Most people can remember watching Willy Wonka when they were children. Which version is reliant upon how old you are now, however either way, you probably were very excited about the new movie Wonka, which was marketed as a prequel, aiming to explain how Willy Wonka started his factory and teamed up with the Oompa Loompas.
To start off with, the first thing you notice when the movie starts rolling is that it’s a musical. Now, this movie isn’t necessarily marketed as a musical; however if you remember the first two Willy Wonka movies, you would have probably anticipated at least some music.
That being said, while watching the movie I found that the music was really not necessary for the movie. In fact in some places I feel that the music did more harm than good. Although the silly music does add some charm to the movie, overall the movie definitely could have gone without it.
Timothee Chalamet, who played Willy Wonka, didn’t make me feel any better. Sure he definitely looks the part. If you’re thinking young Willy Wonka, he’s definitely your guy. He also did an okay job at portraying the wacky and strange characteristics that make Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka. However his character was slightly disappointing. Now it’s not necessarily anything he did wrong, but it’s just something about the overall portrayal that just doesn’t sit right.
The other characters in the movie didn’t impress me much either. In some cases they seemed irrelevant. The only one that may have played a bigger role in the movie would be Noodle, Calah Lane, although her role could not have been that important considering the fact that they couldn’t manage to find a way to connect her role to the future Willy Wonka movies. Even though you would think her and Wonka’s relationship would have a lasting effect, considering they spent most of the movie together, but apparently not.
The only other person that would possibly play a major role in the movie would be the Oompa Loompa, Hugh Grant, but even he doesn’t show up until half way through the movie, then after that only occasionally. By the end of the movie we have seen him maybe five time on screen total. Then he and Wonka just leave and make their factory that we see fully formed in the original movies. All in all, even though it was marketed as the opposite, Wonka and the Oompa Loompas relationship is not the main purpose of the movie.
Although none of my impressions were necessarily positive or negative, the one thing I can say with absolute certainty was that the movie was stunning. Visually I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. None of the visual effects were overdone or unnecessary. It was a beautiful representation of the world of Willy Wonka.
I didn’t go into this movie with any expectations at all, I was a clean slate, however the music paired with the casting of Willy Wonka had me leaving the theater feeling slightly odd. It was almost as if I was watching a movie that was supposed to be good, but just wasn’t, and I can’t put my finger on why that was. It was honestly just okay. Personally, it’s not something I would watch more than once.
