Wonka has already arrived on streaming, which has nothing to envy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I have to say yes, I sat back and watched Wonkathe prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with some prejudices. And I have to admit it Wonkawith Timothée Chalametit has absolutely nothing to envy from Tim Burton’s film Johnny Depp.

The actor of call me by your name AND A rainy day in New York It’s wonderful, with the degree of innocence and naivety needed by this Willy Wonka who is leaving adolescence (well, Chalamet turned 29) and who arrives in his top hat in pre-war Paris with the dream of becoming the Everyone’s favorite chocolatier.

And he will do it by following the chocolate recipes invented by his mother (Sally Hawkins, from The shape of water), who died when he was younger.

This film, which premiered in theaters in December, is available for streaming on Max starting Friday, March 8.

There are questions that Wonkathe film, will not respond to fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is not a single mention of Willy’s dentist father (who was played in a flashback by Christopher Lee in Burton’s film) nor is there any glimpse of how this very likeable character will transform into the despot, the sinister Wonka who as an adult will transform into he invites five kids to see his factory and who enjoys punishing the greedy, candy-eating children.

Directed by Paul King, who had made Paddington, the character who is a very British bear, was almost a delight, there are commonalities between the two protagonists. We were talking about Wonka’s naivety, but both also make use of the help of friends to overcome the most problematic issues of their existence.

Which in Wonka’s case is called fighting envy.

When Willy arrives at the gallery where he wants to open his chocolate shop, a police officer fines him because he can’t dream. He doesn’t care, but the three chocolatiers who have the monopoly on cocoa, the villains of the story, do care.

But there are more evil ones, like the couple of Olivia Colman and Tom Davis that the writers drank Sweeny Todd, because underneath the house with the apartments they rent hides a very different reality. And there Willy ends up, together with other unfortunates who, for not having read the fine print of an overnight stay contract, have to work locked in the cellar washing sheets for dozens of years.

Roald Dahl’s original 1964 story had already had its first adaptation in 1971, in Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory, the film with Gene Wilder. The adult Wonka exploits the Oompa-Loompas as slaves, who here has his own relative, much smaller than Burton’s, who comes to get paid for the cocoa he took from his island, and who played by Hugh Grant offers several moments of genuine comedy.

Perfect cast

The entire cast is perfect, from the names of the chocolate-addicted police chief (Keegan-Michael Key), to Rowan Atkinson as a priest sympathetic to the bad guys, or Calah Lane as Noodle, Willy’s little friend .

Because the film is also permeable to the well-known advice that, with friends, even what seems impossible can be achieved.

Like what Wonka It is a comedy, with songs, fantasy and discoveries that follow one another, which does not take anything away from the film by the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp duo.

Seeing is believing.

Wonka

Comedy/Adventure. United Kingdom / United States, 2023. 116′, ATP. From: Paolo Re. With: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Rowan Atkinson. Available in: some theaters and from this Friday 8 March on Max, in streaming.