Wonka – Movie Review
Director: Paul King
Writer: Simon Farnaby, Paul King (Screenplay)
Writer: Roald Dahl (Characters)
Cast
- Timothee Chalamet (Dune)
- Olivia Colman (The Crown)
- Hugh Grant (Paddington 2)
- Paterson Joseph (Timeless)
- Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water)
Plot: With dreams of opening a shop in a city renowned for its chocolate, a young and poor Willy Wonka discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers.
Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Wonka starts when Willy Wonka (Chalamet) arrives in town with a dream to sell chocolate. However, he finds himself pushed out by the ruthless chocolate cartel and trapped working for Mrs Scrubbit (Colman).
Willy remains undeterred with his dream and teaming up with Noodle (Lane), he sets out to fulfil his dream. However, the battle will test him to his limits, as his ever-positive outlook on life is challenged.
Verdict on Wonka
Wonka is a fantasy comedy following a young Willy Wonka as he looks to chase his dream. However, the current chocolate cartel makes life difficult for him as he learns that others will take advantage of his kind nature. He must learn that some people have good and bring joy to the town.
Wonka is one of the most magical movies that had a massive mountain to climb compared to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It does this with ease, using the original music in the backdrop for certain scenes while having original tunes to sing along to. It is a truly feel-good movie and shows the importance of cinema and the joy it can bring. Timothee Chalamet gives us a career-best performance capturing our hearts along the way. Young Calah Lane is fantastic working perfectly with Timothee. There is such joy to be had from this movie and it could be enjoyed over and over again.
Where to Watch
Final Thoughts –Wonka is magical, joyful and a beautiful cinematic experience.
3 replies on “Wonka (2023) Movie Review”
Fantastic review! I loved the movie as well for its powerful message about mothers. Here’s why:
https://huilahimovie.reviews/2023/12/27/wonka-2023-movie-review/
Love your review and find it interesting that some of the other reviews have been extremely harsh – one I read calling it mean and misguided, another syrupy and cloyingly sweet….did they watch the same movie? I’m fine seeing for myself and enjoy reading your reviews which don’t seem to have an agenda to them that others seem to have
Thank you, I mean, aren’t all Roald Dahl stories mean in a way, I just found it did everything in the way I always imagined the stories to be. His stories have always been about the good natured poor people getting back at the rich and greedy. see Danny the Champion of the World, Matlida, Fantastic Mr Fox. THe BFG, it is everything he has written for decades.