First Take: Wonka - the unexpected prequel that gets the Dahl style perfect

SYNOPSIS: 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.

The last time I seen the name Paul King attached to a film, it was when a certain Peruvian bear won over the hearts of British cinemagoers (and Nicolas Cage) with his sequel back in 2017 and becoming a mainstay of the BBC Christmas schedule ever since. Fast forward six years, and now the entire creative team who made the iconic Paddington films for StudioCanal have been entrusted with a biggie: the prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Any fears the purists had about this project went away instantly, as this is a worthy spritual successor/prequel to the beloved book.

King continues to make the style of film he’s known for, even with Warner and the Dahl company keeping a close eye on him - wholesome family adventures that have heart, soul, and elements of darkness which feel editorially justified, and much like Roald Dahl’s source material, there is plenty of that in the 1 hour 56 minutes, especially as it blends ideas and imagery from the 1971 Mel Stuart/Gene Wilder film and Tim Burton’s 2005 reboot, while at the same time creating an origin story that feels truthful to the style of the original book, which King and co-writer Simon Farnaby absolutely nail. Chung-hoon Chung acts as the film’s DOP (with Seamus McGarvey beginning the shoot and leaving halfway through) and does an incredible job behind the camera for a musical film of this nature, and speaking of the music, Joby Talbot’s score hits all the right places, with his former bandmate - Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy - writing the original songs (and a few new bits for an iconic number which closes the film) to create a musical which could easily do Greatest Showman kinds of numbers if this opening week is anything to go by.

With the performances, everyone wrote him off when he was cast - but my god, Timothee Chalamet is inspired casting. He can sing, he can dance, he can carry a film, and with his next project being Dune: Part 2, is there anything that Twitter (sorry, X)’s favourite actor can’t do? He is ably supported by a frankly immense cast - Olivia Colman, Tom Davis, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Paterson Joseph, Matthew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, and the breakout talent Calah Lane rounding it all out. But just as he did the last time he worked with Paul King, one actor is a complete scenestealer- Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa. Sounds so wrong but it is so well justified. A word to the wise though - don’t leave until the very end, as there is one little moment he sets up during the credit roll - one which potentially teases more Dahl projects getting the Hollywood treatment.

THE VERDICT

This film’s been described as a warm hug by many, and much like King’s previous work, Wonka will go down incredibly well with the mainstream audiences. It’s a nice and safe PG that caters to all, and on top of that, it packs an emotional punch for fans of the 71 version, the 2005 version or the musical - it is truly Wonka for this generation.

RATING: 4.5/5