'Wonka' movie review: Timothée Chalamet's sweet Willy Wonka, end credits scene and Easter eggs

Timothée Chalamet has taken on the imaginative and magical surprises of Willy Wonka in the new movie Wonka, also starring Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Grant, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Tom Davis, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter and Natasha Rothwell.

Wonka release date: Dec. 15
Director: Paul King
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Grant, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Tom Davis, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Rich Fulcher, Rakhee Thakrar, Tom Davis, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Runtime: 116 minutes

What is 'Wonka' about?

While you may have seen the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, or Johnny Depp taking on the role in Tim Burton's 2005 movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both based on the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" novel by Roald Dahl, Wonka is a new story

There's no Charlie Bucket or even a magical chocolate factory in Wonka. It's a prequel to what we've seen and read before, with Willy just starting out as a professional chocolate maker.

In the film we meet a young Willy, who's creating inventive and magical chocolate out of an enchanted suitcase, a small portable chocolate making device.

Running very low on money, but daydreaming about eventually being able to sell his chocolate on a large scale, Willy shows up at a cheap boarding house and laundry facility, run by Bleacher (Davis) and Mrs. Scrubbit (Colman). Failing to read the fine print in the agreement for his stay, Willy is scammed and he's trapped working at the facility to pay off an enormous debt.

But you can't keep Willy from his dream of being a chocolatier.

Willy becomes friends with a young orphan girl, Noodle (Lane), who has an even bigger debt to work off with Bleacher and Mrs. Scrubbit, but Noddle and Willy devise a plan that allows Willy sneak out and sell his chocolate (which he's still making from his suitcase) to the public.

Then Willy faces another issue. A trio of existing chocolate makers that make up the Chocolate Industrial Complex, Slugworth (Joseph), Prodnose (Lucas) and Fickelgruber (Baynton). They're threatened by Willy and want him gone, something they try to achieve with the force of the chocolate-obsessed chief of police (Key).

A story of friendship, creativity and tenacity, Wonka is a sweet take on the story of Willy Wonka.

Is 'Wonka' worth watching?

While it may not be entirely fair to compare Chalamet's Willy Wonka to the performances we saw from Wilder and Depp, given that this is a completely different story, the comparison is too inevitable to avoid.

Overall, Chalamet's Willy is a more reserved performance, compared to what we saw from the character in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The wacky trickster side of Willy is played down, with the character's kindness and compassion, along with some naivety, front and centre. But that does make sense given the nature of the story of a young Willy.

That being said, Wonka still has all the eye candy we loved in previous films inspired by Dahl's famed novel, creating a very detailed, lush and colourful setting for this story.

Wonka also has an impressive supporting cast that really elevate the story through a crew of characters that each bring their own unique flavour to film that's just delicious to watch.

Musicals can be a polarizing genre for people, but even if you're usually not a fan, Wonka is still worthy of your attention. One thing we wanted from this story was a real sense of fun and splendour, and the musical numbers are part of creating that sweet feeling.

'Wonka' Easter eggs, references to previous movies

While Wonka is a new and unique story, there are several Easter eggs and references to the previous films featuring Willy Wonka, and Dahl's book.

This includes Chalamet saying lines in a similar fashion to Wilder's Willy Wonka, specifically twisting the order of words in sentences. Both versions of Willy say, "strike that, reverse it" to correct themselves.

When Willy fails to read the fine print in his contract to stay at Bleacher and Mrs. Scrubbit's establishment, it's similar to the contract scenario where Wilder's Willy has kids sign a contract in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, with the fine print stating that if they steal an invented treat they couldn't win the prize.

There's a moment in Wonka when Willy and Noodle risk drowning in chocolate, which is what happens to August Gloop in Dahl's book and the previous two films.

In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy references one of his inventions that resulted in a bad side effect, unintended hair growth. That side effect makes an appearance in the new Wonka film.

Some references are more obvious in Wonka, specifically both the "Oompa Loompa" and "Pure Imagination" songs included in the new film.

Is there an end credits scene in 'Wonka'?

When the credits start rolling to close out Wonka, stick around to see an Oompa Loompa performance, and scenes that share where the characters in the film end up.