'Wonka' Review

Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros

Whilst publicised as a children’s film, ‘Wonka’ has attracted audiences of all ages, not only because of its cast of icons - Timothée Chalamet, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson and Sally Hawkins - but also due to Roald Dahl’s legacy as a wonderful storyteller. The film begins with a young Willy Wonka arriving in a European city to make his way as a chocolatier. However, the plot quickly unravels into a series of awkwardly unrelated events which attempt to imitate the whimsical nature of Dahl’s stories.

The film follows Wonka as he is forced to work in a grubby underground launderette after being tricked by the deceitful owners of an inn. Yet, he manages to escape and sell his chocolate to the public, despite the threats of rival and comically malevolent chocolate magnates. Whilst things quickly go awry as Wonka’s creations are poisoned and he almost faces death by chocolate, the sweet ending restores justice as Wonka is saved and the corrupt chocolatiers are exposed.

Many factors were working in this film’s favour but it still failed to impress. The dancing is AI-esque, the songs are monotone and forgettable, and whilst Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa is entertaining enough, it doesn’t quite carry the film through. The disappointment led me to the question: what would Roald Dahl think?

There have been many film adaptations of Dahl’s stories - most recently Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox (2009), Steven Spielberg’s The BFG (2016) and Robert Zemeckis’ The Witches (2020) - many of which have achieved great success. Nevertheless, it is clear that the biopic-like form does not work in the context of Dahl’s distinct style. 

As Hollywood increasingly readapts old stories rather than produce original ideas, it appears every film franchise is to be exhausted. As little effort was made to plausibly link Wonka’s origin story to the future tale of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dahl’s spirit was lost in the process.

This is not the first time Dahl’s work has been modified to suit contemporary tastes. Earlier this year, the Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin controversially declared that Dahl’s books were being rewritten to remove any potentially offensive language, particularly around weight, mental health, gender and race. Augustus Gloop is no longer ‘enormously fat’, just ‘enormous’. Mrs Twit is no longer ‘ugly and beastly’, just ‘beastly’. A new line - ‘There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.’ - has been added to The Witches. 

This perceived need to edit decades-old stories beckons us to consider how we engage with the art we consume. Every year on the 13th of September, schools all over the country celebrate Roald Dahl Day, the existence of which in itself proves the timeless entertainment provided by his stories. Uninspiring projects like ‘Wonka’ show that rather than change what once was, we should be creating new stories that mirror us. Wes Anderson, who directed the Roald Dahl shorts recently released by Netflix, expressed a similar sentiment at the 2023 Venice Film Festival: ‘An artist’s work should not be modified, especially once the audience has participated in it. No one, especially anyone who is not an author, should be modifying someone's book.’