“Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.”
Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) is a young, naive but genius chocolatier who kicks us off by arriving at the Gallery Gourmet to make his fortune, “Although the prices are suspiciously severe.” He starts the day with twelve sovereigns, and ends it with none. Inflation, anyone? He becomes contractually enslaved in a room-and-board and doggedly pursues his milky dreams despite it. He teams up with Noodle (Calah Lane), Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), telephone operator Rakhee Thakrar (Lottie Bell), plumber Piper Benz (Natasha Rothwell), and the chuckling Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher) to get it done!
First off, the film contains a tremendous amount of heart. The dynamic of Noodle – an orphan abducted into industrial revolution-style slavery – and Wonka tenderly explores the necessity for dreams to keep our childhood alive. Noodle is well-read and terribly serious, and as she is often known to say, “The greedy beat the needy, Willy. Every time.” Her innocence has been stolen, her lust for life almost departed. However, her intelligence helps to balance Wonka’s dreamy, optimistic, but ultimately naive and uneducated lens of the world. As he admits, he has dedicated his entire life to the making of chocolate, and therefore lacking in some vital skills like literacy – which almost makes him a tiger’s lunch!
Now, as to Wonka’s allies. They are perhaps the most unexpected combination of everyday people from every corner of society, but together they form a group strong enough to overthrow the rich, powerful cabal of chocolate monopolists. Ah, were it so easy. Money and business backed by the authority of law and big religion; who can stop that? A group of everyday people with the same dream is Wonka’s answer. Power to the people, who live on the sweat of their toil and deserve a larger share.
“Every good thing in this world started with a dream.”
Wonka inherited his passion for chocolate from his mum. Isn’t that the sweetest? A dream he doesn’t abandon, but tries and succeeds to share with the world. I ask you to take something you hold dearly and wish you could share with the world. Wonka’s was chocolate; mine is writing; what’s yours? That message of following your dreams is the most compelling aspect of the film, because it simply reminds us to stick to it! To have hope in a world that is shrinking into shadow daily. To not surrender our love and passion. To make ourselves believe “for a moment… life doesn’t seem quite so bad.” Hold fast to the power of hope amongst the hopeless, the dreary and disheartened. Warm the cockles of your comrades with chocolate, or maybe whatever it is you're passionate about…
Shifting to the depiction of power structures in the film, the Cartel’s secret lair is curiously found beneath what appears to be a catholic cathedral, the entrance guarded by chocoholic monks and a priest who’s sold his soul for thirty pieces of chocolate. Cough Judas cough. To complete the syndicate of a perfect crime ring, we witness the swift and sure corruption of the Chief of Police with a desirable currency, mon– NO! With chocolate, DUH! As most musicals worth their salt often do, they act as a beautiful mirage in which we are shown the alarming issues our societies face. Underneath the chocolate coating, hoverchucks, and solid (though a bit autotune-y) musical numbers, Wonka is able to expose the collusion of big business, corrupted religion, and the law working against the common people without us ever feeling a pinch of politics. But look between the wrappings of your chocolate bar. It’s there. Or maybe it just says Cadbury. To the critical eye it isn’t very hard to see this film gives a rainbow chocolate middle finger to the powerful and corrupt.
It also only shows two types of people; the oppressed, and the oppressor. The enslaved scrub-scrubbers, Wonka’s abuse under police brutality, malevolent big business, wayward religion and opportunistic law enforcement. But in the end, whilst the cartel is rightfully arrested, it leaves Wonka as the sole inheritor to the chocolate market. No competitors, no accountability through comparative business practices, no balance! But thankfully, Wonka is a naive chocolate pretzel so the people of the town have little to fear. If more genius entrepreneurs were purely concerned with refining their product to perfection for the joy and benefit of all, not for “profilet,” the world would be a merrier place. Genius and success should be applauded, but it should also not be abused – success can be an intoxicating elixir.
Finally, Wonka navigates his ambitions by keeping grounded, good-hearted people around him. I mean, really, leadership 101 amirite? They support him, and see that his vision of the world is a benefit to all. As my favourite song from the musical says, “This is our home, a world of our own.” Let’s dream big together, build it together, protect it together. That’s the beautiful message of Wonka, delivered in the best form for such a message: a song and dance about taking a chocolate-y chance.
