Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

‘Wonka’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on February 25, 2024 by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

Confession time: I have not seen any of the live-action films based on the Roald Dahl novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I have not seen “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” or the aforementioned “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I do think this puts me in an ideal position because I have no frame of reference when reviewing this film, “Wonka.” I’ve often said any film that has source material attached to it should be able to stand on its own two feet and appeal to an audience which has no history with the characters or the story itself. Ideally, you are looking to make a film that will appeal to those who have seen the other films and read the novel, and also to those who are going into it with fresh eyes. That’s the main goal.

Willy Wonka is played here by Timothée Chalamet in a brilliant performance which is able to portray both the sweet and eccentric side of the main character. If he went too far into the latter, it would have been rather off-putting and too peculiar. However, he does a great job of balancing the tender side of the character and also the quirkiness. It’s a great performance. Wonka has many skills in his arsenal (magic and innovation), but the skill he is most proud of is his ability to create chocolate that is creative, delicious, and brings people together. He’s looking to start up his chocolate empire, but he’s met with strong resistance by what is known as the Chocolate Cartel.

The Chocolate Cartel is a group of three men who have a monopoly on the chocolate industry, and they are not looking to share it with Mr. Wonka anytime soon. The group includes Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton). Once they catch wind of his arrival, they want to do whatever it takes to put an end to his budding chocolate industry. Luckily for them, Wonka finds himself stuck in a terrible contract due to his inability to read. Because of this one-sided contract, he must spend 27 years and 16 days at Mrs. Scrubitt’s (Olivia Colman) laundry house, which she runs with her evil goon Bleacher (Tom Davis).

While working in the Wash House, Wonka befriends an orphan named Noodle, played by Calah Lane. Together, they hope to help each other out, as Noodle is looking for information on her family, and Wonka wants to make his chocolate store a reality, which was inspired by his close bond with his late mother, played by Sally Hawkins. There is also a bookkeeper in the Wash House named Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), Lottie Bell (Rakhee Thakrar), a telephone operator, Piper Benz (Natasha Rothwell), a plumber, and a former comedian Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher). They have also fallen prey to the evil contracts doled out by Mrs. Scrubitt. If they can work together, they might be able to turn things around and get out from not only their contracts, but also from the Chocolate Cartel as well.

Another thing the Cartel has going for it is the chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) has a strong addiction to chocolate, so it’s quite easy to pay him off and keep him from doing his job with any sense of dignity or honor. They must also contend with Lofty, an Oompa Loompa, played brilliantly by Hugh Grant. At first, Noodle is hesitant to believe he actually exists, as the idea of a little orange man with green hair is hard to fathom. However, Lofty believes he was wronged, so he will do whatever it takes to get what he believes he is owed from Wonka. Hugh Grant makes the most of each and every scene he’s on screen with this deadpan timing and delivery. It’s a treat whenever he’s on screen.

“Wonka” is a film I ended up enjoying a lot more than I thought I would when I started watching it. I think it helped that I really had no idea what to expect or any type of preconceived notions, whatsoever. I found the film to be absolutely delightful. They did a great job in casting as, top-to-bottom, this is an all-star cast of actors. It really starts with Timothée Chalamet as Wonka, however. If he came across as too goofy or too silly, the film would have failed. However, this is the best performance I’ve seen from him in his young career. It also helps that there is a tremendously sweet friendship between his character and Noodle. The way their friendship grows and blossoms is moving and genuine.

“Wonka” has a lot going for it. The musical aspect of the film is top-notch, and there are memorable songs that come in at just the right moments, whether they are used to brighten up the mood and make you laugh or whether they are used during a more introspective moment. The bad guys are deliciously evil and a lot of fun. The friendships come together organically. Much like a great bar of chocolate, all of the ingredients here are working together as one. It also helps that the film takes its time in allowing the audience to get to know the characters and their intentions. Everyone serves a purpose here.

This is a patient film, as mentioned. and it is better because of it. We get to go along on the journey with Wonka and all of the characters who inhabit this world. I enjoyed every single character and actor for what they brought to this project. This could have easily been a throwaway film where it was done just to make a profit without paying attention to quality. There is a lot of craft and love here, and it shows on screen. “Wonka” warmed the cockles of my heart. It’s sure to put a big smile on your face, just like it did it for me.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

4K Info: “Wonka” is released on a single 4K disc from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The film has a running time of 116 minutes and is rated PG for some violence, mild language, and thematic elements. It also comes with a digital code for the film.

Video Info: We are treated to a beautiful Dolby Vision transfer on this release of “Wonka.” This is a bright and beautiful film with eye-popping visuals that really lend itself to the 4K format. I was very impressed with the colors and the level of detail on this transfer.

Audio Info: We get a Dolby Atmos audio track here as well, which sounds terrific. Considering this film is a musical, we want to be able to enjoy the music to the fullest. We are able to do that here thanks to audio which is clean and very vibrant.

Special Features:

Unwrapping Wonka: Paul King’s Vision

The Whimsical Music of Wonka

Welcome to Wonka Land

Hats Off to Wonka

Wonka’s Chocolatier

Should You Buy It?

If you enjoyed the “Paddington” films, which were directed by “Wonka’s” Paul King, you should definitely buy this 4K release of “Wonka” as soon as it’s released. It’s very clear by now that King is a British director who knows how to make films that are going to appeal to children and adults, which is very difficult to pull off. He has it figured out and it’s on full display here with this nearly perfect motion picture. Film, to me, is at its best when I’m able to feel something emotionally and also laugh in equal measure. From an audio and visual perspective, the 4K gets an easy A here. We also get a few special features as well. So far, 2024 has been a slow year for 4K releases, but “Wonka” has set the standard early on for this year. This one comes highly recommended!

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free. The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

Gualala Video – The Last Store of Its Kind

Posted on November 30, 2021 by The Ultimate Rabbit

Blockbuster Video never opened a store in the small town of Gualala, California. Hollywood Video never did either, and Redbox never bothered to put any kiosks up at either of the two supermarkets there. Now a lot of this may have to do with Gualala having a population of around 2,000, and it is never quick to let many corporate giants like Wal-Mart into town as they love their mom-and-pop shops. But seriously, the real reason none of them set up shop here was because of Gualala Video which is, quite frankly, my favorite video store on the face of the earth. This store had over 27,000 titles to choose from on DVD, Blu-ray and VHS, and looking at the many selections made me happy I still own a VCR after all these years. If they didn’t have what you were looking for, then it was never made into a movie or television show in the first place.

But sadly, Gualala Video is now closed. Despite having survived the streaming wars and Blockbuster Video, it fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic which seems never ending. While David Bradbrook, who has owned the store since 2003, did what he could to keep business going like offering curbside rentals, the rent and the overhead became too much for anyone to deal with. One big fan of the store did create a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise $5,000 to help David out, and while they have since raised over $3,100, it was not enough to prevent the inevitable.

Now the store closed some time ago, but I was in Gualala recently for the Thanksgiving holiday and it marks the first time I have seen it completely empty. There are some remnants like the store’s name on one of the doors and some stickers no one was able to completely remove. But to look inside this store and see everything gone really haunted me. Seriously, it had everything and anything you were looking for and then some. What is David planning to do with all these titles? Hopefully he has enough room for them at home.

Like another long-lost video store, Rocket Video in Los Angeles, California, Gualala Video had its movies arranged in categories such as by actor, director, and genres like science-fiction. My dad really loved the foreign section which contains films like “A Prophet,” and it had just about every Lars Von Trier movie you would ever want to bring a box of Kleenex to.

Here are some other categories movies were listed under (thanks to John Beck for the following photos):

Sometimes I didn’t even go in there to rent anything; I just went inside to look around and see what was available. Other times, I went in there to see what they didn’t have so I could ask David why this was the case. Like I said they had everything. David has said a lot of people did the same thing to where he wishes he had charged admission just to enter. Hey, Blockbuster would have done the same if it could, especially after their late fee charges were done away with.

If it wasn’t for Gualala Video, I am convinced I would not have seen certain movies for many more years. One of John Carpenter’s earliest works was his 1976 action thriller “Assault on Precinct 13” which he made before “Halloween,” and I could not find it anywhere. Not even another video chain which has long since been put out of business, Take One Video, had a single copy of it which stunned me. Gualala Video, however, did have a copy, and I did not hesitate in renting it right away. If not for this, I would have had to wait for the DVD release which would not happen for at least another five more years. Oh, by the way, “Precinct 13” was awesome and still holds up.

Then there was when my brother and I rented “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Neither of us had ever watched it before, and the manager looked at the VHS box and said:

“Man! We’ve made over $1,000 dollars off of this one video!”

“We’ve never actually seen it,” my brother said.

A blond teenage girl standing next to us was quick to reply:

“YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT??!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???!!!!”

Having now watched “Willy Wonka,” I can clearly see why this particular VHS tape was so popular as there are few family movies quite like this one, and I still wonder how it managed to get away with a G rating despite the scary boat tunnel scene which featured an image of a chicken getting its head cut off.

The last time I was there, I rented not one but two films: “John Wick Chapter Two” and “Everybody Wants Some.” Now these were two flicks I should have watched when they arrived at my local multiplex, but work at the time prevented me from doing so. But seeing them on the shelf in Gualala made me realize I had put off seeing them long enough. “John Wick Chapter Two” showed how Keanu Reeves can handle knives and guns better than any other actor in Hollywood, and “Everybody Wants Some,” Richard Linklater’s spiritual sequel to “Dazed and Confused,” made me wish I experienced my high school and college years in the same way he did.

And now Gualala Video is gone forever, and I cannot help but feel sad. It was one of the last of its kind, and there are probably none of them left (not in the East Bay anyway). Independent stores like these are wonderfully unique to where we don’t know what we will do without them. Personally, I can live without Blockbuster Video as its extinction was not a loss. While they had many copies of the newest releases, finding older films was ridiculously difficult. As for its dedication to providing a family friendly environment devoid of any movies rated NC-17, this did not stop them from putting exploitation flicks like “Stripped to Kill” on a shelf right near the children’s section.

This store was a film buff’s dream. You could discover those out-of-print videos and discs which were so hard to find, and no film had to be edited down to an R rating just to qualify as a rental. It is places like Gualala Video which made me remember how much I love movies, how wondrous they can be, of all the ones I still need to catch up on. Now, I can only hope and pray they are available to stream, and not everything is available to stream.

Nick Nolte once said there will always be change and there will always be resistance to change. While change is inevitable, there has got to be a way to preserve certain independent stores like this one. If Barnes & Noble’s annual 50% off Criterion Collection discs sale proves anything, it is that we are far from done with physical media.

And with that, I leave you all with a comment Stacy G. left on the store’s Yelp page:

“If I could burn down my local Blockbuster and replace it with Gualala Video, it would be a dream come true.”

Granted, Blockbuster Video is long gone but, all the same, amen!

Photo by The Ultimate Rabbit