Wonka

Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Jethro and I'm here to tell you about the year's most scrumdiddlyumptious film. So, quiet up and listen down - scratch that, reverse it - as I prattle on about Wonka!

(Barker Mood Off)

So, how did this prequel come about? Well, it all started when Paramount released Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When Paramount lost interest in the film, Warner Bros adopted it, and eventually re-adapted the book into a Tim Burton film and a direct-to-video Tom and Jerry movie. The Dahl estate soon partnered with Netflix but allowed Warner Bros. some leeway to produce this prequel. That brings us up to here.

Here, we find Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) as an aspiring chocolatier who arrives to make his fortune in an unnamed city. Its Galeries Gourmet is ruled by the "Chocolate Cartel" of Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Felix Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton), who abhor the poor and competitors alike. These three try to keep Wonka from selling his fantastical wares with the help of a chocoholic police chief (Keegan Michael-Key).

Wonka is also roped into indentured servitude by the crooked innkeepers Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and Mr. Bleacher (Tom Davis). Wonka teams up with the orphaned Noodle (Callah Lane) to free themselves and Scrubbit's other servants. All they have to do is break the cartel's chocolate monopoly with his own shop. It's not easy, for they have to procure certain ingredients, avoid the police and contend with Lofty the Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant), who keeps robbing him at night. Surely, they can do it, right?

Director Paul King reteams with his Paddington 2 co-writer, Simon Farnaby, for this cinematic confection. They also co-wrote the songs with Neil Hannon, not counting the few classics from Willy Wonka by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse that show up. They're all pretty catchy and if there's any flaw, it's that Wonka's first sale song, You've Never Had Chocolate Like This, is too short. The reprise, thankfully, is longer and just as catchy. The Cartel's villain song and the Servants' work song are the catchiest of the numbers. While we're at it, let's give props to the arrangement for Oompa Loompa and Joby Talbot's original score.

The story these songs accompany blends sweetness with Dahlian whimsy. Never is that mixture most evident in a subplot involving Basil the Guard (Farnaby), which pays off in the climax. Meanwhile, there's some delicious satire as the cartel engages in chocolate bribery and the clergy worships chocolate itself. On the purely sweet side, Wonka and Noodle's friendship is engaging, while Wonka's late mom (Sally Hawkins) gives him a decent motivation. Her parting words on his keepsake Wonka Bar give the ending a surprising pinch of emotion. Trust me, you'll feel something once he shares it.

This Wonka's naive optimism hooks us from the first number onwards. We're in awe of the Galeries Gourmet as much as he is thanks to Chalamet's particularly pleasant singing. We already feel sorry for him when that first number ends as he loses all of his meager savings. He never loses that likability during the rest of the film. We can't even fault him too much when Lofty outwits him during their first meeting. We're even as surprised as he at the depths the villains are willing to go. He bounces back when he finally outwits the Chocolate Cartel.

Let's rundown a few of the cast. Bleacher, Scrubbit and the Police Chief almost had me convinced they were pretty reasonable people. After all, the former two took in Wonka out of the kindness of their hearts, while the Chief shows some integrity turning down chocolate bribes. But they soon prove themselves formidable, yet amusing, villains before long. The Chocolate Cartel also make for funny bad guys, though Slugworth becomes less so once we learn Noodle's backstory. Speaking of Noodle, she's a compelling co-lead and easily the best of Wonka's co-workers (close second is Jim Carter's Mr. Crunch). Hugh Grant is fine as Lofty, while Rowan Atkinson puts in a memorable cameo as the chocoholic Father Julius. Let's just say this ensemble is another good ingredient in this mixture.

No Name City is a splendid place even if it's not that technically perfect. The film's CGI mostly stands out like a sore thumb, particularly when some of Wonka's first customers get an odd side-effect. A bit better CGI is used for a Giraffe who figures into Wonka and Co.'s climactic scheme. The best effects are the flying people and the Hoverchocs responsible for their state. The Police Chief's ballooning figure and the other villains' wacky hairstyles are the makeup team's crowning achievements. The practical sets designed by Nathan Crowley are as spectacular as Lindy Hemming's colorful costumes. Who knows if the Academy will notice Crowley and/or Hemming's work as much as you will.

Wonka will make for a nice holiday matinee. Its likable lead and catchy songs will help make its 116 minutes go by pretty quickly. Its ending might make one question how a sequel would adapt the book, but I think it can get by with a bit of wiggle room. Then again, I also think it won't get a sequel for reasons above. It's still a good movie, though. See it soon and you might agree.