“The best kind of prize is a surprise.” Most teens would recognize this line from Johnny Depp starring as Willy Wonka in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Even your parents have most likely seen this world of pure imagination in the movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” starring Gene Wilder. But today kids are now watching the new version of Willy Wonka’s story, which was released on Dec. 15, 2023. I saw “Wonka” a few days after Christmas. The biggest difference between this movie and the other Willy Wonka movies is that this one is a musical. Personally, there were a few things that were good, but there were some things that I didn’t like. Because of these details, I’d say this is a movie not to watch unless you like musicals.
The movie starts when Willy Wonka sails to a new city and tries to sell his chocolate. But as he’s trying to introduce people to his chocolate, he runs into a little trouble and ends up being manipulated by the lady who runs the hotel he is staying at. He then meets Noodle, who is an orphan girl that was also manipulated by the same lady. Noodle and Willy Wonka become friends, and she ends up helping Wonka with his journey to sell chocolate. During all his efforts to start his chocolate shop, he also runs into trouble with an Oompa Loompa. The Oompa Loompa is mad at Wonka because Wonka took something of value from all the Oompa Loompas, and the other Oompa Loompas end up blaming one Oompa Loompa and saying it was his fault. So the Oompa Loompa who was blamed decides to continue to take something back from Wonka, which causes Wonka to lose all hope and almost do something he would regret. There are also other contributing factors, like the other people in the chocolate business, to cause Willy Wonka to do what he would regret.
One thing that I believe was good about this movie was the casting. I think the director, Paul King, did a great job casting the right people to portray different characters. For instance, Timothee Chamalet stars as Willy Wonka, and he fit the role perfectly. He looked and acted as a young person trying to make their way in the world. Another actor was Olivia Colman, who played the lady that manipulated Wonka and Noodle, Mrs. Scrubbit. I think that she did a good job filling the role because it looked like she was trying to emphasize everything Mrs. Scrubbit did, almost like overdoing the role but not really overdoing the role. She was just a fun character to watch in general.
Another good thing about the musical was the story behind the musical. It was very interesting and heartwarming to see Wonka trying to sell his chocolate for a specific person. Also, watching Wonka achieve his goal to sell chocolate was the best part of the movie. He went through a ton of rough patches, and seeing him come out on top is pretty incredible.
However, I did not enjoy the musical aspect of the movie. I think there was too much singing. In almost every other scene, there was a song. I could barely focus on the plot without hearing another song being sung. The songs were fun at first, but then it was the same lyrics over and over again about Willy Wonka’s chocolate. I understand that it is supposed to be a musical with songs, but it made the movie seem so much longer than it needed to be. This movie is supposed to be a movie about the kids in the chocolate factory and the Oompa Loompas. It is not supposed to be a bunch of Broadway numbers.
Instead of all the singing, I wish there were more Oompa Loompas. At one part of the movie, we saw a ton of Oompa Loompas for about a minute or so, then after that there was only one that we saw about three times throughout the rest of the movie. I think one of the main points about Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory is the Oompa Loompas. The Oompa Loompas are there working, and it is always fun to watch them sing after something happens to each kid in the Johnny Depp version, so I really missed them in the new update.
Overall, I personally had mixed feelings about the “Wonka” musical. There were good parts and bad parts. If you like musicals and like the Willy Wonka movies, I would recommend going and seeing it in your local theater. But if you don’t like musicals, you can wait to watch at home with some chocolate when it is streaming for free.
