By During the spring of 2005, my second grade class effectively doubled as a press tour for Tim Burton’s Johnny Depp-led CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, which scored critical and commercial success when it was released later that summer. I read the book, participated in riveting Wonka-verse discourse, and was swept away by the magic of Burton’s whimsical, gothic take on Dahl’s 1964 classic novel—one of the first films I can remember seeing in theaters. And while Dahl’s legacy is rendered complex due to archaic beliefs characteristic of the time in which he lived, the rags-to-riches, moralistic story of little Charlie Bucket is nothing if not timeless.
Dahl’s story is a wolf in sheep’s clothing of sorts—under the cheerful guise of Whipple-Scrumptious Wonka Bars and sprawling chocolate rivers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory reveals itself to be a cautionary tale of the fatalistic consequences of greed. The book’s outrageous punishments of Capital-B Bad children Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teevee are so poetically just that the story has drawn well-deserved, repeated comparisons to Dante’s Inferno. Meanwhile, over on the bright side of good versus evil, Charlie’s triumph serves as an eternal reminder of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when you do the right thing.
But, of course, all roads lead back to Willy Wonka, the delightfully clownish chocolatier genius at the center of Dahl’s story. The famed character’s fabulous fuchsia coat, top hat, and never-ending idiosyncrasies have been adorned by the likes of silver screen legends Gene Wilder, whose charmingly aloof portrayal Dahl notoriously hated, and Johnny Depp, who gave a memorable performance driven home by elusive quirkiness and daddy issues buried six feet deep under layers of Everlasting Gobstoppers. The widespread love for each of their respective adaptations inevitably means one thing: Willy’s stylish boots are a tall order to fill. While Jeremy Allen White’s 1000-year-old blue eyes make him something of a Wilder dead ringer, was it ever going to be anyone else?
Enter Gen-Z’s resident goofball heartthrob Timothée Chalamet, who director Paul King tapped to play a fresh-faced young Willy in How It’s Made prequel, WONKA. Ever the indie darling, Chalamet has been on a near-unstoppable roll since 2017; the 27-year-old’s souped-up resume already includes CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, Greta Gerwig-directed modern classics LADY BIRD and LITTLE WOMEN, and Wes Anderson-helmed THE FRENCH DISPATCH. He’s spearheading the epic DUNE, and produced and starred in BONES AND ALL, 2022’s best movie about cannibals. Oh, yeah—and he recently scored the role of Bob Dylan in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, a biopic of the famed folk singer-songwriter that is slated to begin filming in February. Seriously, does this guy ever miss?
A lot of people hoped he would.
When news broke of his casting as the most famous chocolate-maker since Milton Hershey, boyfriends everywhere secretly celebrated the impending downfall of their girlfriend’s favorite celebrity crush. This would be the ick that broke the camel’s back, the film that finally opened her eyes and drew her attention away from the Timothée Cinematic Universe. But alas, this generation’s dreamiest rizzler strikes again, because if WONKA is any indication, Timothée’s bright career is only just getting started. Even amongst an all-star cast that includes Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Coleman, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Grant (who somehow manages to maintain his gracefully embarrassed brand of English dignity as an Oompa Loompa), Chalamet steals the show.
In the film, we’re introduced to a young Willy Wonka—a world-traveling upstart, who, despite having barely a penny to his name, oozes optimism and humble self-assuredness. We learn that he inherited an affinity for candy-making from his mother (played by Sally Hawkins). Since her death, his goal is to share his love of chocolatiering with the world, as his mom always believed he would. But Willy’s fatal flaw is that he loves too hard and trusts too much, and he ends up hoodwinked by Olivia Coleman’s delightfully witchy Mrs. Scrubbit and her blundering henchman Bleacher (Tom Davis), who trap him in a corrupt labor contract at their inn. More dire still is the monopoly big-name chocolatiers Prodnose, Slugworth, and Fickelgruber have: recognizing young Wonka’s talent, they form a pact to stop his ascent at any cost, even enlisting the help of local police and church leaders.
“The greedy beat the needy every time,” Wonka is told. Despite being pigeon-holed, Willy never loses sight of the silver lining. In a shining portrayal of class solidarity, he learns the inn’s other workers have been trapped in contracts similar to his and crafts a plan to get everyone out. Alongside kid comrade-in-arms Noodle (Calah Lane), Wonka and the rest of the chain gang devise a scheme to free themselves from their current situation and share Willy’s chocolate with the world. Through the power of teamwork, shared dreams, and an assist from a resident little orange sweet tooth, Willy fulfills his destiny—and eventually opens the chocolate factory that starts it all.
And yes, with custom Wonka-themed Nike Dunks and Beats by Dre, WONKA is also a money-making, corporate powerhouse, but it’s also just a really great movie, tied together with a bow and delivered just in time for Christmas. Its feel-good energy, gorgeous scenery, and arsenal of catchy songs make it the perfect holiday film, and, perhaps most importantly as a movie made for children, it delivers a heartfelt message. Despite the greed-driven troubles you will face as a person in the modern world, you must never lose sight of what’s good and right—or your hopes and dreams. WONKA’s uplifting spirit, coupled together with stellar performances from an all-star cast, combine for a film that will undoubtedly be remembered by the next generation of moviegoers as an instant classic. Though Dahl isn’t alive to see it, Chalamet’s gentle buoyancy and inextinguishable hope make his iteration of Willy the best yet—it’s the one most in line with the writer’s original vision for the character.
“I only want to make movies for kids now,” Chalamet has said, discussing the enthusiastic reception at an after-school screening for 200 elated children. In the spirit of a man that spent his lifetime writing books for young people, as well as an elusive chocolatier that left the sole inheritance of his factory to a small boy he’d just met… What could be more Wonka than that?
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