Wonka
Release Date: 14th December 2023 - Australia
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
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.
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
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
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
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-
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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