In the last days of 2023, the movie “Wonka” was released, which brings back memories of the classic musical cinema, and presents the story of the candy maker “Willy Wonka”, who has appeared twice before on the big screen; The first was in the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” and the second was in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The two films are adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl.
Paul King directed the movie “Wonka” in its new version, and the work stars “Timothée Chalamet,” “Olivia Colman,” and “Hugh Grant.” It is based on the famous character, but it is not a direct adaptation of the novel. Rather, the filmmakers built a background and history for the character that matches the story. With literary work.
Wonka…a story for adults and children
The movie “Wonka” begins with a song in which the hero recounts where he was before this moment, his seven-year journey across the seas, and then his arrival in the city where he dreams of building his own candy empire.
Through words, melodies, and dance, the film establishes this filmic world, and shows the hero’s optimism and broad dreams in contrast to the cruelty and brutality of the city, which robbed him of all his savings within minutes of his arrival, and he transformed from a cheerful young man into a homeless homeless person.
In search of a place to stay, Wonka falls easy victim to Mrs. Scrubbing, the owner of the modest inn, who makes him sign a contract under which he will become a worker in her laundry for decades, joining another group of workers whom she has deceived over the years, including the orphan girl, Noodle. On the other hand, the young man discovers that the city’s candy market is closed to only three makers who do not accept his competition, and they conspire with the police chief to prevent “Wonka” from making and selling chocolate.
And from here the real plot of the film begins, when the hero allies with his fellow slaves of Mrs. Scrubbing to secretly sell chocolate in the city and collect enough money to free them all, which leads them to a group of funny adventures that make them discover their true abilities, and employ their knowledge and skills to achieve success.
Although the film is not a direct adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel, it was faithful to the writer’s literary style, which presents two parallel lines in his works. The first is a simple and exciting story for children, and the second has deeper – and sometimes dark – ideas aimed at adults and teenagers.
The direct story in the movie “Wonka” centers on the adventure of a young man, a stranger to the city, whose only goal is to make candy and make the residents happy, but he is prevented by three villains. More deeply, the viewer finds that he is faced with a more complex plot about evil capitalism that prevents small economic entities from growing in a market that is not open, but rather built on monopoly, in addition to dealing with young people dealing with the early loss of their loved ones, such as “Wonka” who lost his mother and the girl.” Noodle”, who believes she is an orphan.
This duality allows films to continue for years and become classics decades later. For example, a child who watches “Wonka” in 2023 will watch it again in 2043 with his children, and discover the depth of ideas that he may have experienced simply because of his young age.
Wonka.. the revival of musical films
The story of Willy Wonka has been told on screen twice before. The older version is from 1971, a classic musical starring Gene Wilder that focuses primarily on the playful, manipulative nature of Willy Wonka as he reaches middle age and searches for an heir to his chocolate empire. Made over the years.
As for the 2005 version, directed by “Tim Broughton” and starring “Johnny Depp,” it focused more on the concept of family and family love, as the film makers assumed that “Wonka” is the son of a troubled family and a father who hates sweets, which ignited his son’s passion for it. While he searches for an heir to his factory, he finds… Instead, he is a child who corrects his concepts and introduces him to the warmth of family love.
The movie “Wonka” in its modern version was based largely on the 1971 version, and this inspiration begins with “Wonka’s” clothes, his purple velvet suit, the high brown hat, and the walking stick, and the design of the fictional “Oompa Loompa” character with her green hair and very short stature, which is a different design than that. The surrealism of Tim Broughton’s version.
This inspiration appears most clearly in the film’s music and songs. The soundtrack for the movie “Wonka” quoted melodic phrases from the soundtrack to the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and some of the songs he re-arranged and changed their lyrics. This method of inspiration plays on viewers’ feelings of nostalgia for a classic film that several generations grew up with, while opening the door wide to new plots, ideas, and themes that give the story more freshness and youth.
On the other hand, the film belongs to musical films, a genre that rose to prominence in the middle of the twentieth century and then gradually disappeared. It is characterized by the integration of songs and dances into the original plot, in addition to attention to specific elements in production such as décor and clothing, and specific choices in the actors and actresses who must have lightness. In movement and singing ability that matches their acting talents.
In the last two decades, American musical films have returned timidly with projects that are few in number but have achieved great success, the most famous of which are “La La Land” and “West Side Story,” the latter of which is a remake of a classic film with the same name as well. The movie “Wonka”.
In this regard, the movie “Wonka” presented a very distinctive visual and audio experience among the films of 2023, with dazzling production design and decorations with their bright colors, extreme vitality in the transitions between normal dialogue and songs, and the performance of the entire cast, even those who are not accustomed to singing. Despite Timothée Chalamet’s lack of experience in this type of film, he was able to compete with classic actors who were famous for this type of film.
The hero of the movie “Wonka” was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Golden Globe, and it is expected that he will be nominated for a number of specialized awards at the Oscars. Aside from the awards, the film was able to achieve success in the end-of-year cinematic season, and its revenues as of this writing reached $465 million against a budget of $125 million.
