The film Wonka debuts on Max Friday, March 8. Timothee Chalamet plays the young Willy Wonka.
The film comes from Warner Bros. Pictures. It says, “This irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, as he becomes the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker.”
Paul King directed the film, which is rated PG and runs for an hour and 56 minutes. It premiered in U.S. theaters in December.
Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant are also in the cast.
King and Simon Farnaby wrote the screenplay, inspired by the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was published in 1964.
Gene Wilder played Wonka in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Johnny Depp portrayed him in 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The newest film got a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. A New York Times review says: “Movie franchises live forever, it seems, hence Wonka, a new musical origin story set in an earnest key about the first business ventures of the young Willy. It’s a bright, light movie — in palette and temperament — that’s stuffed with talented performers who seem to be having a pleasant time, even when pretending to be meanies.”
One on NPR says: “This is an entertaining, upbeat, imaginative film, even if it doesn't feel much like Willy Wonka. King came up with this story himself, and there's none of the ‘you better be good for goodness’ sake’ message of the original story. Rather than focusing on the moral worthiness of children, it focuses on the need for connection and wonder that adults and kids share.”
King directed the Paddington movies.
Michael Siegel, Cate Adams, Rosie Alison and Tim Wellspring are executive producers on Wonka.
