On paper I suppose this is quite an enticing recipe. A prequel to a beloved classic, directed by ‘Paddington’ supremo Paul King, starring man-of-the-moment Timothée Chalamet, featuring songs from Neil Hannon, and all of it inspired by the macabre genius of Roald Dahl. It’s a winning combo, right? The $600m takings at the global box office would certainly suggest so. Yet, whilst watching ‘Wonka’, as much as I wished to be transported to a world of pure imagination, I found this assortment of sweet treats to be more than a little cloying.
The film largely rests on the shoulders of Chalamet, who has some very large Gene Wilder shaped shoes to fill. He wisely avoids doing anything that would resemble an impression of Wilder’s revered performance, but despite all the kookiness and quirk he tries to bring, the end result is lacking in any edge. There’s no hint of the slightly sinister figure he will one day become, or any depth to who is now. For an origin story there isn’t exactly much origin here. There’s been a lot said about how miscast he appears in this role, and on the evidence of this bland and overly twee interpretation of the character, I’m inclined to agree. On the plus side, he carries himself very well in the song and dance numbers.
Shot through with Paul King’s keen eye for absurd whimsy, ‘Wonka’ begins with a pre-Chocolate Factory owning Willy Wonka (Chalamet), arriving by ship in a strange fantasy amalgamation of Dickensian London and various other post-war European cities. Wonka has plans to open a chocolate emporium in a fancy shopping gallery, but faces obstacles at every turn. There are evil boarding house owners, corrupt police officers, a mafia-like cartel of rival chocolatiers, dodgy clergymen, and a disgruntled Oompa Loompa who keeps stealing his creations. Wonka’s failure to read the small print of his bill at the boarding house sees him effectively imprisoned in the workhouse they are running in the basement.
Much of the film’s charm comes from the oddball supporting cast, which features Olivia Colman and Tom Davis as the aforementioned wicked innkeepers, Scrubitt and Bleacher. Matthew Baynton, Matt Lucas, and Paterson Joseph (Johnson from Peep Show) have a lot of fun as Ficklegruber, Prodnose, and Slugworth, the snooty rival chocolatiers. Then you have Hugh Grant as the Oompa Loompa, lending his expertly tuned pompous silliness to the role. The longer he is on screen however, the more disturbing the CGI becomes. Keegan-Michael Key sadly fares less well in a one-joke role as a chocoholic copper.
Working once again with Simon Farnaby on screenwriting duty, Paul King has aimed for that same level of magic that made his duo of ‘Paddington’ films so special, but they fall well short here. To ram home the cooking metaphor once again, all the ingredients are there, but the meal just didn’t come together. It’s a funny film, but not riotously so. There’s some lovely production design, but also lots of horribly flat CGI. The songs are pleasant but instantly forgettable, apart from the classics they resurrect from the 1971 film.
The biggest sin of all is that in trying to replicate the sweet-natured formula of their two films about the polite little Peruvian bear, King and Farnaby fundamentally miss what makes Dahl’s novels so special and enduring: darkness and cruelty. ‘Wonka’ skirts with a few ideas of nastiness but never follows through. It always holds back before rushing headlong into the next sugary moment, meaning the big emotional beats it’s going for never truly hit the mark.
The special features on the disc are essentially one long programme split into various featurettes. First up is ‘Unwrapping Wonka’ which focuses on Paul King’s vision for bringing the film to life. ‘The Whimsical Music of Wonka’ is a short clip about Neil Hannon’s songs for the film and his inspirations. ‘Welcome to Wonka Land’ goes into the brilliant work of production designer Nathan Crowley and his set decorators. ‘Hats Off to Wonka’ is a short featurette about the film’s excellent costume design. The disc is rounded off with ‘Wonka’s Chocolatier’ which is an interview with Gabriella Cugno, the pastry chef who created all the chocolates for the film.
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Colman, Tom Davis, Hugh Grant Director: Paul King Writer: Paul King & Simon Farnaby Released By: Warner Bros Entertainment Certificate: PG Duration: 116 mins Release Date: 4th March 2024
