The most famous chocolate maker returns to the big screen: After Willy Wonka Already embodied by acting greats Gene Wilder (1971) and Johnny Depp (2005), Dune star Timothée Chalamet is now taking on the iconic fantasy role in a new film: Wonka.
In 1964, the British writer Roald Dahl published the children’s story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which Willy Wonka plays an important role. He is the owner of the eponymous chocolate factory and an extremely eccentric individual. Now Paul King is bringing his adventurous and touching story to the cinema.
Fantasy highlight 2023: Paddington director Paul King reinvents Willy Wonka with Timothée Chalamet
King made a name for himself as the director and (co-)writer of the Paddington films. In it he tells the story of… friendly bears, who travels from the jungle in Peru to England and finds shelter with the Brown family. Paddington is a stranger on the streets of London, just like Wonka at the beginning of his journey.
You can watch the trailer for Wonka here:
Wonka – Trailer (German) HD
Chalamet’s young version of the chocolate expert breaks through the fog on the ship to find his place in a strange city Dream of owning your own business to realize. But a chocolate cartel has long since formed there and is doing everything it can to break Willy Wonka’s ambition. At the international press conference for the film, King described the protagonist of his film.
[Willy Wonka] is a great optimist. In our story, set 25 years before the events of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he is a young man taking his first steps into the world. And he hopes for big things. However, we are talking about a Roald Dahl universe here. The world is not so friendly, warm and welcoming, as we would wish. However, Willy Wonka doesn’t take no for an answer. He sets out to change things the way he thinks they should be.
Wonka contains many of the abysses that also fascinated Tim Burton in his film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Every picture was waiting for Burton with at least a scary idea who transformed the winter fantasy adventure into a scary fairy tale. King craves more hopeful and colorful images, even as the story drifts into darker corners.
Wonka brings together Roald Dahl’s (nightmare) dreams and the magic of a film musical in one great adventure
King wanted to preserve the spirit of the original without sacrificing the famous feel-good tone he established with the Paddington films. But how do you even approach the work of an author whose stories have been around for generations? Inspire children’s (night) dreams? For King, telling Willy Wonka’s backstory was a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it is very intimidating to follow in the footsteps of a great storyteller like Roald Dahl. He created so many unusual and timeless characters. From the outside, it seems to have been very easy for him. As soon as you do it yourself, you notice how much hard work goes into it. On the other hand, it’s a fantastic feeling to immerse yourself in the universe of someone like Dahl. You stand on his shoulders and can play with all the ideas he came up with.
Warner Bros.
Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka
The mix of Dahl and King works surprisingly well in Wonka. The another important influence was: Musicals. Just like the first Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film adaptation by Mel Stuart, Wonka is designed as a fantasy musical. The Irish singer-songwriter Neil Hannon contributed several new songs and also bowed to the original in some of the musical motifs.
[Die Songs aus dem ersten Willy Wonka-Film] are absolute classics. Pure Imagination, the Oompa Loompa song… everyone knows these songs. [Für Neil Hannon] It must have been incredibly difficult to write something that could exist alongside it. But he was more than up to the challenge. He is a big fan of [Leslie] Bricusse and [Anthony] Newley. So it was definitely an area where he felt comfortable. And then he exceeded all expectations with his songs.
In Wonka, Dahl’s fantastic and spooky stories live on, in keeping with the heartwarming spirit of the Paddington films and the Legacy of film musicals like Mary Poppins, Annie and of course Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from 1971. You won’t find a nicer fantasy film to watch with the whole family at Christmas this year.
Wonka starts today, on December 7, 2023in German cinemas.