“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the children’s novel released nearly sixty years ago by Roald Dahl exploded onto the entertainment scene, immediately becoming a bestseller. A film adaptation of the same name released only seven years later, featuring music and theatrical numbers. Since then, the fantastical world of chocolatier Willy Wonka and his factory has been reimagined twice more. The most recent, directed by Paul King, depicts Wonka’s early life rather than his well-known and established factory tours.
Hitting theaters December 15, 2023, Warner Bros. film “Wonka,” featuring Timothée Chalamet, grossed $510 million at the international box office and shocked audiences with its many musical numbers. In the official trailer, two scenes appear to house dance numbers, however, no songs play throughout its entirety.
According to a Screen Crush article, the fact that the film “is also a full-on musical… is barely alluded to except when Hugh Grant’s Oompa Loompa reprises the famous song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And because Grant’s song is a callback to the earlier movie, you might assume that it’s in there as an Easter egg, not as some grand indication that ‘Wonka’ is a musical.”
The lack of singing in the trailer naturally caused confusion, Screen Crush continues, as in the past, Hollywood has emphasized musicals by offering small pieces of many songs in one trailer whereas now they hardly add any if at all.
RV Senior Haley Rust noted that the trailer provided small hints about the movie to the point where you did not see much at all:
“So, the part where it was… a musical–I did not see that coming, but it was a good surprise,” she said.
The film housed eleven songs, some of which included extravagant dance numbers reminiscent of a musical theater performance. All of the songs were catchy or heartfelt, well-performed and creatively written with no noticeable autotune or off-putting issues.
Within the already fantastical world, the songs allow the viewer and characters to transcend reality further into a “daydream”-like scenario where everything becomes possible: the set and choreography mirroring the intended emotional output of the song. For example, the charming lyricism and ascending instrumentals of “For a Moment” matched the literally uplifting choreography as Willy Wonka and Noodle, his accomplice and friend, are lifted by a bouquet of balloons atop a gorgeous, glass building while exploring the idea of hope and redirection.
Such was only possible within the film due to the creative sets, costuming and brilliant coloration of Willy Wonka. Each aspect contributed to establishing a role as many buildings and character’s costumes looked semi-typical besides those of relevant characters to demonstrate their higher class or their removal from the status quo. Wonka himself wore a saturated and embellished berry-colored coat over a multitude of patterns to just put him over the edge of normality and solidify him as a dreamer and outsider. Therefore, when each of his songs raise the saturation and outright ignore reality, it feels natural and like a look into Wonka’s head.
Beyond the cinematography that brought the film to life, Chalamet’s performance left viewers with a youthful, kind and eccentric Willy Wonka with a knack for mischief. Despite his various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and three BAFTA Film Awards, many were disappointed in Chalament’s casting, some going as far as to call for a boycott of the movie.
According to Newsweek, Chalamet participated in an SNL skit that appeared to be in support of Israel and generally “making light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.” Additionally, in an interview with the BBC, Chalamet stated that he is aware people are protective of Wonka as a character and “don’t want to see people mess it up.”
Still others found his line delivery to be too obnoxious and boyish for Willy Wonka. Although the aforementioned criticisms are a matter of opinion, his line delivery makes sense considering that “Wonka” shows the story of a young dreamer, not of a full-fledged adult with an established business and an evil flair. Chalemet’s more wide-eyed, youthful performance suits Wonka’s younger age and naïveté, whereas the previous portrayals of Wonka by Johnny Depp, in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005), and Gene Wilder, in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971), offer a, still eccentric, character with more anger and evil that had come alongside the character’s age and experience.
Alongside the progression of Willy Wonka’s character across adaptations, the movies are connected through a variety of references.
“The references to the old movies are very slight,” Rust said. “but you can still see them and feel them.”
Some of these references include a self-standing cane, a dance up and down stairs, the line: “Scratch that, reverse it” spoken by Chalamet, the use of fine print, a project in India, Wonka’s rivals, lifetime supplies of chocolate, travels to Loompaland, hair-growing candies, golden tickets, chocolate waterfalls and songs including “Pure Imagination” and “Oompa Loompa.” Each reference tied “Wonka” to either the previous film adaptations or the original book itself.
Though these references gave “Wonka” some fun quirks, some other references would have been better left behind. The New York Times noted, “One of the trickier problems that Dahl presents for contemporary filmmakers is finding a way to tap into the pleasures of his work without reproducing its ugliness,” such as, “Dahl’s contempt for fat characters, which the movie echoes in some unfunny business with a gluttonous police chief.”
Further, NPR delineated a history of Dahl’s anti-semitic beliefs, which acted as another moral rationale to avoid “Wonka” as a whole.
Regardless of perspective on adapting films from controversial authors, the film itself had other present drawbacks, coming in the form of Mrs. Scrubitt played by Olivia Colman and Bleacher played by Tom Davis. The pair deceived the needy, placing them in servitude until they paid off an unfair debt. Although the performances, costuming and makeup suited the evil nature of the characters, the final look came out more unpleasant than necessary to get across the point, especially given the excellent camera work that carefully portrayed them as generous but secretive at first and vindictive after the truth was revealed.
Despite their overdone inclusion, the bigger picture of the film withstands, resulting in a colorful musical movie centered in excitement, dreams and emotional resonance that easily captivates audiences.
