That resistance melted away in about five minutes flat. Wonka<\/em> is a delightful little treasure, in which director King (Paddington, Paddington 2<\/em>) manages to skillfully leap-frog most of the landmines typical of this sort of craven IP exploitation. There are, to be sure, little easter eggs spread throughout Wonka<\/em>, sly shout-outs to the original 1971 film, and to Gene Wilder\u2019s iconic origination of the character; some are cutsier than others. But King isn\u2019t just winking or cashing in. He\u2019s doing something much more difficult (and honorable): attempting to recreate the style and spirit of the \u201971 picture, without<\/em> falling into the beat-by-beat mirroring of something like Mary Poppins Returns. <\/em>Indeed, Wonka<\/em> has less in common with Burton\u2019s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em> than James Bobin\u2019s The Muppets \u2014 <\/em>the work of a filmmaker who has clearly studied and understood why a beloved film works, and follows a similar playbook without resorting to slavish imitation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Young Wonka is played by Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, and it\u2019s a difficult role, especially for such a naturalistic actor. As written, Wonka must navigate a thin line between whimsy and insufferability, and he mostly stays on the right side of it; he must also look quite silly, quite frequently, and what does get the whiff, on occasion, of self-consciousness from the hip young actor. But he\u2019s pushed through those rough spots by the witty script by King and his Paddington 2<\/em> co-writer Simon Farnaby; when summarized, the story sounds awfully silly, but it\u2019s all done in such high spirits and infectious momentum that you just go along with it. There\u2019s a bunch of nonsense about how the young upstart crosses London\u2019s powerful, monopolistic \u201cchocolate cartel\u201d, and by the end of the damn thing Wonka is some sort of sweet-treat fugitive, wily dodging a police force led by a corrupt chief (Keegan Michael Key) who\u2019s in the pocket of Big Chocolate. (Thankful bonus, for anyone who\u2019s read the Dahl book: we get a far more culturally acceptable origin story for the Oompah-Loompahs.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n The original songs, by Irish singer\/songwriter Neil Hannon are charming, and the numbers are energetically staged \u2014 the choreography, while precisely worked through, has a likably loose, shaggy-dog quality that matches the material. And King borrows one neat trick from the aforementioned The Muppets<\/em>; that film only recycled one song from its inspirational material (\u201cThe Rainbow Connection\u201d), and saved it for a perfect point late in the picture, for maximum sob effect. I won\u2019t share which Willy Wonka<\/em> tune reappears, or how \u2014 but when it does, well, get ready for the water works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The supporting cast is nicely stacked; standouts include Olivia Colman having a grand old time in what amounts to the Miss Hannigan role, and Keegan Michael Key in prime mugging mode (some have already objected to fat jokes of his character, who is paid by the cartel in chocolate and balloons over the course of the running time, but for whatever reason, those gags didn\u2019t come off as mean-spirited to this particular stocky boy). From the Paddington<\/em> pictures, King brings over Sally Hawkins in a flashback role that\u2019s brief but elegantly executed, while Hugh Grant carries over the joyful hamminess of his Paddington 2 <\/em>work, and steals the entire picture in just a handful of scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The primary problem with Wonka<\/em> is the same one as in most origin stories: the inherent lack of dramatic tension. Because we know where he\u2019ll end up, there\u2019s no doubt that he\u2019ll conquer any roadblocks encountered here; there\u2019s therefore no real weight to his fake-out almost-death, and when the villains offer him a deal contingent on him never making chocolate again, well, there\u2019s not a moment\u2019s doubt how he\u2019ll go. But now that studios are afraid to finance anything that doesn\u2019t feature something people have already heard of, the cinema of Jon Voight\u2019s hairy ball sack<\/a> is seemingly inescapable. And as far as unnecessary prequels go, you can clearly do a lot worse than this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Wonka” is in theaters Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wonka2-1024x577.jpg\")
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