Development began when Warner Bros. Pictures reacquired the film rights to the character in October 2016 and announced that the film would be an origin story. The film tells an original story and was developed by King to exist as a "companion piece" to the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory by reprising some of the music, thematic elements, and the visual design of the Oompa Loompas.[6] In May 2021, Chalamet was confirmed to portray Wonka, and the supporting cast was announced in September of that year. Filming began in the United Kingdom in September, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Watford, as well as Oxford, Lyme Regis, Bath, St Albans, and at the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park, London.[7] The film's original songs were written by Neil Hannon, and its original score by Joby Talbot.
Willy Wonka, a young aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier, arrives at the Galéries Gourmet with dreams of establishing his own chocolate shop. Burning through his meager savings, Wonka is coerced to stay at Mrs. Scrubitt's boarding house by her co-worker Bleacher and, despite Scrubitt's foster daughter Noodle's warning about the small print, signs a contract because he is illiterate. He introduces "hoverchocs", chocolates that make people fly, but rival chocolatiers Arthur Slugworth, Gerald Prodnose, and Felix Fickelgruber have his earnings confiscated by the police for selling without a store.
Unable to pay the contract's exorbitant fees, Wonka is forced to work in Scrubbitt's launderette alongside Noodle and fellow captives Abacus Crunch, Piper Benz, Larry Chucklesworth, and Lottie Bell. Revealing that his passion for chocolate stems from his late mother, Wonka believes that his creations are being stolen by an enigmatic little orange man, and Noodle agrees to teach him how to read. Meanwhile, Slugworth and the "Chocolate Cartel", threatened by Wonka's better and more affordable chocolate, bribe the sweet-toothed Chief of Police to intimidate Wonka.
To produce his signature chocolate, Wonka and Noodle sneak into the zoo to milk a giraffe named Abigail, inspiring a romance between Scrubbitt and Bleacher as a distraction. Crunch, having previously worked for Slugworth as an accountant, reveals that the Cartel has a secret vault of chocolate, used for bribes to maintain their power. Wonka and the launderette workers embark on a chocolate-selling crusade to alleviate their debts, using the city's storm drains to evade the police. The persistent thief of Wonka's chocolates is unmasked as an Oompa Loompa named Lofty, who seeks retribution for the cocoa beans Wonka took from Loompaland under his watch. Wonka captures Lofty, but Lofty dupes Wonka into freeing him; he strikes Wonka with a frying pan before escaping with a jar of chocolates.
Wonka opens his dream chocolate store. Unable to have him arrested now that he has a legitimate shop, the Cartel turns to Scrubitt, who sabotages Wonka's chocolates with Yeti sweat. Chaos ensues among Wonka's customers, leading to the destruction of his store. Wonka reluctantly accepts the Cartel's offer to pay off everyone's debts in exchange for him leaving town by boat. The laundry workers are released, but Slugworth pays Scrubitt to keep Noodle indefinitely. Wonka deduces that Noodle and Slugworth are related, before he, with Lofty aboard, realizes the Cartel has rigged the boat to explode. After escaping from the boat and rescuing Noodle, Wonka and his friends devise a strategy to obtain the Cartel's incriminating account book.
Using Abigail as a distraction, Wonka and Noodle infiltrate the Cartel's headquarters, only to be confronted by the Cartel. Slugworth explains that after the death of Noodle's father, his own brother Zebedee, he lied to her mother Dorothy Smith that Noodle had died as well, instead giving the newborn to Scrubitt to eliminate her claim to the family fortune. Held at gunpoint and locked in the Cartel's vault of liquid chocolate, Wonka and Noodle nearly drown, but Lofty, still seeking reimbursement from Wonka, rescues them.
Wonka and Noodle expose the Cartel's misdeeds, releasing their chocolate reserves into the city fountain, now laced with Wonka's unique ingredients, ruining the Cartel's enterprise. As the Cartel, having eaten Wonka's hoverchocs, float away and the Chief is arrested, the public revels in Wonka's chocolate. Wonka unwraps his mother's last chocolate bar, discovering a message that reads: "The secret is it's not the chocolate that matters, but the people you share it with." Splitting the bar with his new friends, Wonka reunites Noodle with her own mother. Wonka then settles his debt with Lofty, and purchases an abandoned castle to transform into his own chocolate factory, with Lofty as his tasting chef.
During the credits, Lofty shows footage of Wonka's friends happily returning to their old lives. Scrubitt and Bleacher are arrested by the police.
Rowan Atkinson as Father Julius, a chocolate-addicted cleric in league with The Chocolate Cartel[10]
Jim Carter as Abacus Crunch,[10] an accountant and hotel co-worker of Wonka who reveals to Wonka the existence of the Chocolate Cartel after previously working as an accountant for Slugworth
Tim FitzHigham as a ship captain loyal to Slugworth that rigged Wonka's boat with dynamite[18]
Jane Bertish as Baroness Von Schmeichelhammer, a baroness whose funeral observance of her late husband ends up delayed by Abigail the Giraffe
Production
Development
In October 2016, Warner Bros. Pictures reacquired the rights to the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) character Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl's estate, with a film in development from producers David Heyman and Michael Siegel.[19] The announcement of the project was met with a mostly negative response as it came less than two months following the death of Gene Wilder, who portrayed Willy Wonka in the 1971 film adaptation.[20] The following month, Heyman revealed that the project would not be a third straight adaptation of the book: "They've done two films, quite different. But it's possibly an origin story. We're just in the early stages of it, working with a writer called Simon Rich, which is wonderful."[21] In February 2018, it was announced Paul King was in negotiations to direct.[22][23] He ultimately decided against completing his Paddington films, as he had been satisfied with his first two films and felt "it was time to let go and give somebody else a shot".[24] That year, it was revealed that the film would be a prequel to the events of Dahl's book.[25] King grew up as a fan of both the book and the 1971 film adaptation and enjoyed Tim Burton's 2005 adaptation as an adult.[26] "I was a bit nervous because origin stories don't always feel essential, and I was aware this is such a beloved property," he said.[27] King's hiring as director, as well as the project's title, Wonka, was announced in January 2021.[28]
Writing
After being approached by Heyman to direct, King felt the urge to revisit Dahl's book and was surprised: "I realised that it's also an amazing emotional masterpiece. I really wasn't expecting that. Or maybe I had forgotten how incredibly touching it is. Poor little Charlie suffers so much. And you're so rooting for him. I found myself in tears at the end of it."[29] While looking through Dahl's archives and unpublished material for research, King found that Dahl had expressed interest in exploring Wonka's backstory but never went far with it.[30] When writing the screenplay, King did not want to "reinvent" the 1971 film, instead he wanted it to be a "companion piece" to both the book and the original film adaptation; as such, he decided to set it 25 years before the events of the story.[30][31] He set the story during the 1940s and paid homage to classic European story books.[32] He worked closely with the Dahl estate, particularly producer Luke Kelly, who is Dahl's grandson.[33] Creating the supporting characters, King was inspired by several of Dahl's other stories: the trio of villains, the "Chocolate Cartel", drew inspiration from Boggis, Bunce, and Bean from Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox; and the character of Mrs. Scrubitt was inspired by Dahl's short story "The Landlady".[27] He also stated Slugworth's chocolate cartel as being a "savage indictment of capitalism", wanting each character to represent a different aspect of greed, whereas Wonka had epitomized generosity and dedicated his life in creating his factory.[24][34] King developed the screenplay with his Paddington 2 (2017) collaborator Simon Farnaby, with additional material from Jeff Nathanson, Simon Rich, and Simon Stephenson.[35][36] He did not consider the film a musical, but "a movie with songs", noting that the Oompa Loompas sang in the book and Dahl's usage of poetry.[37] He cited Oliver! (1968), Cabaret (1972), Bugsy Malone (1976), and Annie (1982) as inspirations, particularly focusing on Oliver! as he felt Dahl's book was influenced by Charles Dickens.[31]
Casting
Timothée Chalamet and Tom Holland were the frontrunners for the title role after King joined the project.[38]Donald Glover, Ryan Gosling, and Ezra Miller were previously considered for the role.[39] According to Paul King, "We were pretty open to looking for the right person. But, for me, it really was a list of one." King was impressed with Chalamet's performances in Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Lady Bird (2017).[29] King offered the actor the part with no audition after seeing his high school performances on YouTube, which proved his vocal and dancing skills.[40] Chalamet grew up as a fan of both the 1971 and 2005 films and wanted to portray the character in a different way from Wilder and Johnny Depp: "It was a total inverse of that Willy Wonka with a demented look in his eye that we all know. How would that character have started, to land in a place where he's still childlike but sort of broken?"[41] King likened Chalamet's Wonka to "a Charlie Chaplin innocent character, almost like the immigrant tramp figure coming to this world for the first time, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and completely naive – with this childlike wonder but none of the street smarts that he's going to develop over the next 25 years."[31] Chalamet was officially cast in May 2021 and was paid $9 million for his involvement.[42][43]
In September 2021, it was announced Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, and Jim Carter were among the newest additions to the cast, with Farnaby also set for a role.[44][45] Unlike the 1971 and 2005 films, Wonka is the first film to not feature the Oompa-Loompas portrayed by dwarf actors. The casting of Hugh Grant as Lofty generated backlash from the dwarfism community.[46]
Graham Page served as the visual effects supervisor, while Dominic Sidoli served as the visual effects producer. Visual effects vendors included Framestore, Outpost VFX, Goldcrest VFX, and Host VFX, providing over 1,163 shots.[57][58]
Wonka had special screenings at ShowEast on October 24, 2023, and at the auditorium at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads on November 19.[62][63] On November 20, the film had a special premiere in Tokyo, with a red carpet attended by director Paul King, producers David Heyman and Alexandra Derbyshire, and stars Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant. The film had its world premiere in London, at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, on November 28, 2023,[64] and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2023,[65] followed by the United States, on December 15, 2023, in both conventional theaters and in Dolby Cinema and IMAX.[66] It was originally set for release on March 17, 2023.[28][67]
Marketing
The marketing campaign from Warner Bros. Pictures for Wonka began on October 10, 2021, when Chalamet shared a photograph of himself in costume as Willy Wonka. The image was posted on Chalamet's Instagram with the caption "The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last," a reference to a famous Wilder line in the 1971 film,[68][69] which itself is a quote from the 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.[70]The Guardian noted that the image was met with mixed reception online.[71]
On April 26, 2022, footage of Chalamet as Willy Wonka was shared during Warner Bros. Pictures' presentation at CinemaCon. It also featured a rendition of the song "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film.[72][73]Deadline described the trailer: "Think Fantastic Beasts in regards to period (early 20th century), but so much more fun".[74] The following year at the convention, Warner Bros. screened a teaser trailer for Wonka, which also saw a first-look at Grant as an Oompa-Loompa,[75][76] which caused criticism from actors with dwarfism, including Jason Acuña, who remarked, "So I guess Hugh Grant, you're now identifying as a little person".[77]IndieWire praised Chalamet's transformation as Wonka remarking: "like the chocolate he concocts in this first trailer, it will make you fly".[73] The trailer was released to the public on July 11, 2023, alongside a teaser poster.[78] The film was also promoted during the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 23, 2023, in the form of a float called "The Deliciously Delectable World of Wonka."[79][80] On November 27, 2023, IHOP introduced a Wonka Menu to promote the film.[81]
Wonka grossed $218.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $416 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $634.4 million.[4][5]Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $182million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it sixth on their list of 2023's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[85]
One week before its US theatrical release, Wonka grossed $43.2 million from 37 countries. The biggest totals were from the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ($11.1 million), Mexico ($5.2 million), Spain ($4.4 million), Germany ($3.6 million), Italy ($3.4 million), China ($3.3 million), Japan ($3.1 million), and Brazil ($2 million).[86]
In the United States and Canada, Wonka was projected to gross around $40 million from 4,150 theaters in its opening weekend.[87] The film made $14.4 million on its first day, including $3.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut with $39 million, becoming the first live-action musical to top the box office in the post-COVID pandemic era.[88] In its second weekend, the film made $18.8 million in its traditional three-day frame, and $10.3 million on Christmas Day, for a total of $28.4 million over the four-day frame, finishing second behind newcomer Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.[89] The film returned to the top of the box office in its third weekend, grossing $24 million with a 33% increase from the previous weekend.[90]Wonka retained the top spot at the box office in its fourth weekend, grossing $14.1 million with a decrease of 36% from its third weekend.[91][92]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 329 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "With director Paul King at the helm and some solid new songs at the ready, the warmly old-fashioned Wonka puts a suitably sweet spin on the classic character while still leaving some room for the source material's darker undertones."[93]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 64 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[94] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 85% overall positive score, with 64% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[88]
Rotten Tomatoes found the initial reactions on social media to be mostly positive, with some reviewers criticizing the script and others praising Chalamet's performance and the film's presentation.[95] According to the website, critics found the film to be "silly and fun for the whole family with catchy music and stunning production design, even if it loses some of the edge found in its predecessors."[96] The BBC reported that a number of critics likened the film tonally to the Paddington films, and despite "several glowing reviews", some felt that Wonka "lacks the darker elements of previous versions". Chalamet's performance was both praised and criticized for his singing, while some considered him miscast.[97]
In a 5 out of 5 star review, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote that the film is "spectacular, imaginative, sweet-natured and funny". Although Bradshaw appreciated Chalamet's performance, finding it better than previous adaptations of the character, the film does not explain "what happened to him as a young man to turn him into the somewhat ambiguous, even sinister adult figure with a streak of Dahlian cruelty", wondering if in a possible sequel "something happens to sour our young hero".[98]
Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that "Wonka may be the squarest big-scale Hollywood musical in decades" as a "fun, rousing, impeccably staged, jaw-droppingly old-fashioned musical prequel to the legendary Roald Dahl tale", but "it might have been an even bigger hit had it been a little less sanded off for children".[99]Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote that "Wonka is carefully calibrated to bring joy" which is "plenty of feel-goodism for one musical", with "grand but somehow flat-looking sets" and "with musical numbers that stress the importance of dreams and wonder and friendship", but which "gives us everything but that quiet, thrumming sensation".[100] CultureSonar classed it as one of the best films of the year: "What many wrote off as an airless cash-in is actually one of the finest interpretations of Roald Dahl’s character to date."[101]
In a more negative review, David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter found the film "sickly sweet and hopelessly twee" with the character of Willy Wonka "neutered, stripped of any edge that might have made him interesting" and that "a number of gifted actors are either misused or wasted".[102] Johnny Oleksinski of New York Post also pointed out that "it's a shame that in this origin story the viewer doesn't leave with any deepened understanding of who Willy Wonka is" and "absent of any edge or layered characters", stressing that "Wonka is at its most enjoyable when you forget the novel".[103]
In a September 2023 interview with Total Film, King expressed interest in making sequels, saying: "Dahl was definitely interested in taking Willy Wonka on. There's drafts that didn't really go anywhere, and there's a short story. He didn't really write sequels, but this was the one book where he clearly felt there was more in the tank there. There's an awful lot more Wonka story that we have that we would like to tell. It's not like Dune: Part One where you go, 'This is what’s happening in Part Two.' Hopefully it works exquisitely as a stand-alone movie. But I would definitely like to do more. And I'd like to spend more time in this world, and meet some more Oompa Loompas."[113] In November 2024, while attending the Paddington in Peru red carpet, Paul King confirmed that development on a sequel was underway, stating “We’re very early. We’ve got about half of a draft [...] We’ve got a story that we like and we know where we want to take him."[114][115]
^Dahl R, Pounder S, King P, Farnaby S (December 7, 2023). Wonka. Random House. p. 61. ISBN978-0-241-61814-1. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
