Feels more Oliver Twist to me (the Gonzo comparison from Christmas Carol is hilarious), but curious to see what his take will be on it!
Wonka footage shown at CinemaCon featured Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa
Trailer
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Could mods please merge both Wonka Prequel threads
CMod: done.
Lovely new green look for Daniel Cleaver 😁
Paul King's involvement does turn my head, and the "no daydreaming" gag made me laugh, so who knows? The aesthetic looks fun, and Chalamet certainly seems to be showing a lot of bouncy energy from the more dour, serious roles he has taken of late.
I think it looks pretty good.
Definitely seems to be going for an earnest, wonder & awe story approach as opposed to the more cynical vibes in Depp's outing. Which could be expected from director's previous work.
I might even considering waiting until it's out on streaming platforms rather than going to to see it in the cinema. Nope, Scratch that. Reverse it.
Hugh Grant as an Orangeman at this time of the year I just have to laugh.
That looks rubbish.
Kinda agree. Saw a trailer for it in the cinema recently and it left me stone cold. I do like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory quite a bit.
The 70's classic or the Burton abomination?
(Can you tell which one I like? 😄 )
There's a very easy way to differentiate. 70's version is called Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, not Charlie.
Anyway, I hated both versions and won't be watching this either. I was a HUGE Roald Dahl fan as a kid but C&TCF is one of those books I'd kind of consider unfilmable because so much of it is down to the reader's imagination/interpretation. Stuff that works perfectly fine on the page becomes problematic on-screen because it's so difficult to portray Wonka as anything other than a bit weird and creepy in real life and obviously the Oompa Loompas are going to cause any filmmaker difficulty. Dahl wrote them as entirely fictional, almost magical creatures but because of their portrayal in the original film, they're almost indelibly associated with offensive stereotypes of people with Dwarfism. If we'd first seen them onscreen as whimsical animated characters, for example, things would be very different, imo, but instead we have an almost unsalvageable situation where any new depiction of them is going to be picked apart and found wanting.
C&TCF is one of those books I'd kind of consider unfilmable because so much of it is down to the reader's imagination/interpretation
You could almost say it's a world of pure imagination.....
I'll let myself out.
I had to forcibly restrain myself from using that line in my post.
I think Gene Wilder and that soundtrack do a LOTTT of the heavy lifting with that 70s film ... cos honestly beyond that the thing was fairly inert. Shot like a documentary in the opening acts with almost zero panache - and even the actual chocolate factory scenes rarely gets a pulse of the cinematic. The TV Room about as funky as it got; moment like the beheaded chicken a real WTF moment too. But said opening acts were a total, tedious chore to get through.
Never actually watched the Burton version - precisely because I took one look at Johnny Depp's schtick in the trailer & knew I'd hate every moment of it. Plus Burton's aesthetic just didn't seem like a good match for the material. And, yeah: the footprint of Gene Wilder was just so large I knew Depp would come up completely short.
I'd be almost the opposite. To be fair I wouldn't call the Gene Wilder one an abomination, but I've never liked it. It's interesting that Roald Dahl despised it and basically disowned it.
The Burton one I have a lot of time for, not perfect and Johnny Depp overdoes it somewhat, but good fun, it captured the essence of the book infinitely better.
Trailer 2
Just reading that Neil Hannon is writing the sings for this.
That should add another bit of quirkiness to it.
They certainly have the whimsy cranked up to 11. But a little too sugary as well; II know I cribbed about the Gene Wilder one being very flat, but it did have an edge to it all; Wilder playing it whimsical but also kinda manic too.
well, my kid loved that trailer.
So his dad's not a dentist in this one ?
Never saw the Tim Burton version as had already checked out on that guy's work by then. Is it as bad as people say or has their been any reassessment of it?
Well the first reviews are appering and it's getting glowing reviews.
It's not an idea I'm excited about - but Paul King has produced such absolute magic with the two Paddington movies that I'll go see it from his involvement alone.
I saw that alright and at the risk of sounding cynical, I've seen this happen before, many times and the film turned out to be something of a turkey. It could be great but I'll wait to see it for myself before I make a judgement.
Saw it tonight and alas I thought it was pretty much inert, a film without a soul. It looks great but it's this great looking hollow creation. And it was like the equity diversity and inclusion officer was actually the director and not Paul King. Came across like they had to have the correct ratio of black, Asian and Indian actors in every scene. Its movie making by a set of fixed criteria which kills the life and natural vitality of a film, hence the lack of soul.
Wonka – 8.5/10
An unashamed family musical that is perfect for this time of year. It took 2 or 3 musical numbers before it grabbed me, but when it did, I found myself comparing it to Aladdin in terms of how catchy the songs were and how much energy it had. Then I realised that I am comparing a classic Disney animation with live action, which is the biggest compliment I can pay this film. Paul King has effortlessly achieved something that is incredibly tough to pull off. It puts every single Disney live action ‘remake’ to shame.
The plot is a little messy, but they deserve credit for not just retreading the same Wonka story we’ve already seen twice on the big screen. I felt that King and Farnaby were looking at multiple Roald Dahl stories for inspiration. The three members of the chocolate cartel reminded me of the three farmers from Fantastic Mr Fox. The Giraffe bit reminded me of the The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me. Olivia Coleman and Tom Davies grumpy landlords were reminiscent of The Twits etc…
Paddington 2 is a tough act to follow, and whilst this is a little uneven and has slight pacing issues, I think you just must let those knit picks fall to the floor and go with it. It’s a joyous and hilarious film. Neil Hannon’s music is catchy and full of clever word play. Other than a few moments where Wonka’s eccentricity is a bit of a stretch, Timothée Chalamet does more than enough to cement his place as the second-best screen Wonka. There’s plenty of room for the Wilder cynicism to grow within him, but for now we have a much more wide-eyed and optimistic Wonka and I look forward to seeing where they take him in the inevitable sequels that follow.
Can Paul King make Wonka 2 as good as Paddington 2? He’s certainly laid the chocolatey foundations.
A gorgeous film. It succeeds on almost every level. Chalamet is a revelation. I think over time this will become a festive favourite. It’s not a Christmas movie, but it has that whimsical, magical feel to it. Great songs, sequences, sets, and music. Just an all round quality film.
Agree with your Neil Hannon comment. I could see him performing the songs himself, each one worked so well.
