Wonka (2023) – Paul King’s enchanting prequel will give you ‘the hots for chocs’

Credit: allocine.fr

Following the success of Paddington and its sequel, Paul King returns with a cracker just as joyful and exciting, albeit minus the polite Peruvian bear. The focus for his latest is instead Willy Wonka, the famous chocolatier created by Roald Dahl and reimagined consecutively by Mel Stuart in 1971 and Tim Burton in 2005. But while Dahl’s original character was strange, and consecutive portrayals – played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp respectively – eerie bordering on sinister at best, there is nothing of the sort in King’s rendition, a charismatic and entertaining ride through Wonka’s young life pre-factory.

On the contrary, it’s full of light-hearted jokes, dazzling musical numbers, and just enough drama/orphan woe to keep a story going without dampening spirits. Wonka – played by an adequate Timothée Chalamet – arrives in Europe after many years at sea with the intention of opening a chocolate shop at the Galeries Gourmet. But caricatural malicious innkeeper Mrs Scrubitt – played by a delicious Olivia Colman – and a threesome of rival chocolatiers threaten the dream Wonka’s mother instigated in him as a little boy. Perhaps it is a simple plot in which a hero must defeat enemies with the help of some friends made along the way - in this case Mrs Scrubitt’s captives, including orphan Noodle, played by excellent newcomer Calah Lane. But the fact is that it works, and admirably so.

There’s a Harry Potter-esque lineup of British acting royalty to enjoy, almost like Easter eggs to pick out and revel in: is that Dobby from Peep Show selling Wonka fruit? Look out for Phil Wang dancing on a table with Chalamet, then pulling Charlotte Ritchie into a longing embrace. And you just know that Colman is having tremendous fun baring her teeth and dragging Noodle to the pigeon coup. Is it, at times, too quintessentially British? It may have earned a few less laughs upon my second viewing in France, the largest of which was reserved for the moment Rowan Atkinson – is he globally just known as “Mr Bean” to the rest of the world? – appeared on screen, exaggeratedly licking his lips at a piece of chocolate. Nevertheless, there is nothing much to dislike here. When threatening the border between naff and simply lovely, it always veers towards the latter. From the acting all the way through to Neil Hannon’s music, Wonka is pure delight.