Wonka: Rotten Tomatoes Critics Are Sweet On Timothée Chalamet's New Film
As it turns out, critics think Timotheé Chalamet's newest film, "Wonka," is pretty sweet.
The origin story of Willy Wonka — the Roald Dahl character made famous in books and films about his eponymous chocolate factory — is arriving this month, featuring Chalamet as the young chocolatier and director Paul King ("The Mighty Boosh," the "Paddington" movies) at the helm. The movie, which also stars Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa, is one of the most highly anticipated films of the holiday season. According to Rotten Tomatoes critics, it's highly anticipated for a reason: It's really good! At the time of this writing, the movie boasts an 80% rating.
As Richard Lawson at Vanity Fair wrote, "'Wonka' is, in fact, a lively, winsome pleasure, a film decidedly aimed at children that nonetheless incorporates some dark matter." Over at the A.V. Club, Courtney Howard agreed: "Sweet yet never saccharine, their hyper-stylized portrait is not only powered by the pure imagination that inspires the songs' spectacle, but it's also filled with audacious flourishes of charm, whimsy and poignancy."
If you have your doubts about "Wonka," just listen to Mashable's Kristy Puchko: "The naysayers were wrong. 'Wonka' is wonderful."
Critics think Wonka is a real treat
The critics aren't lying: They really love "Wonka," because it's simply delightful. As Hoai-Tran Bui wrote at Inverse, "'Wonka' exists in a world where cynicism and detached irony don't exist. From its candy-colored visuals to its dazzling musical numbers, the movie dares you not to get swept up in its rapturous glee." Indiewire's David Ehrlich echoed those sentiments, saying, "This may not be Paul King's most satisfying film, but even at a scale — or at least a budget — several times larger than that of 'Paddington 2,' the purity of its imagination remains unquestionable."
Esther Zuckerman of Vox unabashedly enjoyed "Wonka," writing, "Just like Willy's new friends, you're swept up by his optimism, as well as the delicate touches King brings to every scenario." Clarisse Loughrey at the Independent (UK) also gave a shout-out to the film's musical moments: "It whips up wit, warmth, and the beloved memories of classics past: there's a big dollop of 'Mary Poppins' here, a little 'Matilda', some 'Oliver!', and, then, unexpectedly, a pinch of 'Les Misérables.'"
Well ... not everybody liked Wonka
To be fair, not every critic loved "Wonka" — a few had some reservations, like Nick Schager at the Daily Beast. "Unoriginal and ungainly at every turn, it's a debacle devoid of any genuine magic," he wrote in his review. At TheWrap, William Bibbiani made a salient point: "'Wonka' is the sort of safe and corporate product that the hero of 'Wonka' says we shouldn't settle for."
David Rooney at The Hollywood Reporter also wasn't a fan, writing, "Even if it's plausible that the young Wonka might not have developed the arrogant authoritarian side of the character as conceived by Dahl, Willy feels neutered here, stripped of any edge that might have made him interesting." Paste was particularly harsh; as critic Jacob Oller put it, "'Wonka' is a disheartening and manic buffet of corporatized whimsy that shovels its gustatory dissonance down your throat."
Finally, Jordan Hoffman at The Messenger didn't give the film a negative review but made a pretty striking statement: "Never did I expect to see Timothée Chalamet milking a giraffe."
"Wonka" hits theaters on December 15.