The Story
After seven years on the ocean, hopeful young chocolatier Willy Wonka (Chalamet) arrives in an unnamed city to make his fortune with only 12 sovereigns and “A Hatful of Dreams.” He manages to spend all his money the first day and ends up broke on the street. A dubious acquaintance, Bleacher (Tom Davis), brings the young man to Mrs. Scrubbit’s (Olivia Coleman) boarding house, where he foolishly signs a contract for his room, agreeing to pay later. The following day, he successfully charms the crowd at the Gallerie Gourmet with his “hoverchocs,” but his earnings are confiscated by the police.Left with only one sovereign, Willy returns to the boarding house, only to learn that the contract has committed him to a fee of 10,000 sovereigns. He must work it off in the landlady’s wash house, alongside four other unfortunate boarders and orphan girl Noodle (Calah Lane). Willy convinces Noodle to sneak him out of the washhouse and begins selling chocolate on the street, helped by his fellow indentured servants. However, there are more powerful forces than Scrubbit and Bleacher against him. He is threatening the business of the “chocolate cartel,” run by the villainous Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton), plus the bought-off chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key).
A ‘Family’ Film
The term “family film” has become gradually looser over the years. What makes something family-friendly anymore? Is it bright colors, an immature plot, or rude humor? I’m sure everyone would have a different answer to this question. While “Wonka” unfortunately fills all three of these requirements, it has something special as well. It was made both as a prequel and tribute to the 1972 classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and the detail and care put into it are obvious. While it has one or two moments of “bathroom humor,” there isn’t any swearing or inappropriate romantic content. Its largest and most unnecessary issue involves a subsidiary of the chocolate cartel. The cartel’s hide-out is revealed to be in a series of locked vaults beneath the city’s large church, which is run by “a corrupt cleric (Rowan Atkinson) and 500 chocoholic monks.” There was even a bit of business in which the cleric interrupted a funeral sermon to answer a phone installed in the pulpit! I thought this was really a shame because the film had an overall wholesome, uplifting quality to it which was severely dampened by this offensive element. It just goes to show how warped the writers and creators in Hollywood have become. They think they have to put in something like this to draw audiences, and there’s truly nothing sacred when it comes under the heading of “arts and entertainment.”Another interesting point to be made is how the ending of the film isn’t entirely satisfying. Granted, the endings of prequels rarely are conclusive, but this film was intended to have a complete story and stand on its own, while also leading into Roald Dahl’s tale. One of the largest plot points was Willy’s childhood relationship with his mother (Sally Hawkins). She would save a cocoa bean every day for a year, then make it into one chocolate bar for him on his birthday. She promised that when he shared chocolate with the world someday, she would be with him. However, she died when he was still very young and never told him the secret to her chocolate. All he has left from her is one last chocolate bar, which he carries with him everywhere. When he opens his first chocolate store partway through the film, only to have it destroyed due to the cartel’s poisoning his sweets, he is disheartened because his mother wasn’t there.
At the end, when all is well and the villains have been defeated, Willy finally opens the chocolate and finds a golden ticket inside which reads, “The secret is it’s not the chocolate that matters. It’s the people you share it with.” He looks up to see his mother smiling at him from the crowd, and they blow each other a kiss before she disappears. Willy breaks off pieces of the chocolate and shares it with his friends. When he finally eats the last piece, Noodle asks him if it’s as good as he remembers, to which he replies, “Every little bit. I wish it could last forever.” Willy then tenderly reunites Noodle with her own long-lost mother. Although the film ends with his joyously singing “Pure Imagination” while conjuring his factory, it’s hard to forget that sad little boy who just wants his mother back. It’s an oddly heart-wrenching conclusion for an otherwise happy film.
A Little Nonsense, Now and Then
Hollywood has become a furnace of bad eggs; there’s no doubt about it. Very few films strive to uplift and entertain, which is really their purpose, as so many have forgotten. Now, they just want to shock, frighten, and stimulate, but they have missed the point. Films, in fact, all forms of entertainment, should distract from the unhappiness and drudgery of daily life and take you somewhere more exciting and wonderful. Of course, some of the greatest classic films handled heavy and difficult topics. In movies from the Golden Era, however, there always was that glimmer of hope, and they didn’t “mess with your head” as many films nowadays do. After seeing “Wonka,” I found myself quite captivated by many aspects of it, particularly the Broadway-style score by Neil Hannon and Joby Talbot, with lyrics by screenwriters Simon Farnaby and Paul King. However, when awards season came around, I was sad to see that this film was almost entirely snubbed. While Mr. Chalamet received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, the film and its soundtrack did not receive any such honor. Instead, the awards were dominated by films such as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” with the former’s “What Was I Made For” snagging Best Original Song at both the Oscars and Golden Globes.While “Wonka” has its problems, I truly believe that its creators were trying to create something enjoyable that would leave you with a smile on your face. This film packs in a lot of nostalgia, and you can truly see how much love and dedication was put into it by everyone involved. While I watched the 1971 film once in a while growing up, it didn’t define my childhood the way it did some people’s. However, just watching the first official trailer for “Wonka” made me feel a little emotional. When Willy began singing “Pure Imagination” at the end of the movie, I couldn’t help getting a little teary-eyed.
I think the blatant snubbing of this film at the big award shows just proves that Hollywood doesn’t want anything beautiful or family oriented. If you leave the theater with a warm, nostalgic feeling, they’ve failed at their brainwashing scheme. They would much rather honor a film such as “Barbie,” which is packed with social significance and propagates a feminist agenda. A nice, fun little musical with a classic, Frank Capra-esque plot about the little guy overcoming the evil syndicate is swept under the rug as nonsense. However, as Gene Wilder’s Wonka so fittingly says, or rather, sings, “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest man.”
