Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Wonka’.
The Big Picture
- Willy and Noodle band together to defeat the Chocolate Cartel with a book of records and the power of chocolate.
- Willy rescues Noodle from the clutches of the villains and uncovers a family connection between Noodle and Slugworth.
- Willy’s reunion with his mother’s spirit teaches him that the true secret of chocolate is who you share it with.
The doors to the chocolate factory are open! The Paul King-directed directed musical-adventure, Wonka, is now available to stream. The Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel stars Timothée Chalamet as the quirky and beloved titular character, as he sets out to fulfill his dream of becoming a renowned chocolate maker. Along the way, Willy meets a charming orphan, a group of outcast friends, and dances his way to his destiny. Wonka is more than just a prequel to a classic. It’s a story with its own merits, conflict, and magic, a story that gives heart to a previously mysterious character.
After seven years of sailing the world and perfecting his recipes, Willy Wonka comes to Europe, determined to open his own chocolate shop. It was a dream he shared with his, now, late mother (played by Sally Hawkins). With him, Willy carries a special bar of chocolate made by his mother before she died. The bar contains a secret ingredient for Willy to discover some day. Before her passing, she promised Willy that she would be with him when he shared his chocolate with the masses. Despite being penniless, Willy remains a clever optimist, never giving up on his dream, no matter what challenges come his way. After being tricked into hard labor by two local scam artists, Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and Bleacher (Tom Davis), he teams up with a plucky orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane) and her fellow outcast workers to buy their way to freedom via an underground chocolate operation. However, a trio of villains known as the Chocolate Cartel are threatened by Wonka and set out to stop him at any cost. So, how does the musical adventure end, and how does it connect to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?
Wonka
Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, ‘Wonka’ tells the wondrous story of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.
- Release Date
- December 15, 2023
- Director
- Paul King
- Runtime
- 116 minutes
Willy and Noodle Band Together to Defeat the Villains
Mr. Prodnose (Matt Lucas), Ficklegruber (Matthew Baynton) and, most infamous of all, Slugworth (Paterson Joseph) have built their sizable fortunes on being the only chocolate makers in the city. Sensing (and tasting) Wonka’s talent, the three bribe the chocolate-addicted chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) to make their new competitor disappear.
An intelligent, scrappy orphan with a heartache, Noodle joins Willy in hopes that he can sell enough chocolate to free her and the other captors at Mrs. Scrubbit’s scam hotel, while she also helps the illiterate Willy learn how to read. The two become close friends and Noodle becomes Willy’s partner-in-crime. Slugworth is mysteriously threatened by Noodle and strikes a deal with Mrs. Scrubbit and Bleacher: They pay the slimy duo to poison Wonka’s candy with potions that make their consumers grow strange hair and change colors. Defeated, Wonka takes the Chocolate Cartel up on their offer; if he no longer makes chocolate and leaves town, they will pay for his friend’s release. Willy boards a boat bound for the North Pole, but is saved by a foe who just may turn out to be a friend.
Willy Wonka Comes to the Rescue
During his time abroad, Willy unknowingly stole cocoa beans—a rare commodity in Loompaland. He now owes a debt to be paid in chocolate to an Oompa Loompa named Lofty (Hugh Grant), who has been tracking Wonka for some time. As his ship sails further away, the Oompa Loompa appears and Willy has a revelation: Slugworth wears a family heirloom ring similar to one that Noodle wears. He realizes that the two are connected and, after finding out that the Chocolate Cartel filled his vessel with dynamite, Willy and Lofty swim to shore.
Willy finds that Noodle was not released with the rest of their friends and that Slugworth paid Mrs. Scrubbit extra to lock her away forever. Willy and his friends come to her rescue and go to confront the Chocolate Cartel. Willy finds a book of records and, now literate thanks to Noodle, reads that Slugworth was brother to none other than Noodle’s father. He died before Noodle was born, forcing her penniless mother to give her up. Noodle was a threat to Slugworth’s inheritance and so he sold the baby to Mrs. Scrubbit. With secrets and profits on the line, the Chocolate Cartel takes Willy’s last jar of chocolate—a jar that had been saved to pay off Willy’s debt to Lofty—and locks the two heroes in an underground chocolate pool. The chocolate rises and the two nearly drown. The Cartel made a grave error in taking that jar of confections, though. They’ve now stolen from an Oompa Loompa as well. As payback, Lofty saves Willy and Noodle.
‘Wonka’ Review: A Shaggy Tale With Timothée Chalamet at Its Sweet Center
From ‘Paddington 2’ director Paul King, ‘Wonka’ finds the joy and optimism of this younger take on Roald Dahl’s character.
Willy and Noodle confront the Chocolate Cartel in front of the whole town, along with a book of records documenting every illegal payment that the trio ever made. The trio tries to run, but, in true Willy Wonka fashion, are stopped when the chocolate they took from Willy causes them to fly away. Willy and his friends release the Cartel’s chocolate to the town. As his dream of finally sharing his recipes with the world is realized, he opens the last bar of chocolate his mother made for him and, on a golden sheet of parchment, her secret was never an ingredient, or about chocolate…It is about who you share it with. As the crowd and his friends enjoy their sweet victory together, he spots his mother, who blows him a kiss before disappearing. Willy reunites Noodle with her mother—who works at a library—while singing a soft, encouraging rendition of “Pure Imagination” to her.
How ‘Wonka’ Sets Up ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’
After paying his debt off to Lofty, Willy tells his foe-turned-friend that he’ll need more than just a shop to create his confections, and invites the Oompa Loompa to come along and help him run his new factory. The two venture into an abandoned castle, welcomed by a sign that reads: “Day Dreamers Welcome.” Willy sings about this new dream and the two begin to build an amazing chocolate factory, complete with an iconic chocolate river and all. Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is born and a world of pure imagination awaits.
Wonka is now available to stream on Max in the U.S.
Watch on Max
