Wonka Review

Wonka

Release Date: 14th December 2023 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)

Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)

Domain Entertainment (in association with)

The Roald Dahl Story Company

Heyday Films

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Fantasy/Musical/

Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 116 minutes

Budget: $125,000,000

Box Office Gross: $634,402,312 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

As a young and poor man with dreams of opening a chocolate shop in a famous city, Willy Wonka is determined to change the world with one delectable bite at a time. However, he discovers that a cartel of

greedy chocolatiers controls

the industry and will stop at

nothing to rid their competitors.

Cast

Timothée Chalamet - Willy Wonka

Gustave Die - Ship's Engineer

Murray McArthur - Ship's Captain

Paul G. Raymond - Map Seller

Bertie Caplan - Shoeshine Boy

Isy Suttie - Fruit & Veg Vendor

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith -

Officer Affable

Matilda Tucker - Young Mother

Tom Davis - Bleacher

Olivia Colman - Mrs.

Scrubbit

Calah Lane - Noodle

Paterson Joseph - Slugworth

Matt Lucas - Prodnose

Matthew Baynton - Fickelgruber

Freya Parker - Miss Bon Bon

Keegan-Michael Key - Chief of Police

Hugh Grant - Oompa-Loompa

Jim Carter - Abacus Crunch

Rakhee Thakrar - Lottie Bell

Natasha Rothwell - Piper Benz

Rich Fulcher - Larry

Chucklesworth

Colin O'Brien - Young Willy Wonka

Sally Hawkins - Willy's Mother

Rowan Atkinson - Father Julius

Ellie White - Gwennie (Mistress of the Keys)

Rufus Jones - Jenkins

Simon Farmaby - Basil (Zoo Security Guard)

Susie Fairfax - Abacus

Crunch's Wife

Macie Blake - Abacus

Crunch's Granddaughter

(4 Years Old)

Charlotte Ritchie - Barbara

Phil Wang - Colin

Bleu Woodward - Waitress

Robyn Rose - Tram Lady 1

Millie O'Donnell - Tram Lady 2

Ben Howard - Oompa Loompa Guard 1

Muzz Khan - Oompa Loompa Guard 2

Ian Bartholomew - Sceptical Old Man

Sophie Winkleman - The

Countess

Lola Shepelev -

Moustached Little Girl

Michael Abubakar - Orange-

Haired Customer

Justin Edwards - Green-

Skinned Customer

Marina Bye - Green-Bearded Customer

Tim Fitzhigham - Sinister Ship's Captain

Jane Bertish - Bardness Von Schmeichelhammer

Dominic Coleman - Donovan

Tracy Ifeachor - Dorothy Smith

Ellie Blake - Abacus Crunch's Granddaughter (8 Years Old)

Alison Pargeter - Wendy Chucklesworth

Crew

Story/Screenplay/Director - Paul King

Based on Characters - Roald Dahl

Screenplay - David Farnaby

Executive Producers - Cate Adams,

Rosie Alison and Michael Siegel

Executive Producer/Unit Production

Manager - Tim Wellspring

Producers - David Heyman,

Alexandra Derbyshire and Luke Kelly

Co-Producer - Bernie Hall

Casting Director - Nina Gold

Military Technical Advisor - Paul Biddiss

Production Designer - Nathan Crowley

Supervising Art Directors - Toby Britton

and Tom Brown

Set Decorator - Lee Sandales

Property Master - Jamie Wilkinson

Costume Designer - Lindy Hemming

Hair & Makeup Designer - Ivana Primorac

Director of Photography - Chung-hoon Chang

"A" Camera/Steadicam Operator - Peter Robertson

Unit Production Manager: Additional Unit -

Steve Harding

Second Unit Director/Director of Photography -

John Sorapure

Choreographer - Christopher Gattelli

Stunt Coordinator - Paul Lowe

Animal Coordinators - Julie Tottman

and James Weller

Special Effects Supervisor - Hayley J. Williams

Visual Effects Supervisor - Graham Page

Visual Effects Producer - Dominic Sidoli

Editor - Mark Everson

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer -

Glenn Freemantle

Supervising Sound Editor - Ben Barker

Production Sound Mixer - John Casali

Re-Recording Mixers - Niv Adiri

and Paul Massey

Foley Mixer - Glen Gathard

Original Songs - Neil Hannon

Music - Joey Talbot

Music Producer - Charlie Rosen

Music Supervisor/Vocal Producer -

James A. Taylor

Review

It took me a few months to finish this review before I could publish it. Despite the turbulence of 2023, the film is still going through a rough patch, with industrial action and the popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. However, the former affected many movies that came out in the same year and bombed in theatres due to poor marketing and ridiculously high budgets. But there are some exceptions, like Barbie and Oppenheimer. At the end of this year, a few films came out during the holiday season. One of which was WONKA, which is the latest incarnation of Roald Dahl's beloved character.

Considered the most popular of all Roald Dahl's stories, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been the subject of several adaptations over the years (the two most famous are the 1971 Mel Stuart film and the 2005 Tim Burton film). At first, I was sceptical because this prequel may be a cash cow as it would tarnish the legacy of the original 1971 musical with Gene Wilder. Thankfully, it wasn't. I'm glad it's nothing like the interpretation that Tim Burton produced with Johnny Depp as the titular character. While the previous film adaptations by Mel Stuart and Tim Burton have the same story, this one is a tribute to the former with its confectionary qualities, such as a hint of sweetness and energetically choreographed musical numbers.

Paul King is already familiar with audiences for directing the first two Paddington movies and is no stranger to children's fiction when taking some elements of a literary classic. All that is missing is the dark undertones, which makes the classic book and the two previous interpretations so interesting. The set designs and visuals are phenomenal. The songs are irresistibly catchy.

Timothée Chalamet may seem an odd choice to play Willy Wonka, but he was naturally good at this role and had the eagerness to do so. Interestingly, this version of Wonka is a young optimist, whereas the previous incarnations show him as a self-absorbed individual with little regard for the thoughts and feelings of others. I never knew Chalamet could sing and dance, let alone act in an exuberant and colourful motion picture like WONKA. I liked his rendition of "Pure Imagination", which differs from Gene Wilder's version.

The supporting cast consists of comedians who stole the show, while young Calah Lane lends a sincere performance as Noodle. Keegan-Michael Kay is terrific as the chief of police. Paterson Joseph distinguishes himself as a full-on pantomime villain, supplemented by Matt Lucas and Matthew Baynton, who make a delightfully evil trio. Hugh Grant has made a terrific comeback in his latest work in recent years, but playing an Oompa Loompa named Lofty isn't something I expected from him.

While silly and whimsical, WONKA is a sweet-filled cinematic delight that will arouse audiences and tempt their tastebuds. When you have a movie that came out in the holiday season, you know it's WONKA. I recommend this film to those who grew up with Gene Wilder's previous incarnation and Roald Dahl's original story.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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In Memory of Carl Weathers (1948-2024)

Carl Weathers (1948-2024)

It is with great sadness that the actor Carl Weathers has died on 1st February 2024. He was 76 years old. The actor was famous for his role as boxer Apollo Creed in the first four "Rocky" films. He also appeared as Colonel Al Dillon in "Predator", Chubbs Peterson in "Happy Gilmore", and his recent part as Greef Karga in the "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian". Weathers made over 75 films and television appearances in a screen career spanning over 50 years.

Born in New Orleans on 14th January 1948, Weathers was a football linebacker at San Diego State University, where he also studied drama, before joining the Oakland Raiders. Weathers gravitated to Hollywood, inspired by Woody Strode, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte and Muhammad Ali. After appearing in bit parts in numerous projects in the mid-70s, Weathers rose to stardom in 1976 as the fictional boxer who rivalled Sylvester Stallone's champion, Rocky Balboa. He appeared in the first "Rocky" film before reprising his role for the second, third and fourth films. Weathers' character was the source of inspiration for Jordan's "Creed" film series.

While continuing to star in the "Rocky" franchise, Weathers scored several significant roles in the 1980s, including 1987's "Predator", in which he played Arnold Schwarzenegger's former war buddy turned CIA operative. Weathers also appeared in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Force 10 from Navarone", "Action Jackson", and "Hurricane Smith". While Weathers was known for his action roles, he had a knack for comedy too, with a memorable turn as Chubbs in Adam Sandler's 1996 film "Happy Gilmore". He would reprise his character in "Little Nicky" and had a minor voice role in "Eight Crazy Nights". He also played himself in the sitcom "Arrested Development", serving as an acting coach for David Cross' character, Tobias Funke. Weathers was also the voice of Combat Carl in the "Toy Story" series, beginning with the television special "Toy Story of Terror" to the Oscar-winning "Toy Story 4".

Most recently, however, his most high-profile role has been in the Star Wars universe, where he has played Greef Karga in all three current seasons of the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian". It earned him an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in 2021. Aside from starring in his role, Weathers was also a director of two episodes in the show, such as Season 2's "Chapter 12: The Siege" and Season 3's "Chapter 20: The Foundling". He also helmed episodes in television shows like "Law & Order" and "The Last O.G."

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