The Wonderful Willy Wonka: A Sweet Movie

Lindsey Smith ‘27

Staff Writer

The musical fantasy film was released on December 15, 2023, originating from Mel Stuart’s 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 52 years later, Warner Bros. Pictures released a spin on the classic movie, this time with a different plot. With Timothée Chalamet playing a young Willy Wonka, showing how he began in the chocolate business and soon owning his own chocolate factory. Along with Hugh Grant, starring as an Oompa Loompa.

Wonka is the main founder of the Wonka Chocolate Factory. His story begins as a young boy who was poor, but he had one talent: he knew how to make chocolate. He used his mystical gift to entice people into his sweet business. Wonka shows Wonka’s journey and how he reaches his goal. Because this is a prequel, the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie is a continuation of this 2023 film. 

Freshman Paige Lanouette says, “I was expecting a good, fun story and it exceeded my expectations.”

Wonka was heartfelt. It taught the audience to never give up in certain situations and meeting friends along the way can make a difference. This movie had good comedic timing and impressive animations. The iconic song “Pure Imagination,” originally sung by Gene Wilder, was reprised and sung by Chalamet. 

Madison Mark, sophomore, stated, “I enjoyed the fact that it reminded me of when I was a little kid and I used to watch the original Willy Wonka movie with my mom.” 

Chalamet’s performance as Wonka was well done. He played Wonka as a happy man who had hopes in himself, while most of Chalamet’s roles are more in the serious category. This was more of an uplifting movie for Chalamet. The actor demonstrated Wonka charismatically. 

Freshman Claire Breedlove explained, “It was kind of odd not knowing much about the character when I first watched the original movie, but it was nice to learn more about Willy and how he got started.” 

Fans of Wonka, use their ‘pure imagination’ to see how fun, magical, and sweet this film is.