Wonka (2023)

Directed by

Paul King

Genre

comedy film, fantasy film, adventure film, musical film, speculative fiction film

Country

United Kingdom, United States, Canada

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 4,441 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young aspiring chocolatier named Willy Wonka arrives in a new city with dreams of opening his own shop. He must outsmart a group of established candy makers who want to stop him.

whimsicalupbeatplayfullightheartedcolorfulmusicalcharmingfantastical

What happens

Wonka is a 2023 musical fantasy film directed by Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby. It is a prequel to the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), which is itself based on the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka and also features Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Grant. It portrays Willy Wonka's early days as a chocolatier while contending with his future rivals. Development began when Warner Bros. Pictures reacquired the film rights to the character in October 2016 and announced that the film would be an origin story. The film tells an original story and was developed by King to exist as a "companion piece" to the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory by reprising some of the music, thematic elements, and the visual design of the Oompa Loompas. In May 2021, Chalamet was confirmed to portray Wonka, and the supporting cast was announced in September of that year. Filming began in the United Kingdom in September, at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, as well as Oxford, Lyme Regis, Bath, St Albans, and at the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park, London. The film's original songs were written by Neil Hannon and its original score was composed by Joby Talbot. Wonka premiered in London at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre on November 28, 2023, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United Kingdom on December 8, and in the United States on December 15. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Chalamet's performance and the film's presentation, and was a box-office success, grossing over $634 million worldwide against a $125 million budget, to become the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2023. It received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film and Chalamet was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. A sequel is in development. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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