The reviews are in and the word on “Paddington” director Paul King’s new musical prequel to Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” novel (and the 1971 film adaptation with Gene Wilder) are quite good.
Timothee Chalamet stars as a young Willy Wonka around 25 years earlier than the novel and well before he became the famed chocolate factory owner.
In the film, Willy opens a chocolate shop using the knowledge of sweets he has amassed from his travels. He soon finds himself facing the dangerous Chocolate Cartel – Mr. Prodnose, Mr. Fickelgruber, and Mr. Slugworth.
With 55 reviews counted, the film has landed an 80% (7.5/10) on Rotten Tomatoes, a pretty good start. Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“This may not be Paul King’s most satisfying film, but even at a scale – or at least a budget – several times larger than that of ‘Paddington 2,’ the purity of its imagination remains unquestionable.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“Wonka is, in fact, a lively, winsome pleasure, a film decidedly aimed at children that nonetheless incorporates some dark matter.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair
“Wonka exists in a world where cynicism and detached irony don’t exist. From its candy-colored visuals to its dazzling musical numbers, the movie dares you not to get swept up in its rapturous glee.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
“Sweet yet never saccharine, their hyper-stylized portrait is not only powered by the pure imagination that inspires the songs’ spectacle, but it’s also filled with audacious flourishes of charm, whimsy and poignancy.” – Courteney Howard, AV Club
“Audiences going into Wonka will have a better time if they think of this candy-colored musical not as a prequel to the Gene Wilder cult hit but instead as Paddington 3, with Timothée Chalamet standing in for the marmalade-loving bear.” – Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
“Paul King again proves himself a masterful engineer of imaginary worlds, and it’s the meticulous attention to detail that makes Wonka so captivating.” – Derek Smith, Slant Magazine
“Like any sweet treat, the film provides significant satisfaction, even if too much of its whimsy could give you a bit of a tummy ache. But it sure is tasty.” – Tim Grierson, Screen
“Even if it’s plausible that the young Wonka might not have developed the arrogant authoritarian side of the character as conceived by Dahl, Willy feels neutered here, stripped of any edge that might have made him interesting.” – David Rooney, THR
“Dahl’s novel bristled with the author’s annoyance at the nuisances of contemporary life… [but] the film ignores the gravitational pull of reality. Relentlessly wacky and over-the-top, everything in it is too contrived to care about.” – Nicholas Barber, BBC
The film co-stars Calah Lane, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Paterson Joseph, Natasha Rothwell, Jim Carter and Sally Hawkins also star, whilst Hugh Grant plays an Oompa Loompa.
“Wonka” is set to open in cinemas everywhere on December 15th.
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