Wonka

Storyline

Willy Wonka – chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time – is proof that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.


Tagline: Every good thing in this world started with a dream.

Genres: Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Details

Official Website:  https://www.wonkamovie.com
Language:  English
Release Date:  6 December 2023

Box Office

Budget:  $125,000,000
Revenue:  $272,100,000

Technical Specs

Runtime:  1 h 57 min
Timothée Chalamet’s Uniquely Adorably Sweet Interpretation Of The Classic Character Will Melt Your Heart!

Chalamet’s delectable interpretation of Wonka would be cherished for his flawless charm, youthful vigor, and genuine smile.

Synopsis:

Timothée Chalamet plays 25-year-old Willy, who travels the world in an attempt to perfect the chocolate formula he has been making for the past seven years. Now that he is certain he has perfected the taste, he travels to London in order to earn some cash. Not only is the quality of his chocolate important, but so are his marketing methods, which put him in the crosshairs of the city’s “chocolate cartel,” which consists of Slugworth (played by Paterson Joseph), Fickelgruber (played by Matthew Baynton), and Prodnose (played by Matt Lucas).

Image from the movie "Wonka"
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures. All rights reserved.

After depleting all of his silver sovereign, Wonka finds himself in a hotel that appears to be straight out of The Conjuring, allowing Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman), the proprietor, to trick him into signing an absurd contract. After joining the other Scrubbit victims, Willy develops a close relationship with the adorable little orphan Noodle (Calah Lane), and they all assist in releasing one another—only to cause additional issues.

Detailed Story:

Aspiring chocolatier, magician, and inventor Willy Wonka travels to Europe to open his chocolate shop at the Galeries Gourmet. After blowing up his limited resources, he accepts a contract since he is illiterate and is forced to stay at Mrs. Scrubitt’s boardinghouse by her goon Bleacher, despite the orphan Noodle’s warning about the tiny print. In order to pay them back, Wonka creates “hoverchocs,” chocolates that enable people to soar. However, he is met with derision from three competing chocolatiers, who threaten to seize his profits for not having a chocolate shop.

When Wonka is unable to pay the outrageous costs stipulated in the contract, he is taken prisoner and, along with five other captives, including Noodle, begins working in a launderette for Mrs. Scrubitt. With Noodle’s assistance, he escapes after learning of a “Chocolate Cartel” conspiracy involving the competing chocolatiers; in exchange for teaching him to read, he offers her a lifetime supply of chocolates. To get Wonka to leave town, the cartel takes advantage of the chief’s weakness for chocolate. Wonka informs Noodle that his late mother is the reason behind his fondness for chocolate. Wonka then talks about how a mysterious orange man has been taking his chocolates for years.

Image from the movie "Wonka"
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures − All right reserved.

In order to make his renowned chocolate, Wonka and Noodle go to the nearby zoo and milk Abigail the giraffe. They use the underground to avoid Scrubitt and the Chief while going on a chocolate-selling campaign to pay off their debts with other laundromat employees. Wonka uncovers the identity of the burglar, an Oompa Loompa named Lofty, and learns that the Oompa Loompa is seeking revenge for the cocoa beans Wonka stole from Loompaland years before when Lofty was watching over them. Lofty tricks Wonka to get away.

The prisoners launch Wonka’s ideal chocolate shop with the money they earn from selling chocolates. He is exposed to Scrubitt by the Chief and the Chocolate Cartel, who are now unable to arrest him because he operates a legal business. Scrubitt causes mayhem among the patrons by infusing his chocolates with Yeti sweat, which ultimately results in the devastation of Wonka’s store. In exchange for everyone’s debts being paid off, Wonka accepts the Cartel’s offer to depart town by ship. With the exception of Noodle, who is paid by Cartel leader Slugworth to remain there permanently, all of the employees at the launderette are discharged.

Image from the movie "Wonka"
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures − All right reserved.

Before Lofty and Wonka are made to leap off the boat that is set to explode, Wonka surmises that Noodle is Slugworth’s niece. Slugworth entrusted Noodle to Scrubitt, believing her dead, so as to disprove Noodle’s claim to the family’s wealth. The gang comes up with a plan to get their hands on the Cartel’s incriminating account book after they successfully rescue Noodle.

Wonka and Noodle sneak into the Cartel’s base, taking advantage of Abigail’s diversion. There, they are accosted by the Cartel and almost drown in chocolate. Lofty is able to save them thanks to Wonka, who also exposes the Cartel’s wrongdoings to the public and authorities. They destroy the Cartel’s business by releasing their chocolate stockpile through a fountain that is tainted with Wonka’s special ingredients. The cartel is busted, and the chief is taken into custody by the authorities.

As Wonka opens the final chocolate bar his mother sent him, he finds a golden piece of paper with the inscription, “What matters is who you share the chocolate with,” while the crowd revels in sampling Wonka’s chocolate fountain. He pays off his debt to Lofty, helps Noodle get back in touch with her mother, and purchases an abandoned castle to start construction on a new factory.

Image from the movie "Wonka"
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures − All right reserved.

In the epilogue, Scrubitt and Bleacher are taken into custody when their plan to destroy proof that they were tampering with Wonka’s store fails.

Screenplay Analysis:

I knew this couldn’t be horrible the moment Paul King was revealed as the film’s director. Paul, who oversaw the Paddington film series, tries to work his endearing magic again on this one. Co-writing Paddington 2 with Simon Farnaby, King presents Wonka in a different light because the film is a prequel or origin story to the 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Chalamet’s Wonka isn’t the crazy, crazy ones we’ve seen in the roles of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. He has the same sweetness as chocolate and the same fleeting nature as magic.

Chung-hoon The brilliantly wacky production design is well captured by Chung’s camerawork. Since Chung-hoon doesn’t employ any sorcerer’s tricks to lighten the mood of the film, you just have to go with the flow due to the well-written screenplay and gorgeous sets. In the second part, things do become more convenient and predictable, but it’s not like it will bore you.

Star-studded Performance:

The good news for Timothée Chalamet is that he has plenty of leeway to build his own unique persona, as he won’t have to follow in the shoes of the previous Wonkas. Fans hoping for the same characteristics may be let down, but those who can see things differently will undoubtedly value Chalamet’s sincerity.

The three actors—Matew Baynton, Patterson Joseph, and Matt Lucas—have a great time together, but Mathew particularly enjoys making you laugh at the mention of the word “poor”—he says, “Don’t speak of that demographic in my presence.” The weirdness Olivia Colman and Tom Davis bring to their performances makes for an entertaining duo that justifies the sharp writing. Hugh Grant is too cute, and Rowan Atkinson is okay, but I would have preferred to see more of them.

Image from the movie "Wonka"
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures − All right reserved.

Conclusion:

All things considered, Timothée Chalamet’s delectable portrayal of Wonka will be cherished for his flawless charm, youthful vigor, and genuine smile.

 

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