Photo Courtesy of IMDB
One boy with a dream can impact the entire world with only one taste. With the help from friends of all shapes and sizes, dreams can come true and lives can be changed. The 2023 film released on December 15th stars many famous actors like Timothee Chalamet who starred in the six-time Oscar winning movie, Dune, as well as comedian Rowan Atkinson who starred in the Mr. Bean movies and series. Lastly, the film features Keegan-Micheal Key, who has starred in multiple award-winning movies like all the Hotel Transylvania movies, Pitch Perfect, and even hosted the tv series, Brain Games.
The movie begins with Willy Wonka, a 22-year-old boy sailing across the ocean in hopes of starting his own chocolate factory, only to end up in Mrs.Scrubitt’s launderette. Little did he know that Mrs. Scrubitt traps people into debt and then into working off that debt. Being held captive was not a part of Wonka’s plan. He meets Noodle, a girl who has also been tricked by Mrs. Scrubitt, and they become friends and devise a plan to get Wonka out of the launderette for a couple of hours. Their plan works for a little while before the three other chocolate-makers, Slugworth, Prodnose, and Fickelgruber bribe the chief of police, who has an extreme sweet tooth, with chocolate to threaten Wonka and have him stop making chocolate. Despite their efforts, Wonka is able to open his own shop in the main part of town. Unknowingly to Wonka, however, one of the rival chocolate-makers tipped off Mrs. Scrubitt, and she mixed some of his formulas together causing the people who bought chocolate to have unwanted side effects. The angry customers destroyed Wonka’s store and he felt defeated until the rival chocolatiers made Wonka an offer he couldn’t refuse. Little did Wonka know, the deal he made was a scam. Wonka, with the help of an Oompa Loompa, has to devise a plan to find a way to outsmart Slugworth and his evil sidekicks, as well as find a way to follow through with his dream.
Timothee Chalamet’s versatility and light-hearted nature made him a perfect fit for young Wonka. It demonstrates not only factors that would appeal to children, like the musical aspect, but also more mature add-ins. The message the director gives is that you should never give up on your dreams, and believing in yourself no matter what, is a great message to send to younger viewers, however, the surrounding details can be confusing in the sense that it’s unclear if the movie is supposed to be a backstory to the other Wonka movies, or if it has no correlation to the 1971 and 2005 movies. Overall, it would be a great choice for a family movie night or an occasional watch.
The movie was rated 7.3/10 on IMDB, a movie information website, and agreeably so. The movie was inviting to all age groups and was entertaining with its bright colors and fast-paced plot. The upbeat feel and music of the film made it clear it would be a great movie for audiences who enjoy the show business industry, but the two-hour running time might not be worth the money of a theater. It’s a great family movie, starring well-known actors that would attract many different viewers. In summary, it would be a great movie for families with young children, but not so for individual watches.
