“Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.”
These are Willy Wonka’s famous words that can be heard throughout the anticipated Wonka movie released on December 15, 2023. This was the prequel to the famous, well-known, and loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wonka told the story of young Wonka trying to open a candy store. While I liked how fun it was, I thought the movie was pretty overwhelming. (spoilers alert!)
While Wonka was fun and silly, sometimes I found myself overwhelmed by the very exaggerated dance numbers with a million different things going on at once. While I enjoyed some of the dances, I often thought that simpler might have been better. With people floating through the air, chocolate flying around, and a million backup dancers doing different things, I quickly became confused about what was going on. Considering Wonka is a musical, I hoped for the amazing choreography and music I see in other musicals, and it just wasn’t there.
The one thing that stood out to me was Timothée Chalamet’s amazing performance and acting skills. As a die-hard Timothée Chalamet fan, he is one of the reasons I was so excited to go and see this movie. His amazing acting kept the movie together and without him as the lead, I don’t know how it would have turned out. He did a really good job portraying the silly, quirky character of Wonka. Another actor that I think did an amazing job in their role was Hugh Grant. Grant was the Oompa Loompa who came to save the day in the end. He wasn’t present in a lot of the movie, but when he was, I found myself constantly laughing. He found a way to be effortlessly funny in his motives and actions, as an angry Oompa Loompa seeking revenge.
Another thing that threw me off guard was the ending. After almost the entire movie being humorous and upbeat, I was very surprised when at the end it changed pace to some sentimental scenes. Wonka reflected on his own mom’s passing while Noodle, Wonka’s companion throughout the movie, is reunited with her mom. After all of these heartfelt scenes, there is a huge dance number. I think this ending just changed pace too much making the sentimental scenes not hit as hard as they were intended to.
I laughed multiple times throughout the movie but nothing stood out so much to me that would make me want to watch it again. I wouldn’t recommend taking the time out of your day to go see this movie in the theaters.