In the new movie Wonka, young chocolatier Willy Wonka, played by Timothée Chalamet, embarks on a journey to open a chocolate store in a city renowned for its chocolate. His first night in this city, he gets tricked into working for a laundromat in exchange for a place to stay, unknowing that he would be trapped there until he could pay an expensive fine. Later, as he tries to get the money to escape and open his own store, he discovers the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers and the chief of police who would do anything to stop him from opening a business. Along the way, he meets a little girl named Noodle, who was also tricked, and works alongside her on their journey to freedom. This movie has a google rating of 4.0 stars overall since its release on Dec. 15.
It was a good movie because the cinematography was eye-catching and the music was catchy.
Wonka was its own creative film while still paying homage to the other movies, the book and original Willy Wonka actor Gene Wilder. It included things most are familiar with like the Oompa Loompa and his signature Oompa Loompa song. It had good humor, a beautifully unique set design, and it is an appropriate watch for everyone. There are some touchy topics like death, but they don’t ever go into depth with those, only ever slightly mentioning them.
The Wonka movie gave more backstory to Wonka’s upbringing and how his passion for chocolate came to be. Previous Wonka related movies, like the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory featuring Gene Wilder or the remake with Johnny Depp, focused more on Wonka currently and showing the kids around their factories. It was a nice plot change to the previous movies. However, a majority of the cast is very lackluster character and personality wise. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with their acting ability, it’s just the way they were written.
Chalamet has received good feedback from his role. Lots of people stated he was very witty and eccentric but not to the point of overshadowing Wilder. It was nice to see how much range he has with his acting. His singing wasn’t super unfavorable either.
Wonka depicts themes of family, friendship and how chasing dreams can lead to good things. There was a drama seen with the ‘chocolate cartel’ who were scheming villains which added some excitement and the musical numbers were catchy. The most popular ones seem to be Noodle’s song ‘For a Moment’ and the rendition of ‘Pure Imagination’.
Overall, it was an enjoyable movie everyone should see at least once.
