The movie Wonka was recently released on December 15th, 2023. The movie is a prequel to the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It is a very magical movie that encourages kids to use their imagination with big dreams to follow.  

The plot consists of Wonka having a dream of opening a shop with a large variety of magical chocolates and other popular sweets. However, he is poor and young, and he gets himself into a very risky business with other “chocolatiers” that will do anything to stop him. It’s an encouraging movie for kids, and any adults that loved the original, as Wonka and his friends never give up on the many stops along the way. 

We get answers as to why Wonka was so interested in chocolate to begin with, the struggles he faced along the way, the people who inspired him, and most importantly: How did he get involved with the Oompa Loompas? 

Timothée Chalamet – who plays Willy Wonka – has been nominated for multiple awards in his previous movies Call Me by Your Name, Dune, and Beautiful Boy. He has not been in kids’ movies, so for this being his first (and a musical), he did really well matching the original role. He had the fun, quirky, and imaginative mind that you would admire in a role model for kids. I think lots of people appreciate the background he gave the iconic character. 

Critics are encouraging the movie for parents and grandparents to see with kids. J. Don Birnam said that “one possible way of measuring whether a prequel is a good movie is whether it makes you want to revisit the old original.” I can agree that Wonka is one of those movies. Some people are also saying that the movie does not capture the weirdness of Dahl’s works, but I disagree as I feel Chalamet was a fun and weird character that perfectly matched Wonka in the original movies. 

Overall, if you want your kids to experience the wonders of Willy Wonka and his chocolate, this is a good movie to introduce them to the magical world he has created. But of course, you will also need to show them the classic original that we all grew up on as well.