Wonka Review: This outing is a perfect example of short and sweet
Watch it for Willy. Watch it to appreciate something different that has come your way this Christmas season
Hyderabad: It is seldom you see a production company that has the rights to a character come up with a musical origin story and nail it to near perfection.
Director Paul King attempts near perfection with an origin story for a character created by one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century, Roald Dahl. Wonka deals with the origin story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where you saw the evergreen Gene Wilder (and much later Johnny Depp) essay the titular role. This is his origin story and how the Wonka chocolate factory came into existence.
The story is very simple. You have a young Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) come and try his hand in the world-famous chocolate Galeries Gourmet. He runs into the trio of Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) – the leaders of the Chocolate Cartel who are threatened by Wonka’s chocolate making skills. One thing leads to another (in the midst of the introduction song) and Willy is penniless and is scammed into working at Scrubbit and Bleachers run by Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and Mr Bleachers (Tom Davis). Here Wonka runs into Noodle (Calah Lane) who has her own baggage. Willy and Noodle form an alliance and what happens next is what the story is about.
Paul King shows how a musical can be made in under 120-minutes.This is a perfect example of short and sweet. His formula is very simple and used to be a well-used template a few decades ago. Not all musicals are worthy of screen time– Disney’s Little Mermaid is proof enough of that. What works here is the innocence of Willy and Noodle.
If Gene Widler’s Willy got angrier and hysterical as the time passed, Chamlet’s Willy is innocence personified. He even says that he takes people on their word. If Wilder’s Willy had a maniacal shade, Chamlet’s Willy is a sweetheart.
Chamlet is supported wonderfully by those around him. Especially by Calah Lane. With an assortment of great actors including the likes of Joseph, Lucas, Baynton, Keegan-Michael Key as the Chief-of-Police, and Hugh Grant as Lofty, the Oompa-Loompa, King shows show each actor must be given just the right amount of screen time so that end product is near perfection.
Though you see Rowan Atkinson as Father Julius for a short while, it is enough to tickle you. Remember he is the man who made people laugh without uttering a single word. Hugh Grant is Hugh Grant in spite of being in the early 60s.
The film belongs to Timothée Chalamet and he delivers. If you think he was good in Dune, wait till you see Wonka. Paul King too is no novice in delivering good children movies. He has given us Paddington, Dogface, and the Mighty Bush. He knows his target audience and delivers a viewing that those not belonging to the target appreciate it too.
Watch it for Willy. Watch it to appreciate something different that has come your way this Christmas season. This could be one of the best Christmas gifts this season. Happy viewing!!
