(courtesy IMP Awards)
SNAPSHOT
Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s most iconic children’s book & one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, Wonka tells the wondrous story of how the world’s greatest inventor, and magician, and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today. Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time—proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible. Wonka is directed by British filmmaker Paul King, writer / director of the Paddington films, and director of Bunny and the Bull, Come Fly with Me, Space Force, and also The Pajama Men: Last Stand to Reason previously. The screenplay is written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2) & Paul King, based on a story by King and characters created by Roald Dahl. It’s produced by David Heyman, Alexandra Derbyshire, and Luke Kelly. (courtesy First Showing)
Prequels are quite the hit and miss phenom.
In an age where everyone and every corporation is leveraging their brands to an exhaustive degree, prequels have become quite the thing, a way to get fans into a property that has seemingly told all its stories and which has nothing new to say because the story as it stands has told it perfectly well already.
It’s either seen as a cruelly cynical way to get some more cash from devotees of the property or a welcome chance to spend more time with characters we love; either way, it sometimes works, often doesn’t.
In the case of Wonka, which has the producers of the delightful Paddington series behind it, there’s a better than even chance this is one prequel that will work, that’ll pay off and give us another look at a character that people know and love from the classic story Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
The trailer suggests a story that is quirky and fun, a little dark and daring and wholly engaging, shades of light and darkness that we saw reflected in the earlier tale (or really later, story timeline-wise anyway).
We’ll find out how true this assessment is, of course, when Wonka opens 8 December UK, 14 December Australia and 15 December USA.