Story
Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) has spent the last 7 years travelling to the most remote and unique places on earth to obtain the very best ingredients and recipes to make the world’s most wonderful chocolate.
He arrives at the Gallerie Gourmet, with the dream of setting up a shop alongside legendary chocolatiers Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Ficklegruber (Matthew Baynton). But Willy’s trust and optimism are no match for the greedy city, and he soon finds himself penniless and enslaved by the evil laundress Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman).
With nothing more than his chocolate-making ingredients, the memories of his mother and the help of his newfound friends/co-enslaved laundry workers – young orphan Noodle (Calah Lane), former accountant Mr Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), comedian Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher), telephone operator Lottie Bell (Rakhee Thakrar) and Piper Benz – Willy devises a plan. A plan that will allow them all to pay off their debts, bring joy to the citizens of the city, and help them each to pursue their dreams.
The only problem is that Slugworth, and his chocolate cartel, will stop at nothing to prevent Willy from succeeding. With his shop in ruins, his dream in tatters and his hope for success fading fast, Willy makes a deal with Slugworth and in the process makes an incredible discovery that will turn all their fortunes around – provided he can survive long enough to find an alternative ledger and expose Slugworth for the villain he is.
Themes
Bullying; corruption; greed; abuse of power: purposefully addicting consumers to certain products; corporate sabotage; death of a loved one; separation from parents
Violence
Wonka has some violence. For example:
- A character is about to bash Willy Wonka over the head with a baton.
- Mrs. Scrubbit grabs Noodle roughly by the shoulders and shoves her into a dirty bird coop.
- Slugworth and the chocolate cartel tell a police chief to kill Willy.
- A police chief slams Willy’s head twice through the ice of a frozen fountain, holding him under the frigid water before bashing him on the head. He then tells him that if he ever attempts to sell chocolate in the town again he will get more than just a bonk on the head.
- Abacus discloses to Willy that he saw a ledger that proves the chocolate cartel has bribed, blackmailed and beaten up the competition and that they are responsible for a number of unsolved murders.
- A character smashes Willy in the head after accusing him of stealing his cocoa beans. The character then steals a jar of Willy’s chocolate.
- Customers throw chocolates and items at Willy, his staff and the merchandise, breaking, smashing, and destroying the shop in the process. The shop is then set on fire. As Willy sits in the smouldering remains, he learns that Slugworth poisoned the chocolates with Yeti sweat, causing all the consumers to grow great masses of colourful hair.
- Willy is bullied into sailing away on a boat. He soon discovers it is rigged with dynamite and set to explode. He manages to jump overboard just moments before a huge explosion rips the boat apart.
- Ms. Scrubbit throws Noodle roughly into a bird enclosure for helping Willy.
- Slugworth points a gun at Willy and Noodle.
- Noodle learns that Slugworth threw her down a laundry chute after telling her mother that she had died as a baby.
- A character throws a heavy jar at a priest.
Sexual references
Wonka has some sexual references. For example, a character asks, ‘Have you got the hots for chocs?’
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Wonka has some substance use. For example:
- Mrs. Scrubbit offers Willy a drink of gin, which he accepts.
- Willy gives a champagne chocolate to a couple of characters throughout the movie, describing the layers of alcohol within the chocolate (red wine, white wine, whiskey fudge and old port). The consumers become more and more inebriated, until they pass out.
- Chocolate is vaguely referred to as a drug. Several characters are addicted to it and repeatedly mention getting a ‘hit’ from chocolates.
- A character mixes and drinks a nightcap in a martini glass.
Nudity and sexual activity
Wonka has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- A male character does lunges in short shorts in an effort to seduce Mrs. Scrubbit. He bends over and wiggles his bottom at her as she sighs and gapes at him. She rolls towards him on a ladder and falls into his arms. They kiss while she sits on his lap. They are later shown in short, silky robes.
- Other pairs of characters kiss passionately on occasion.
Product placement
Wonka has some product placement – for example, Wonka brand chocolate.
Coarse language
Wonka has some coarse language – for example, ‘damn’ and ‘stupid’. Name calling includes ‘brat’, ‘bookworm’ (said as an insult), and ‘stupid, old hag’. Crude humour includes telling the chocolate cartel that they will fart the flying bugs out of their rear ends. There are also a couple of fat-phobic comments about a character who cannot control how much chocolate he eats.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Wonka is an origin story that tells how Willy became Wonka. The movie is well cast and, although the plot is predictable, the movie features musical interludes and some creative special effects. Despite this visual appeal, this is not a movie for younger children. Instead, it’s likely to be enjoyed by families with older children, and by those who like to root for the underdog and watch them accomplish their dreams in a most fantastical way.
These are the main messages from Wonka:
- Even the most amazing things in the world began as somebody’s dream.
- It’s not the chocolate that matters, but rather the people you share it with.
- If you persist and follow your passion, you have the power to change the world.
Values in Wonka that you could reinforce with your children are ingenuity, persistence, teamwork, loyalty, courage and trust.
Wonka could also give you the chance to discuss with your children real-life consequences of things like:
- scams and enslavement
- corporate corruption, greed and sabotage
- addictive behaviour and neglecting to exercise self-control.
You could also talk about the similarities between the chocolate and drug cartels, and the idea that ‘the greedy will always beat the needy’.