Roald Dahl‘s classics have been popular in Hollywood, and one that’s been adapted several times is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I actually have never seen any of the adaptations, and frankly, I wasn’t even all that interested in seeing this one. Yet I was willing to check it out as it’s written, produced, and directed by the same team that did the two marvelous Paddington movies.

I guess I have the benefit of seeing this adaptation with fresh eyes as I’m not at all familiar with the story. Billed as a spiritual prequel to the 1971 and 2005 feature films, it tells an origin story of how Willy Wonka started the world-famous chocolate factory. Following Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp, this time it’s Timothée Chalamet who portrays the aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier.

It opens with a sequence of Wonka arriving in the city with a hatful of dreams that he sings with hopeful optimism, ready to take on whatever the world throws at him. I wasn’t sure about Chalamet’s casting initially but my doubts are quickly dispelled. There’s a certain fresh-faced innocence and the eternally svelte 27-year-old is quite light on his feet, with a nice set of pipes, too. It doesn’t hurt that the songs are so darn catchy!

There’s an infectious joyful energy to the Paddington movies that writer/director Paul King carries over to this one. He also co-wrote the script with Simon Farnaby once again, which proved to be another blooming collaboration. There’s a Dickensian vibe to this Wonka, what with the impoverished orphans barely scraping by on the city streets. Wonka gets trapped by the devious Mrs. Scrubbit (the always watchable Olivia Colman) who forces him to work in her launderette to repay his debt. Wonka meets fellow victims down in the basement, including an accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter) and an orphan girl Noodle (Calah Lane) who becomes his ally in his various schemes to sell his chocolates.

At just under two hours, the movie moves along swimmingly as we follow Wonka’s journey to take on the greedy chocolate cartel. The trio, led by Mr. Slugworth (a terrific Paterson Joseph) is practically the chocolate ‘gangsters’ in a city where sweets are the people’s drug of choice. They will stop at nothing to eliminate the competition, including bribing the Chief of Police (a hilarious Keegan-Michael Key)–with confections of course–to put an end to Wonka and his magical chocolates. King doesn’t dwell on the darker overtones of the story so not much menace is to be found here. Just like in Paddington 2, the villains are comical buffoons who are given their own adorable musical number called Sweet Tooth.

While Hugh Grant’s been appearing in most of the movie’s promos, his Oompa-Loompa character doesn’t arrive until an hour in. He’s a droll highlight every time he shows up I don’t even mind his overly-CGI-ed look. I love that Grant’s embraced his naughtier side and he’s immensely watchable when he’s at his grumpiest. Another fun highlight is the heist scene on an underground chocolate reserve beneath a church, featuring Rowan Atkinson as a corrupt priest and a scene-stealing giraffe named Abigail.

What makes or breaks a musical is of course the music and Wonka is filled with delightful earworm songs that I don’t mind being stuck in my head. The original songs by Neil Hannon and the lively score by Joby Talbot perfectly complement the whimsical tone of the movie. As the movie is set in the late 1940s, Hannon captures the flavor of that period when many of the classic Hollywood musicals were made, i.e. Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun, Brigadoon, etc.

While I could barely remember any of the songs from the latest Disney flick (*cough* Wish *cough*), I was humming most of the songs on my way home and days after. I’m flabbergasted that they didn’t get a single Golden Globes’ Best Song nomination, I mean, I’d have trouble picking which one to nominate. Fans of the original would be happy that they include the Pure Imagination, this time sung by Chalamet.

I’d say all of the songs are great, but For A Moment, an emotionally tinged duet by Wonka and Noodle at the Zoo is easily my favorite. The familial threads genuinely tug my heart strings… as I always miss my late mom the most during the Christmas season, I tear up in the scene where Wonka misses his mother (Sally Hawkins), the one who instilled the motto ‘Every good thing in this world, started with a dream. So you hold on to yours.’

This movie is truly a feast for the senses, the visuals are simply dazzling to behold. Lensed beautifully by DP Chung-hoon Chung, I’m in awe of Nathan Crowley’s spectacular production design and Lindy Hemming’s meticulously crafted costume design. The chocolate store opening scene is simply magical… as some of the chocolates make people float in the air, this movie’s buoyant spirit is wonderfully uplifting.

In many interviews, Grant often says that Paul King is such a jolly-good fellow that he’s practically Paddington in human form. I really think his joyful spirit is what fuels his movies… refreshingly free of cynicism or mean-spiritedness. I love his quirky but warmhearted sense of humor and imaginative creativity. His Wonka version has just the right amount of kookiness, magical whimsy, and heart that’s perfect for the holiday season. It remains to be seen whether this will be a classic holiday movie, but I simply adore it and will no doubt be watching this again!

Have you seen WONKA? What did you think?

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