Timothee Chalamet's Wonka Movie Falls Somewhere Between Magic And Macabre
Gene Wilder was a legendary comedic actor and responsible for some of the greatest comedy films ever made, but his true power is convincing the world that the real protagonist in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is the eccentric chocolatier who uses whimsy to torture rotten children, and not the titular child whose life is changed forever when his family is pulled from poverty when he wins an entire candy empire. Dahl even wrote a sequel novel, "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator," which sees Charlie and Willy Wonka going on adventures involving aliens, pills that turn Charlie's elderly relatives into babies, and eventually being invited to the White House.
Charlie has always been the star of the series, but Hollywood certainly sees things differently. Following the Gene Wilder-starring film, Tim Burton crafted his own adaptation of the novel over 30 years later, featuring a brand new back story for the elusive Mr. Wonka. And now, Wonka is getting another origin story, this time a musical starring Timothée Chalamet. It's obvious from the trailer that "Wonka" is not just a random prequel to Dahl's novel, but specifically a prequel to the Gene Wilder Wonka we all know and love. It's like how Mike Flanagan married Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of "The Shining" with Stephen King's book, "Doctor Sleep," but for a character who will one day execute emotional terrorism on a psychedelic boat ride.
Director Paul King is well attuned to the darkness of the 1971 film and assures that "Wonka" won't be nearly as traumatizing.
'My mind is more sugar-coated'
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Paul King said that he wanted to bring the "chaotic and messy" energy of Willy Wonka to a new place and show how his love of chocolate came to be. However, King is the man who gave us the heartwarming "Paddington" films, which don't include even a single morsel of cynicism. Dahl's books, however, are known for tackling dark themes that children are unfortunately accustomed to experiencing, even if adults don't want to talk about it.
"There's a macabre quality to Dahl that I love in the way he writes stories," King said. "He touches places I couldn't possibly go because my mind is more sugar-coated and I'm more there for the candy." This isn't to say "Wonka" will be painfully sweet, but it's safe to assume we won't have to worry about whether or not Veruca Salt was eaten by squirrels. "I tried to have darker characters than you would find in a 'Paddington' movie, for example," he said. "Unlike the 'Paddington' world, not everyone is nice in a Roald Dahl world. I definitely got to play with those grotesque ideas, but I hope not to damage a generation of children."
One way King is trying to merge these worlds seems to be with the casting of Hugh Grant as the Oompa Loompas, turning the big baddie from "Paddington 2" into the Wonka workers who live to sing judgemental songs mocking children's behavior ... and appearances.
Hugh Grant has a song for you
For Paul King, there was no one other than Hugh Grant to play the lead Oompa Loompa. "He's the funniest person I know," King said. "It was a very happy moment when you go, 'Oh, I think your voice can sit with this judgmental, sarcastic, mean-spirited character.' The gleeful, mischievous delight the Oompa Loompas take in the demise of those kids is so funny." Many forget that Roald Dahl wrote Oompa Loompa songs as part of the book, and the characters have canonically always been delightful jerks. "When you read the poems they are so cruel and kind of acerbic," King said. "Trying to write down character traits and find their voice outside the songs, I realized, 'That's what Hugh sounds like. Hugh is an Oompa Loompa.'"
Hugh Grant getting to be an orange-skinned a-hole is already hilarious, brilliant casting, but King said that the real fun comes with the costume designs. "He wears a series of ridiculous outfits in the film," King joked. "I think it works so brilliantly. There's always things where when you're making anything where you go, 'OK, I think that's good, I think that's good — that's just right! If no one likes that I don't care.' I have 100 percent confidence in Hugh with green hair." We can only hope this also means we'll get Hugh Grant singing in a handstand like in the 1971 film.
"Wonka" arrives in theaters on December 15, 2023.