1/28/24 - Wonka (2023) - 4/10

Despite the likability of Timmy and the magical influence of Paul King (of the tremendous Paddington films), this is a flop. It starts out promising, with King’s whimsical look and a decent musical number, but it is all downhill from those first 10 minutes. Chalemet makes Wonka work but his aloof naivete is missing the sharp biting ground down wit of Gene Wilder’s Wonka so he kind of comes off as a doof.

I don’t like to denigrate the performances of child actors but I thought Gustave Die felt vacant and ineffectual. The supporting crew also just didn’ really work, but they were given little of substantial value to do.

It was silly but in a way that soured the experience, rather than whimsically elevating. None of the music did much for me nor did any element of the story. There also was no emotion until the last 5 min, which left the whole wanting.