The movie “Wonka” was released on December 15, 2023, and the movie is an exploration about the backstory of the beloved character from the classic book by Roald Dahl and the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” directed by Tim Burton. After 19 years since the most recent adaptation, the movie came with a new viewpoint of a colorful and interesting story. Willy Wonka, the man who started it all, was finally given his spotlight.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
The movie starts off with Willy Wonka on a ship, sailing to his new destination in hopes of fulfilling his dream of starting his own chocolate factory. Wonka enters a new city with grand ambition to fulfill his dream. Wonka reaches the great hall in this city, and dreams about his factory and how it will bring joy to his new community. Seeing Wonka’s ambitions when he was young was an amazing addition to his backstory, and it added a touch of warmth to the chaos and comedy that is to come.
When Willy Wonka arrives, he is illiterate, and because of him being illiterate, he signs a contract in which he cannot read. The contract is from a hotel that he arrives at, and he signs it in order to stay the night. The real reason the contract was given to him was so the hotel can lock Wonka up for life and get free labor from him. To pay back what is in the contract, Wonka decides to sell “hoverchocs”, chocolates that make people fly. Because Wonka was unable to pay back his contract, he gets captured and is forced to work in a launderette (Laundromat). To see Wonka getting locked up by signing this contract is very heartbreaking, as he just reaches the town and wants to start his dream factory but then everything takes a turn for the worse and he is forced into signing a contract that will lock him up for life.
Wonka later escapes from his confines, and we then learn that his affinity for making chocolates stems from his late mother. To alleviate the debts Wonka owed from the contract, he and the other workers that escaped from the launderette go on a chocolate selling crusade. With the funds that were gained from selling chocolate, Wonka was finally able to open his dream chocolate store. From the crusade that Wonka went on to gather the funds to open his first store, we see an emotional tie to his affinity for chocolate. Being able to feel an emotional tie with Wonka really made the movie feel like not just another adaptation, but a whole new movie in itself that really shows the backstory of this beloved character.
Wonka is asked to leave the island by ship, but remembers the promise that he made to Noodle, one of the many friends that Wonka made while locked up. Wonka makes it back to the city to rescue Noodle, and the others from the launderette. This is an example of the true power of friendship, as Wonka remembers his friends and remembers his pinky promise to them.
Wonka and the captives go to expose the cartel, but get caught in a huge pickle. The cartel demands that Wonka give them his last jar of chocolate and hold him at gunpoint. They then get trapped in a pool of chocolate and almost drown.These elements of fear and suspense in these series of events makes the movie have a little bit of extra life in it. Of course soon after, something funny that is also chocolate related happens afterwards, and reminds people that we are watching a movie with Willy Wonka in it.
Just as they are about to drown, the Oompa Loompa rescues them as he smells the jar of chocolate Wonka gave away. He saves them, and they destroy the cartel’s whole chocolate supply. This was a really cool scene to watch as the audience is suspenseful waiting to see what happens, and just before they are about to drown in the chocolate the Oompa Loompa comes and saves them.
Wonka and the crew turn the cartel into the police, and they are sent to prison. Wonka sits down on a staircase and takes out the chocolate bar his mom made him. He decides to open it up and see the message his mom wrote for him. This is sort of the turning point in the movie, where after all the chaos is over, we get to have a break and a moment of relief. Everything settles here, and the movie turns into a more positive side of the story.
After all these years he finally finds the secret of his moms chocolate. The secret is: “What matters is who you share the chocolate with.’’ He then shares that final piece of chocolate with his friends and is ready to fulfill his dream. Wonka starts his factory and that’s when history is made. This was a really nice scene and it was very heartwarming. We get to finally see what Willy’s mom’s secret to making chocolate was and we get to see him fulfill his dream.
Reviews from the Writers:
From Matias Castro: Personally, I really enjoyed this movie and loved the storyline and music. I think Timothee Chalamet did an amazing job as Wonka. It was really cool to see the backstory of how it all started for Wonka and to see the legacy he started for his factory. Out of 5 stars I would rate this movie a 4. I really enjoyed it and thought it had very heartwarming moments but also funny moments. Overall It was a great movie and I recommend you watch it.
From Daniel Spears: I really enjoyed seeing how Wonka’s legacy was envisioned, and how much thought and detail was put into portraying the creation of a character that many people grew to love from past movies. Certain aspects of the movie like the music and hints of comedy I think really tied the whole thing together, and made the movie a full complete product. Given a 5 star rating, I would also give Wonka a 4. I really liked seeing such an interesting version of a childhood character, but for my personal taste in movies it just didn’t do the same for me as some other movies do. That’s all up to me of course, and my personal opinion, but I think there could have been some things implemented differently to make it more tasteful.
