I was dubious about Wonka with Timothee Chalamet as a prequel film. The two worst things about twenty-first-century film production are lack of imagination, i.e., “Let’s do a sequel to something that we know sold, instead of producing something new.” and “Let’s make sure we cover all the minority buttons and go as woke as we can be.”
At first glance, Wonka looked like it covered both of those issues. I was wrong, and if you miss this show, you are too. If you liked Gene Wilder’s Wonka, you’ll love Timothee Chalamet’s version. It’s Wilder’s Wonka from before the world wore him down. If you liked The Greatest Show, you’ll love Wonka. Yes, it’s a musical and a fun one. If you liked the version by Jonny Depp and Burton, well… You’ll still probably like this piece, but not as much.
Roald Dahl is given a writer credit for the screenplay. He died in 1990, but this film has his fingerprints all over it. If you’re not familiar with the name, he wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the Original Wilder version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, among other films. This is solidly his style.
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Timothee Chalamet is brilliant as the young Willy Wonka, and Joseph Paterson is a fantastically despicable Slugworth. Yes, it’s a race change, so what? Slugworth was a walk-on character in the original. Paterson makes him a truly memorable and ‘kid’s movie evil’ villain.
The whole cast is brilliant and brilliantly cast, my hat is off to Paul King for his choices. A director who’s not well known, this film should get him some well-deserved attention and if there is any justice in the world, some awards. I can’t cover every good choice, but a couple stand out and deserve a nod. Olivia Colman and Tom Davis are wonderful as the almost Dickensish villains who originally screwed over young Willy. Michael Key Keegan’s role as the Chief of Police is a wonderfully weak cop who knows he’s wrong and wants to straighten up, but just can’t.
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Then there’s what may be the best supporting actor in the lot, Hugh Grant, as the first of Willy Wonka’s Ompa Loopas. The casting ruffled quite a few feathers with the “Small Person” crowd, but honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a way to win in that arena. If you cast a Small Person in that role and then make them look like traditional Ompa Loopas, there are complaints of stereotyping. If you don’t cast one, then there are complaints about that!
Grant pulled off what will become the head Oompa Loompa in the factory with his usual panache and unique style. If you ever wondered where the Oompa Loompas came from, and what their story is, this will explain all.
Willy Wonka, the character, is the modern version of a demi-god, much like Nanny McPhee, Mary Poppins, or Doctor Dolittle. They can do magical things that no one else can, and no one questions that. If Peter Pan is the demi-god of the dark, unknowingly mean side of childhood, this Willy Wonka is the demi-god of all that is best in children, their unquestioned optimism, their charity, and sense of wonder. This movie well deserves to become a holiday classic.
What did you think about Timothee Chalamet as Wonka? Leave a comment and let us know.
It was the casting that confused me. The time period was early 1900s but they have to put a little black girl in the supporting role even though it doesn’t make sense for the time. Then all his motivations have to because of his strong mother? There’s just red flags that are hard to ignore because Hollywood earned that skepticism
The casting was also in a fictional country in a make-believe world. We all find ourselves annoyed when the left reaches out to take offense, and goes through our pockets trying desperately to find some. Don’t behave like the left.