The Pitch: A young chap named Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet), after years abroad in the wilds of the world, has come to the big beautiful city to make his fortune. Well, not his fortune per se — instead, he wants to make people his signature chocolates, which burst past the boundaries of imagination thanks to his cleverness.
Unfortunately, Willy didn’t contend with two issues: One, if you sign a contract for room and board without reading the fine print, you might find yourself in a financial pickle thanks to your conniving landlady (Olivia Colman). Two, there are already some very powerful chocolatiers in town (Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton), and they’ve got the local police captain (Keegan-Michael Key) on their payroll. Fortunately, with the help of some new friends, Willy’s got a plan to bring his chocolate to the masses, and maybe even make some lives better past a single bite.
Oh and also… everyone sings!
A World of Pure Imagination: For its latest prequel adventure, Warner Bros. couldn’t have picked a filmmaker with more collective goodwill behind him than Paul King, whose Paddington films (especially Paddington 2) are equally beloved by children and #FilmTwitter. And King in fact brings equal charm and verve to the story of Roald Dahl’s famous confectioner’s youth — along with a significant portion of the Paddington 2 cast, including Hugh Grant as Lofty the Oompa-Loompa.
Now, was anyone crying out for a feature-length look at the early days of Willy Wonka’s career as a maker of chocolate? Not necessarily. Yet, as this is narrative territory that hasn’t been explored in depth before, King and co-writer Simon Farnaby find freshness in their David and Goliath approach. Plus, the set-up gives Willy and his new friends several delightful adventures to go on, especially as the heist-adjacent storyline kicks into gear. And the craftsmanship gives the movie a timeless quality, thanks especially to production designer Nathan Crowley creating a singular little world that stands as unique from past Willy Wonka tales.
The Candy Man Can: Trailers and commercials for Wonka have done an impressive job of keeping the secret that Wonka is a full-tilt musical, with engaging if not super-memorable songs by Neil Hannon. Willy’s first lines are sung, not spoken, as a ship brings him to this unnamed city inspired by a mix of European capitals. With his first notes, Timothée Chalamet shows his unflagging commitment to the project, his singing and dancing a revelation — even in an era when the opportunities for full-fledged musical numbers feel few and far between. (See, for reference, the fact that even when studios make musicals these days, they do their best to obfuscate that fact.)