On June 30, 1971, a classic film full of chocolatey adventure and magic was released. Adapting Roald Dahls’ famous book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the film extravagantly portrayed Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, riddled with Oompa Loompas and futuristic chocolate-making technology. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” characterized Willy Wonka with a mysterious persona; the public rarely sees him, his backstory is entirely hidden from the audience, and the origin of his Oompa Loompas is unclear.
Paul King’s new live-action “Wonka” musical, released on December 15, 2023, clears all confusion from the 1971 and 2005 films. This musical provides the Roald Dahl fanbase with a touching backstory, including the loss of Wonka’s mother, his entrapment into a contract of indentured servitude in a laundromat, and his heart-touching friendship with Noodle: his best friend.
The movie focuses on Willy Wonka’s battle with the chocolate cartel while struggling to escape a contract he accidentally signed due to his illiteracy. Wonka is stuck paying back enormous debts to the laundromat’s owner and is also forbidden from selling chocolate since the chocolate cartel has monopolized the corrupt chief of police’s chocolate addiction. When Willy Wonka is finally able to gather the other victims of the contract and sneak out of the laundromat, he opens a glamorous chocolate shop, but it quickly gets poisoned by the chocolate cartel. While creating Wonka’s backstory, the film also develops the side characters’ lore. Noodle is able to rekindle her relationship with her mom after she is separated from her, and the head of the chocolate cartel turns out to be Noodle’s uncle. An Oompa Loompa who kept stealing Willy Wonka’s chocolates turned out to be the hero when he saved Noodle and Wonka from a chocolate chamber. By spotlighting various characters, the movie’s heartwarming atmosphere is elevated and there is a sense of completeness to the movie. Every storyline is completed or seamlessly transitions into the 1971 and 2005 films, serving as the perfect prequel.
Naturally, as a musical, every song added to the ambiance of the scenes. While the songs weren’t necessarily billboard-worthy, they were tailored to each scene and added to Wonka’s gleeful personality. His performative dancing and singing, coupled with physics-breaking chocolate miracles, matched the magical feel that the original book radiates. By bringing back original songs from the 1971 film, the musical stays authentic and nostalgic while adding twists to the original mysterious Wonka character.
While there weren’t specific standout features in “Wonka”, the plot development was nostalgic and brought back elementary school memories of reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The movie was heartwarming and illuminated a side of Wonka that was hidden before. His emotions were a driving force in this film, compared to the more shallow and childish movies of 1971 and 2005, creating a deeper character for Wonka. Although some scenes felt written out too perfectly, the movie was as real as magic can get, and for that, it deserves applause.
Rating: 4/5
