rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Breadcrumb Trail LinksMoviesAuthor of the article:Washington PostMichael O’Sullivan, The Washington PostPublished Dec 15, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read Calah Lane, left, and Timothee Chalamet in “Wonka.” Photo by Jaap Buittendijk/Warner Bros. Pi /HandoutReviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.Article contentIt is difficult – nay, impossible – to imagine that the Willy Wonka of the prequel “Wonka,” a simperingly sweet musical origin story starring Timothee Chalamet as the aspiring chocolatier made famous by writer Roald Dahl, ever matures into the adult version of the character we saw in 2005’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” starring Johnny Depp, or 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” starring Gene Wilder. There was a weirdness, even a slightly sinister creepiness, to the characters played by Depp and Wilder (also apparent in Dahl’s 1964 book) that is wholly, utterly lacking in this cloying new version from filmmaker Paul King. Even King’s “Paddington” and “Paddington 2,” two delightful live-action comedies inspired by the children’s book series about the misadventures of a talking British teddy bear in a duffle coat, have more edge.Advertisement 2This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Article contentMost of the problem is the rendering of this Willy, who, under Chalamet’s one-dimensional interpretation of King’s strenuously saccharine screenplay, co-written with Simon Farnaby, is a character so purely benevolent and selfless that he makes Jesus, Gandhi and the Buddha look like a bunch of hooligans. Sure, Willy wants to open a chocolate shop and make money from his wares – he’s a capitalist – but the ultimate goal is to spread sweetness through the land, not hoard wealth.Article contentWhat land that might be is not clear. The setting of the film looks like somewhere in Europe, and most characters have English accents. But Willy – whose mother (Sally Hawkins) is British – speaks with an American accent, as does the evil chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) and Willy’s lovable urchin sidekick, Noodle (Calah Lane). It’s ironic, in a movie that doesn’t seem to respect its own source material, that Noodle is a character who is said to love books.There is a bit of darkness here: Willy, a magician turned candy man after working seven years as a ship’s cook, is thwarted in his effort to establish himself by the local Chocolate Cartel (Paterson Joseph, Mathew Baynton and Matt Lucas), three rival chocolatiers who will stop at nothing – poison, intimidation, bribery and murder – to derail Willy’s dreams. Willy, on the other hand, is virtue on a stick: generous, kind and patient. (OK, so he’s a little full of himself, but he does walk on water, and he can create chocolate that makes people fly.)Your Midday SunYour noon-hour look at what’s happening in Toronto and beyond.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.Thanks for signing up!A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againArticle contentAdvertisement 3This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Play VideoHe’s just not terribly tasty or even interesting, in a movie that cries out for something to sink our teeth into. Even Hugh Grant, delightful in the role of an Oompa-Loompa – a miniature creature seeking restitution from Willy for the cocoa beans our hero has harvested without permission – is underused, entering the film late and then hardly given any screen time. Only Olivia Colman and Tom Davis, as grifters who trick Willy into indentured servitude, make much of an impression. But in their case, it’s for overacting.There is a modicum of charm in the screenplay’s winking, self-referential humor, a hallmark of the “Paddington” films that seems out of place in a story that might have helped us to understand how Willy became the more complicated character we’ve seen in earlier versions of his story: kindly but kooky, judgmental and snappish at times, and self-absorbed to the point of narcissism. Incidentally, there was already a kind of origin story in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which showed the character to be the damaged son of an abusive father (Christopher Lee).Advertisement 4This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article contentHere, Willy’s pure spun sugar, with none of the complex ingredients that make a movie soar: relatability, humanity, foibles.“Will I crash and burn or go up like rocket?” Willy croons at the beginning of the film, as he dances across the screen, not a care in the world. I heard those words, mere minutes into the movie, and thought to myself: “Uh-oh.”– – –One and one-half stars. Rated PG. At theatres. Contains some violence, mild language and mature thematic elements. 116 minutes.Rating guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars okay, one star poor, no stars waste of time.Article contentShare this article in your social network
‘Wonka’ review: A candy-sweet origin story that’s missing some bite
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