in this movie. She has been acting since she was 4 years old, has been a backup singer for a major artist, has done voiceover singing for a Disney production, and had a role on “This Is Us.” Calah is the “guru” throughout the story, the one who can always provide a soft landing or a solution to a problem. This could have been a “supporting” role, but Calah makes it a starring one.
Enter the world of Wonka for a respite from hard reality and a return to the innocence of childhood. This is not a silly or campy Willy Wonka; it’s a sincere modern fairy tale that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you reconsider the art of being a compassionate, giving human being. Anyone who has ever built out or opened a retail store will truly empathize with the trauma that Willy and his team must deal with as they rise and rebuild again and again after each calamity.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
