The original ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’, is the
same age as me, having been released in 1971, as was I. We have both endured
well and become well established favourites, with Willy possibly having more
memes than myself.
I aways liked the film and even had time for the Tim Burton
remake, but I wasn’t in any rush to catch up on this prequel which I felt,
based on the marketing, seemed a bit slight and sanitised compared to the
original. I did however dive into the figurative chocolate river when it was
offered up as Christmas viewing on Sky at a family gathering.
I sat through the whole thing and have to say it was better
than I thought. Not great by any standard, but a mild distraction or passable
confection, if you will.
The film opens with Wonka, already in his trademark hat,
with a few coins to his name which he manages to piss away in the forgettable opening
song. He gains lodgings at Olivia Colman’s guest house – huge mistake- and soon
finds himself in indebted servitude with some fellow guests including Jim
Carter out of ‘Drunk in Time’.
Wonka has ambitions to open a sweet shop but is thwarted at
every turn by three chocolate factory owners played in part by Matt Lucas and
Johnston off ‘Peep Show’ who is clearly trying to execute ‘Project Zeus’ on the
unsuspecting townsfolk. They are aided by a bribeable police man who gets
fatter in every scene he’s in due to his chocolate addiction.
There are a couple of side quests including the origins of
Wonka’s sassy sidekick and a mysterious present gifted to Wonka by his now dead
mother which he’s never been able to open. With this being a prequel, the end
result is never really in doubt but there are a few decent moments to make the
ride to the destination worthwhile.
I would say that the songs are instantly forgettable, which
was a shame as I had higher hopes when I saw Neil Hannon of The Devine Comedy
was the songwriter. I think the film suffered by including a couple of songs
from the original which put the new ones in the shade.
I did like Hugh Grant’s turn as an Oompa Loompa although the
CGI was his scenes was obvious and distracting. Indeed, the use of CGI in
general was poor with Wonka firing chocolates and sweets out of his hat at
every turn – I get that the film is a fantasy but it just looked fake and a
pale shadow of the practical effects from its predecessor.
Timothee Chalamet was decent as Wonka, but he didn’t have
much of a singing voice nor the presence of someone like Gene Wilder to make
the role memorable. There were recognisable faces down the cast list which is
always fun, and there were plenty of call backs and sight gags to keep you on
your toes. I liked the suggestion of from where the golden tickets idea came
from, and the scenes with the late mother were sweet. Pro-tip though – if your
dying mother leaves you a gift, just open the bloody thing! Pay attention Guardians
of the Galaxy Vol 1 – this applies to you too!
Wonka is a decent family offering but I’d be surprised if it has half the legs of its predecessor, although I can see further instalments coming in the franchise – hopefully ‘Grampa Joe: Dole Cheat’ is up next!
Best Bit: Opening the
long-held gift
‘W’ Rating 14/23
