Westside’s giant multiplexes are unwrapping Wonka treats in time for Christmas. GRAHAM YOUNG reports.
The year 2024 is the 200th anniversary of chocolate giant Cadbury being founded on Bull Street in Birmingham – so the sheer joy of what you can create with cocoa beans makes this a doubly bountiful festive treat from Paddington director Paul King.
His new Road Dahl-inspired, prequel Wonka (PG, 116 mins) is a genuinely warm, family-friendly comedy for the festive period. And both Odeon Luxe Broadway Plaza and Cineworld Broad Street are offering their own kind of chocolate-flavoured celebrations.
Like all food and drink, customers booking Odeon Luxe tickets online can pre-order an exclusive Wonka Collectors Cup (while stocks last / expires 3 January) for £10.99 minimum, depending on choice of drink. See details here.
Odeon Luxe screenings also include upgrades to iSense (Screen 2) and Dolby (Screen 3).
Cineworld Broad Street’s Wonka screenings include IMAX and 4DX versions. Added to the latter screen’s usual immersive sensory treats of moving seats, wind effects and rain will be the smell of chocolate, too. Yum!
Cineworld 4DX viewers will even receive an exclusive ‘scratch and sniff’ Wonka 4DX poster, again while stocks last. Details here.
The story. It’s now more than 50 years since Gene Wilder’s characterful ‘Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory’ film had kids looking for golden tickets on August 20, 1971. That story was based on Dahl’s 1964 novel.
Then, 18 years ago now, Johnny Depp starred in Tim Burton’s uneven ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ remake from July 29, 2005.
This Wonka is an all-new, British-made musical prequel, with teenage heartthrob Timothée Chalamet in the title role of the now much younger Willy hoping to become the candy man who can grow to open a factory.
The cast. Wonka’s late mother (Sally Hawkins in flashback) promised to support him if he could follow his dream – but the local cartel is a problem.
Olivia Colman plays Mrs Scrubbit alongside fellow Twit-like Bleacher (Tom Davis), with Rowan Atkinson as Father Julius and Hugh Grant shrink-wrapped as a grumpily-troublesome, knee-high Oompa Loompa.
The verdict **** Apart from squeezing the pips of franchise acquisitions from Marvel to Star Wars, perhaps another reason for Disney’s recent struggles is its new taste for on-screen violence.
Warner Bros’ Wonka fully delights in being more traditionally soft and chewy, though retaining enough darkness via Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) and Prodnose (Matt Lucas) to keep kids guessing.
Manhattan born Timothée Chalamet (Beautiful Boy /Dune) is an emerging leading actor of note – one who can apparently sing, do magic, make chocolate and absolutely look the part. As Wonka, he is sure to tick all of the right selection boxes for fans and newcomers alike.
Director King taps into his two feelgood Paddington hits as well as Robin Williams’ Jumanji (there’s a giraffe in church here), Mary Poppins (yes, chocolate can lift you off the ground) and JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts (beautiful big sets, case closed) – all sugar-coated in a quintessential British spirit. Work hard, kids, never give up and then live the dream!
At almost two hours, Wonka is a touch overlong for the steady pacing and a hamper full of seven new songs is only lacking the kind of fresh killer tracks which made Jungle Book and Frozen so special.
But, even though King rations international star Rowan Atkinson (sadly not playing Mr Cocoa Bean), this is the kind of family fare that Marvel et al have long eschewed.
Hats off to Chalamet who successfully leads younger viewers towards the older Willy Wonka played by Wilder and Depp. And if that’s a wrap, does that make him a wrapper?
ENDS
