The third movie telling of Willie Wonka’s story tells how he evolved from an orphan boy in debt to the world’s greatest chocolatier. With songs, beautiful color, a kid sidekick and a little help from his friends.
Summer 2023 saw me in movie theaters a lot of the time. It was the summer of “Barbie” and I went alone and with family to see “Barbie” several times. Movies never start on time because they show trailers for upcoming films. I saw trailers for “Blue Beetle” and “Trolls Band Together” so often I felt like I saw the movies. But one film’s trailer got me curious: WONKA. And then “Barbie” started and I forgot about it.
I finally saw WONKA recently at home. I loved it. It is beautifully filmed with imaginative colorful settings. The songs and dances are fun. The cast is wonderful. Timothee Chalamet plays Willie Wonka with joy and a sense of wonder. There is no competition for a Golden Ticket. He just loves chocolate and is able to do magical things with the stuff. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that he is in enormous debt to a crooked landlady (played by Olivia Colman); he is persecuted by the crooked Chief of Police (played by Keegan-Michael Key) and worst of all: the crooked (and evil!) Chocolate Cartel is his enemy. who wants to wipe out Willie Wonka.
With the help of the community he builds in the midst of horror and the special assistance of an orphan named Noodle (or is it?), WONKA earns the happy ending I always want.
Throwbacks to Roald Dahl’s original story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well the first two Willie Wonka movies include the Oompah Loompah (Hugh Grant) and a beautiful song from the original movie (“Pure Imagination”). And have I mentioned Timothee Chalamet??
Best…Willie Wonka…ever…