Wonka cast purely imagines new rendition
Published in 1964, Rohld Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” tells the story of a young, poor boy selected to visit the prestigious Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory alongside four other children, who are introduced to Wonka and his Oompa Loompas in an absurd twist of events. Since the book’s publication, it has become a classic children’s story, with a film adaptation starring Gene Wilder in 1971, followed by another rendition starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton in 2005. The final installment in the trilogy came in the form of Willy Wonka’s origin story, titled Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka.
Wonka is unlike anything we have seen in a while. From the beginning shot, we were filled with laughter over Chalamet’s singing and the unique plot. It follows young Wonka in his dream filled journey to becoming a famous chocolatier, alongside another young girl, Noodle. The two dream together, along with their fellow workers, to build the Wonka empire and escape the debt they owe to Mrs. Scrubbit and Bleacher, their evil employers. If this sounds strange, it certainly was, but fun and entertaining nonetheless.
The movie offered a variety of six original songs alongside Chalamet’s rendition of “Pure Imagination”. The song “Sweet Tooth,” featuring the three rival chocolate makers and the police officer with a sweet tooth definitely stole the show. This served as a suspenseful addition to the musical allowing the unique villains some vocal time.
From start to finish, the film felt as if you were stuck in an endless fever dream. No matter how much of a hallucination this movie felt the moment tragedy struck I was in tears. The writers and actors combined did a phenomenal job at keeping the audience hooked to the characters’ growth and backstory. However, I would definitely argue that the Oompa Loompa was the most entertaining character. The Oompa Loompas, as everyone knows, later become Wonka’s employees at his chocolate shop, so it was interesting to see how the silly creature developed. Wonka discovers that the Oompa Loompa is, in fact, stealing his chocolates but the Oompa Loompa, portrayed by Hugh Grant, explains it is because Wonka has stolen his chocolate from Loompaland.
The one thing this movie had to offer was the infinite laughter it produced. I felt as if Wonka himself had given me a laughing chocolate! “Wonka” is a heartwarming, well written film for children. In fact, I felt it was an entertaining film even for adults. Anyone who loves musicals, magic and chocolate combined would enjoy this prequel to a classic film. And who does not love some magical chocolate!
