Timothée Chalamet’s long-awaited Wonka musical “Charlie and the Charlie Factory” has finally been unveiled to entertainment critics and journalists, with early reactions calling it a “winner candy” and an “instant holiday classic.”
“Wonka,” directed by “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” director Paul King, portrays Chalamet as a younger version of the famous chocolatier. Set years before Wonka opened his world-famous chocolate factory, the film follows a young man as he struggles to open his first shop. The cast includes Kalah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant.
Film critic Courtney Howard wrote that “Wonka” is “a winning confection, filled with the perfect amounts of charm, whimsy and poignancy, backed by pure imagination and bright, clever musical numbers.” Timothée Chalamet is a charisma factory. His complete commitment is intoxicating. Hugh Grant is in exceptional IDGAF mode.
Gizmodo’s chief correspondent, Jermaine Lussier, praised Chalamet, calling him the only reason to watch the film. “He is very charming and exciting to watch,” Lussier wrote, although he added: “The film around him is not good but it is enjoyable.” The story and tone fight against each other leaving it a bit muddled. Yet it is full of joy and the songs are upbeat.
Film writer Perry Nemiroff wrote: “Wonka is a thoroughly charming treat powered by an exceptional, pitch-perfect performance from Timothée Chalamet.” “It can get quite silly, and there are some plot points that are a little on the fluffy side, but that can’t stop such an impossibly beautiful film with a huge, very effective dose of honesty from warming my heart.”
Warner Bros. stands Behind the Wonka movie, she has long wanted to bring a prequel to the big screen. Reports have surfaced over the years that Donald Glover, Ezra Miller, and Ryan Gosling were preparing to play a new version of Willy Wonka, but only Timothée Chalamet got an offer for the King musical. Chalamet didn’t even have to audition. king He told Rolling Stone Earlier this year, he “Stan” Chalamet, and thus knew the actor had the singing and dancing chops required to play Wonka.
“It was a live show because he’s amazing 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 ridiculous, his high school musical performances are on YouTube and have hundreds of thousands of views. So I knew from Timothée Chalamet’s Stanty 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 talked to him he was very keen. He had tap-danced in high school and he would say, ‘I’d like to show people I can do this.’
Chalamet responded to this news on the red carpet of the world premiere of “Wonka” in London by laughing, saying: “It was not exclusively that he cast me in the role. He also liked the other films I did!”
“Wonka” opens in UK theaters on December 8, followed by a US release on December 15. See more of the first reactions below.
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