“Wonka” is a movie distributed by Warner Brothers, the picture was directed by Paul King who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Simon Farnaby. This movie tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character from the 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl, featuring his early days as an eccentric chocolate maker. The movie stars Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka himself, Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, Rowan Atkinson as Priest, Sally Hawkins as Willy’s Mother, and Matt Lucas as Prodhose. “Wonka” is due for release on Friday, December 15th,  2023. 

The first reviews for “Wonka” came in on November 29 and it is described as a Paddington-esque success for Willy Wonka’s origin story. Variety has stated that “Wonka is a winning collection, filled with perfect amounts of charms, whimsy, and poignant, powered by pure imagination & bright, nimble musical numbers. Tmothée Chalamet is a charisma factory. His full commitment is intoxicating. Hugh Grant is an exceptional model.” Film critic, Lou Thomas, said he “Really enjoyed Wonka, a large, lavish, musical production of great wit, terrific visual splendor and many delightfully villainous supporting characters.” 

Some people were not informed that the new Wonka movie was a musical and it was not shown in the trailers. In fact, the movie is being marketed as an entirely different film. 

Daisy Naranjo, a senior at Sultana High School, stated “From what I’ve seen in the trailer, I think the movie will be different in its own way compared to the other adaptations. The other adaptations have some spunk, making the movie a little snarky, while the trailer made this new version seem more Willy Wonka against the odds than the others were. It looks more like a backstory version rather than another variation of the same plot.” 

The Warner Bros feature musical, “Wonka”, is arriving at a tracking week with an industry projection of $35-$40 million dollars when it opens up on Friday, December 15. Warner Brothers showed a full musical clip at CinemaCon for exhibitors and it is strange that the studio is not intentionally selling “Wonka” as a musical in the trailers that have been released so far. Whether you love or hate musicals, Roald Dahl’s brand of Wonka is seeking to bring in moviegoers no matter what. 

Dulce Donabo Miranda, a senior at Sultana High School, stated “Based on the trailer I’ll see the movie, it sparked my curiosity, it’s quite a different story and version of Willy Wonka that has not been depicted yet.”