‘Wonka’ First Reactions Praise Timothée Chalamet as ‘Infinitely Charming,’ ‘Intoxicating’ and ‘Pitch-Perfect’
Timothée Chalamet’s highly anticipated “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” prequel musical “Wonka” has finally been unveiled to critics and entertainment journalists, and the first reactions are calling it a “winning confection” and “an instant holiday classic.”
“Wonka,” directed by “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” filmmaker Paul King, casts Chalamet as a younger iteration of the famous chocolatier. The film is set years before Wonka opens his world-renowned chocolate factory and follows the young man as he fights to open his first shop. The supporting cast includes Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant.
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Film critic Courtney Howard wrote “Wonka” is “a winning confection, filled with perfect amounts of charm, whimsy & poignancy, powered by pure imagination & bright, nimble musical numbers. Timothée Chalamet is a charisma factory. His full committal is intoxicating. Hugh Grant in exceptional IDGAF mode.”
#Wonka/ #WonkaMovie is a winning confection, filled with perfect amounts of charm, whimsy & poignancy, powered by pure imagination & bright, nimble musical numbers. Timothée Chalamet is a charisma factory. His full committal is intoxicating. Hugh Grant in exceptional IDGAF mode. pic.twitter.com/vjKJqqY6ll
— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) November 28, 2023
Gizmodo senior reporter Germain Lussier heaped praise on Chalamet, calling him the reason alone to see the film. “He’s infinitely charming & a blast to watch,” Lussier wrote, although he added: “The movie around him isn’t as good but it’s enjoyable. The story & tone fight against each other leaving it a bit muddled. And yet it’s filled with joy & the songs are delightful.”
Timothée Chalamet is reason alone to see #WonkaMovie. He’s infinitely charming & a blast to watch.
The movie around him isn’t as good but it’s enjoyable. The story & tone fight against each other leaving it a bit muddled. And yet it's filled with joy & the songs are delightful. pic.twitter.com/s1zlqtzIgv— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) November 28, 2023
“‘Wonka’ is a super charming delight powered by an exceptional & pitch-perfect performance from Timothée Chalamet,” wrote film writer Perri Nemiroff. “It can get quite silly and there’s a few plot points that are a tad on the thin side, but that couldn’t stop such an impossibly sweet film with a hefty & very effective dose of sincerity from warming my heart.”
#Wonka is visually delightful. Shout out to Nathan Crowley, his world building is fantastical in every way. pic.twitter.com/JESCGvC4zS
— Jazz Tangcay (@jazzt) November 28, 2023
Wonka good. Paul King king.
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) November 28, 2023
#Wonka is a super charming delight powered by an exceptional & pitch-perfect performance from Timothée Chalamet. It can get quite silly and there’s a few plot points that are a tad on the thin side, but that couldn’t stop such an impossibly sweet film with a hefty & very… pic.twitter.com/1SLMmRPSGY
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) November 28, 2023
Warner Bros. is behind “Wonka” and has long wanted to bring a prequel film to the big screen. Reports surfaced over the years that Donald Glover, Ezra Miller and Ryan Gosling were being courted to play a new version of Willy Wonka, but it was only Timothée Chalamet who got the offer for King’s musical. And Chalamet didn’t even have to audition. King told Rolling Stone earlier this year that he was a Chalamet “stan” and thus knew the actor had the singing and dancing chops required to play Wonka.
“It was a straight offer because he’s great and he was the only person in my mind who could do it,” King said. “But because he’s Timothée Chalamet and his life is so absurd, his high school musical performances are on YouTube and have hundreds of thousands of views. So I knew from stanning for Timmy Chalamet that he could sing and dance really well.”
King continued, “I knew that was in his arsenal, but I didn’t know how good he was. When I spoke to him he was quite keen. He’d done tap dancing in high school and he was like, ‘I’d quite like to show people I can do that.’”
Chalamet responded to this news on the “Wonka” world premiere red carpet in London with laughter, saying, “That wasn’t exclusively what got me the part. He also liked the other movies I did!”
“Wonka” opens in U.K. theaters on Dec. 8, followed by its U.S. release on Dec. 15. Check out more first reactions below.
#WonkaMovie is unabashedly silly, and a perfectly charming family film. Wonka’s world is brilliantly designed, capturing the wonder of his early years.
Embracing a quirky, heartwarming tone, Wonka is funny and sweet enough to overcome any minor bumps in the road. pic.twitter.com/WPCxA2r1A9— Daniel Howat (@howatdk) November 28, 2023
#wonka is an instant holiday classic & a truly magical time at the movies 🥰 paul king’s whimsical style works as well here as it did in paddington, every musical number enchants, & the entire ensemble takes turns stealing the show, led by an endlessly charming timothée chalamet. pic.twitter.com/O887KYp4CY
— Zoë Rose Bryant (@ZoeRoseBryant) November 28, 2023
#Wonka is SHOCKINGLY good 😍🍭🍫
Paul King delivers a movie along the lines of#Paddington for adults
turning Wonka into a male #MaryPoppins!
The movie manages to be its own thing
and is as fun as seeing a live Broadway show!
Definitely this year's big holiday movie! pic.twitter.com/ezj0MaLKgo— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) November 28, 2023
#Wonka cements Timothee Chalamet as one of the greatest up and coming actors. He's magnetic, delightful & beautifully walks the line between naivete & cleverness. The film is filled with charm, joy & hope. It's a perfect holiday film. It definitely has the rewatchability factor😍 pic.twitter.com/lldKjVOphm
— Rosa Parra (@rosasreviews) November 28, 2023
#Wonka took me by surprise with how much I liked it. It's whimsical and taps into that sense of wonder we got from the original while doing its own thing. Timothée Chalamet channels the energy of Gene without doing an impression. Great family film for the holidays. #WonkaMovie pic.twitter.com/qJKHYwnPMH
— Kaitlyn Booth (@katiesmovies) November 28, 2023
While Paul King's #Wonka doesn't quite reach the charming and beguiling heights of the Paddington movies, it is still a delightfully sweet treat. Timothée Chalamet's titular dandy is endearing and fun while Hugh Grant's Oompa-Loompa steals every scene he is in. #WonkaMovie pic.twitter.com/SRMSFcJ0Gy
— Simon Thompson (@ShowbizSimon) November 28, 2023
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