No assembly RequireD

Come with me, and you’ll read,

a review of full examination,

Take a glance for a chance

To hear my praise or aggravation

If you want to go see WONKA

Listen to my words of wisdom

Not every bit friendly

But you’ll see quickly

The optimism

Some people are an enigma. A blend of curiosity, charm and even terror. Willy Wonka the greatest chocolatier is as strange as they come. With a cane and a top hat full of wonder Wonka as a character has dominated the culture stratosphere with two hit films and a plethora of impersonations and rehashes. But even with every new detail that is created about the man he is still far gone from fully understanding. Paul King’s WONKA attempts to finally home in on all the peculiarity with an origin story of the purple donning factory creator. Origin stories can often be misguided in that breaking down that mysterious veil ruins most of the ingenuity that makes up the character, but WONKA avoids most trappings in delving less in what makes the man and more how the man wants to make the world. Throw in some charming musical numbers and that Paul King wit and this recipe is far from bitter.

Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) has explored the world, and what do you do when you’ve seen just about everywhere? You settle down and find a home. Wonka has chosen an unnamed possibly (but definitely) European city to bring his chocolate shop to life. His chocolate you see is unlike any before and the Galeries Gourmet the home of three of the most powerful chocolate makers is the perfect location. But as Chalamet abruptly sings he only has 6…no 5…no now just 1 shilling to his name. This city (and the rest of the world) is riddled with people trying to get by which means charging a fee for every movement, whether it be cleaning your shoes as you walk, daydreaming, or just walking down the stairs (a shilling for each step!). This forces Wonka to find himself trapped in a boarding house that is secretly revealed to be a laundry mat run by the ruthless Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman donning some vicious yellow teeth). But Wonka (much like the filmmaker himself) is an optimist and even encountering other members of the house that inform him they’ve been trapped for years in debt to Mrs. Scrubbit is not enough to bring his spirits down. Those negative spirits are saved for little Noodle (Calah Lane). A young orphan who longs for the days to find her family and discover her real name.

King as mentioned before is a director of optimism. His “Paddington” films often come off as a lesson in seeing the world as glass half full for the mere reason that the films themselves were once doubted by many online people only to have it become the definitive modern form of positivity and love. King has implemented that same energy here as Wonka chooses to sing and dances opposite a broken town, corrupt police and a chocolate cartel pulling all the strings. If nothing else Wonka is inspiring in that sense, after all when the evil Slugworth (Paterson Joseph) is hell bent on destroying any success you may have while also still keeping the poor even poorer it can be hard to keep a pep in your golden shoes. Capitalism is fully alive in WONKA as Slugworth’s chocolate cartel also consists of Mr. Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Mr. Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton). For them chocolate means the same familiar taste at the highest of prices. But if anyone knows Wonka then they know nothing could be less familiar to him than the usual. Chalamet as Wonka seems like the perfect casting for today’s younger generation and much like his other white boy of the era Tom Holland, both actors often feel miscast but have the benefit of so much fandom that it often gets ignored. Chalamet brings a charm with him to Wonka that works best when he brings more of himself to the role and less impressions of Wonka past. It can be seen as unjust to put Chalamet on a Gene Wilder pedestal and frankly this critic was never going to mention him. That is until Chalamet in his performances kept trying to reinstall those same feelings. There is an odd mixture in his portrayal that brings the peculiarity of Wilder and the obnoxiousness of Depp when in fact Chalamet does best when he brings neither of these men to the table. Its his older brother behavior towards Noodle that allows him to truly shine not just as Wonka but as the online superstar that many claim him to be. A scene involving the city’s public zoo and a somber tune turn duet ballad is one of the film’s shining moments that remind us of both the small wonders of the world as well as how grand they can become.

It is those small wonders that makes WONKA a beautiful emphasis on how life should and can be enjoyed. From Wonka’s past (told through adorable Lumiere style filmmaking) we learn his mother (Sally Hawkins doing more with five minutes than most actors do with two hours) was the real chocolate maker and inventor, and it was Wonka’s dream for her to bring their treats to the Galerie. It is hard not to be instantly emotional over the son’s love for his mother that will eventually shape the man Wonka becomes as well as be an answer for most of his future behaviors and antics. This family love carries through onto Noodle who while may having lost her family forever still finds hope in the new strange being that has entered her life. Calah Lane herself is a star stealing screentime from the likes of Chalamet, Colman and a slew of lovable British comedians. Lane is more than just another Charlie Bucket but instead someone who allows Wonka’s magic to come into her life, but then uses it as a source of good in her life that can be extended to all. After all that is what King is trying to say to us. That kindness is not just a farfetched idea, but rather something we all have but choose to exhibit or not. Where lesser filmmakers yell at their audience blaming them for the world’s problems, King knows there is both evil and good in the world, but when we display love and compassion it is easy to drown out and eventually remove the rest.

WONKA for all its grandiose magic is not without its more down to earth sharp wit that is becoming a King staple. Mrs. Scubitt along with her moronic somewhat love interest Bleacher (a hysterical Tom Davis) feels like they could have stumbled off the pages of Les Miserables as the film’s own Mr. and Madame Thenardier. Keegan-Michael Key is having a blast hamming it up as the Chief of Police in a role that while stricken with slightly immature humor still finds ways to make it land, and then of course there is British royalty in Rowan Atkins as Father Julius a corrupt priest seduced easily by power and chocolate. All this ensemble makes it stick out even more when a bumbling and unnecessary Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant annoyed as ever) is shoehorned in to remind us that as charming as this film is they still need that wink wink “hey I’ve seen this movie before” moment. It brings the film to a stand still and even causes it to lose focus in its latter half sacrificing nostalgia for heart, but thankfully it has a few final treats saved to really get those waterworks going. But it can’t go without saying that if this critic never sees another Oompa-Loompa well that would be delicious.

WONKA is a recipe that is not hard to recreate and yet so many people choose to stick to what they know which is usually a hard exterior that can rarely be cracked. King and company’s goal is to prove that not only is it worth bringing out that familiar magic, but also when we do so grand things beyond our imagination can come true. Perhaps that is why WONKA even in its reprise of an infamous song at the end does not feel half hearted. It’s an earned moment that is both welcomed and beloved as our hearts are given over to this joyful chocolatier. But what makes the film and Wonka himself so beautiful is that unlike Slugworth it is not going to cost us our entire savings to be happy and anyone can enjoy WONKA and bring its message into our daily routine. After all as the master himself sings, “Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.”

B+

WONKA is now playing in theaters everywhere