Since I was a boy I have loved Roald Dahl books. My teacher read the BFG to me when I was six and I was immediately sold by her brilliant character accents and the excellent narrative. Successive teachers read George’s Marvellous Medicine, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and, my favourite – The Witches. Roald Dahl was an author I admired, found hysterical and wanted to be.

Hearing that Netflix had bought the rights to every single Roald Dahl book led me to realise that it would only be a matter of time before they did something with Wonka.

As soon as they cast Timothy Chalamet in that pivotal role, I knew they were onto something.

Recently I went to my local cinema to see if Wonka was any good.

My Thoughts On Wonka

Realising they were taking key characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and telling the story of how Mr Wonka became successful, I was instantly drawn in. I had so many questions and there was so much room for something to go wrong.

Suffice to say, the production team created something which was absolutely wonderful. Timothee Chalamet began with a new song and I realised we were in for a musical treat.

I just hadn’t expected a new musical score.

When he started using Roald Dahl quotes such as, ‘Scratch that. Reverse it,’ I knew we were in good hands.

Olivia Colman played the owner of an Inn where Wonka stayed the night. Her character, Mrs Scrubbit, was very amusing and had it in for Wonka. While he tried to show off his chocolate creations at the Gallerie Gourmet, Wonka was pursued by corrupt forces and given a hard time by a cheeky little Oompa Loompa, played be a devilish Hugh Grant.

A highlight for me was Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) playing a bishop who allowed access to a chocolate vault via his confession booth. The faces he pulls are always enough to make me laugh. I remember meeting him once (he lived near me for a long time) and seeing what a quiet and gentle person he was.

But let’s be honest, this film was all about Timothee and rightly so. He was brilliant, dancing, singing and charming his way through a narrative that was magical and thoroughly captivating.

In A Nutshell

This production was made by the producer of Harry Potter, David Heyman, and the director of Paddington, Paul King. It was a love letter to Roald Dahl and his brilliant writing. Although it was a prelude to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it included plenty of Dahl quotes, characters and storylines. Remember that the Oompa Loompa history was first mentioned in Roald’s book and it is that which was embellished by the movie.

Thank you for taking the time to read my Wonka movie review. Here is a recent post I wrote about Two TV Shows Worth Watching. Follow my blog for future similar articles.