Timothee Chalamet had massive shoes to fill in Wonka. The Academy Award nominee stepped into Gene Wilder’s iconic role that was divisively popularized by Johnny Depp, and delivered in style. It seems as though the 28-year-old actor lent the golden touch to his character, who many argue had the chocolate touch. What sets Chalamet’s Willy Wonka apart from previous films featuring the character is his youthful exuberance. This lends a whiff of hope and a scent of cheerfulness to Willy Wonka’s journey to fulfill his hatful of dreams. 

It is a road that began years back with Sally Hawkins’ character of Mrs. Wonka saying- “Every good thing in this world started with a dream. So you hold on to yours.” This is the underlying message Wonka exudes through every single one of its protagonists as they go about their days in 20th-century London (it seems to be that era). 

In the first ten minutes, Director Paul King cleverly answers a burning question about musicals. How does the scene play out in the eyes of those who are not in the loop with the choreography? The merging of the daydream and reality made it rather amusing and sad at the same time. To borrow from La La Land– ‘Here’s to the fools who dream… crazy as they may seem.’ 

Wonka allows chocoholics to witness their wildest fantasies 

Paul King’s presentation of the subject matter allows chocoholics’ wildest fantasies to come to life in the form of ‘incredible edibles’ that serve as an opportunity and threat. The two terms thrown out are from King and Simon Farnaby’s screenplay, but it isn’t just sprinkled as a random topping. It is often said that one eats with their eyes first. That sentiment is absolutely perfect for Wonka, a film calling for the creation of ‘A World of Your Own’ while describing everything chocolate. 

Right from the first appearance of the Hoverchocs, the patrons get a whiff of hope, and the competitors get the whiff of an incoming storm. Their efforts to thwart Willy Wonka and his friends, and let an established oligopoly thrive, are what drive this spiritual prequel forward.

Moving back to Chalamet, he makes an impression right from his first scene on the ship. A song later we know the singing is in good hands and this is an earnest, overly innocent, and childlike turn. It is the streets and rough situations that see maturity come through, which Wonka gets from Noodle. 

Wonka’s supporting cast fares well 

Calah Lane essays Noodle, an orphan stuck at Scrubbit and Bleacher. I loved the part where she responds to Wonka’s incredulity upon his discovery that she has never had chocolate. For those of us who have had chocolate, looking at Wonka’s creation can make you drool. You may have indeed ‘Never had a chocolate like this.’ 

From the supporting cast, Rowan Atkinson is quite stupendous as the head priest of what I will refer to as the Church of Chocolate. The Mr. Bean actor does not have a lot of screen time, but one cannot picture anyone else there. It takes a unique performer to own a role, and Atkinson is that (which he previously proved in his series, Man vs Bee) as he manages to lend elements of visual comedy to Father Julius. Olivia Colman is a cruel laundry owner, which only goes to prove that she is a shapeshifter. The British actress looks at home in any role.

Hugh Grant’s Lofty the Oompa-Loompa gets rather underused. The underuse is not in comparison to the other characters, but to the expectation audiences may keep before stepping into a cinema hall. The Oompa-Loompa mystery is answered, but the green-haired man just comes in rather late. In retrospect, it allowed Lane to call the shots. 

The fantasy elements elevate Wonka into the stratosphere. Things that come close in film terms as Weasleys Wizard Wheezes from Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince and Toy Duncan’s Chest from Home Alone 2. Wonka’s shop is the stuff that dreams are made of, with ‘Incredible Edibles and Unbeatable Eatables’ resulting in an abundance of colorful frames. 

Wonka’s creative solutions had select limitations 

A few gaps were visible in Wonka. Primarily the one where Wonka and Noodle were completely chocolate-free after ‘Death by Chocolate’. You may say that their clothes did have traces of chocolate, but the hair (especially Noodle’s) looked extremely fresh. For someone who can bottle elements of nature for his chocolate recipes, and soar onto rooftops, it may not be tough. This brings me to another issue. Why couldn’t Wonka use his creative knack for problem-solving to overcome his situation? 

Wonka does not face a lot of obstacles in his elaborate plans. There never seems to be a need to go to Plan B. Regarding the former, the presence of a character with shades of gray could have sowed the seeds for the older Wonka’s known distrust in the films and story. Regarding the latter, well, it backs the film’s dream theme. 

A lack of familiarity with Wilder’s, Depp’s, and Dahl’s iterations of Wonka may be part of the criticism. King alters the source material. Is this annoying? Creative? Creatively annoying maybe? Here, it is imperative to remember that this is the prequel, i.e. before dishonesty prompts Willy Wonka to shut the gates to his factory for years. Hence, there is room for creativity. Alteration from the backstory of Roald Dahl’s source material will almost certainly trigger the book fans. Would Dahl have distanced himself from Wonka, like how he did with 1971’s Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory? 

All things considered, Wonka is a two-hour musical extravaganza. This musical fantasy can awaken your taste buds, lend some color to brighten your day, and kick-start the festive season. Performances, choreography, production design, and music work well in this confectioner’s musical delight. Maybe, just maybe, you will find yourself purchasing a slab of chocolate on your way out. Or wait, is nothing good enough after witnessing the magic at Wonka’s?

P.S. Do wait for the Loompa production during the end credits