Starring Timothee Chalamet, Calah Lane, Paterson Joseph, and Keegan-Michael Key
Directed by Paul King
Music and Lyrics by Neil Hannon
This week, we're going to look at two recent and unusual adaptations of the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starting with the one that's currently in theaters. Truthfully, they were both originally developed so Warners could retain the rights to the franchise. Many critics questioned the need for another version of the story after the 1971 and the 2005 Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while others wondered how Chalamet could compete with Gene Wilder's iconic performance as Wonka and Johnny Depp's memorably creepy one. Why don't we begin with the young Wonka's (Chalamet) arrival in an unnamed vaguely European city around the mid 1940's and find out...
The Story: Wonka, a magician and aspiring chocolatier, arrives in town to set up a shop at the famous Galleries Gourmet, just the way his mother (Sally Hawkins) dreamed of when he was a child. Trouble is, it's mainly run by Slugworth (Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Ficklegruber (Matthew Baynton), whose Chocolate Cartel controls all of the chocolate sales in town. The corrupt Chief of Police (Key) confiscates his earnings. To make matters worse, on his first night, he was tricked into staying at a hotel run by Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman), who forces guests into virtual slavery in her laundry rooms.
Wonka manages to escape with the help of Noodle (Lane), an orphan who was abandoned in the laundry chute. The two bond over their orphan status, and with the help of the other workers at the laundry, manage to sell chocolates on the street without the Cartel or the Chief of Police catching on at first. The Cartel, however, is determined to eliminate this whimsical rival. They band together with Mrs. Scrubbit, her associate Mr. Bleacher (Tom Davis), and corrupt chocolate-addicted priest Father Julius (Rowan Atikson) to take him down. Wonka, however, has his friends to help see him through, including pretentious Lofty the Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant) who just wants Wonka to return the cacao beans he inadvertently stole.
The Song and Dance: You can tell this was made by the same director who did the two Paddington movies from a few years ago. This shares many elements with those films, including a sweet story taken from beloved British children's literature, a naive young protagonist whose presence shakes up a lot of people's dull lives, and an exciting but slightly tacked-on action climax. It also has a lot in common with Jingle Jangle - a magical inventor goes on an adventure with a little girl in order to save his shop, rekindle his faith, and prove that a wealthy executive is a thief. Only here, it's the inventor who is teaching the child how to believe in magic. Keegan Michael Key is a villain in both films. They even open with very similar ensemble chorus numbers in from of the magical shops.
While Chalamet is adorable as the wide-eyed Wonka who only wants to share his chocolate-making abilities with the world, it's the supporting cast where this really shines. Lane is a delight as the browbeaten orphan who becomes Wonka's biggest supporter, especially later after the destruction of the shop and he's ready to pack it in, and Atkinson has a few funny moments late in the film as the chocolate-loving reverend.
Hugh Grant's dislike of the film and his role actually lends a gravity to the rather snooty Lofty and works with his character. Joseph is especially hissable as the most seen and nastiest of the Chocolate Cartel owners who are determined to keep the really sweet profits to themselves. Gorgeous production too, mostly filmed in England. Special kudos to the colorful costumes and sets, elegant Dickensian backdrops set against the dapper polka-dots, pinstripes, and fanciful beribboned hats of the mid-20th century.
Favorite Number: We open with Wonka singing about "A Hatful of Dreams" as he debarks from the boat that took him around the world and into town. His dream of becoming a great chocolate maker turns into a fanciful chorus routine, complete with people under umbrellas dancing and extolling his wares. He tries to convince the Chocolate Cartel that "You've Never Had Chocolate Like This" and gives them candy that can make them fly. They don't feel the effects...right then. People get a lot more into the song and the confections when Wonka and his new friends reprise the number as they run all over town, selling his unique products.
"Scrub Scrub" is the lament of the workers at Mrs. Scrubbit's, as they're forced to do her laundry all day long. The Chocolate Cartel sings of using the Chief's considerable "Sweet Tooth" to bribe him into keeping Wonka out of the candy business. Wonka and Noodle celebrate what can happen when they let their guard down "For a Moment" and have fun at the zoo and all over town.
Lofty sings two versions of "The Oompa Loompa Song," one when Wonka catches him to explain why he keeps stealing his chocolate, and one when he runs a film over the credits that explains what happened to everyone later. "A World of Your Own" is the big number at Wonka's shop as he extols its many fanciful virtues, from cotton candy clouds to edible plates, and how wonderful it is to have a place where you can be what you want to be. "Pure Imagination" pops up briefly in the ending, as Wonka explains what he wants to do and how he'll do it. "Sorry Noodle" is his leaving on the boat, apologizing to his little friend for running out.
Trivia: Other young men in the running for the title role included Tom Holland, Ezra Miller, Ryan Gosling, and Donald Glover.
What I Don't Like: It also shares some of the same problems as Jingle Jangle...namely, it runs too long and includes some unnecessary action sequences that slow down the last third. Despite the Cartel being pretty nasty characters, the film is so sweet, it lacks some of the weirder edges in the previous adaptations. Chalamet's Wonka is more of a naive child than a trickster, at least before he begins to wise up towards the end of the film. It has way too much going on, with far too many subplots. Some of the fat-phobic jokes with Key's character in the second half border on annoying, too.
The Big Finale: If you're willing to travel down a sweeter path with the young Willy Wonka and his new friends, this is one candy-coated journey that's well worth heading to the theater for.
Home Media: It's currently available for pre-order at Amazon.
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