How Timothee Chalamet's Young Wonka Compares To Other Movie Versions
Paul King's "Wonka" is now playing in theaters (check out our review here), so it's time to dig into it, and what better way than to focus on the star of the show? No, not all the delicious chocolate, although there's an argument to be made that the excellent edibles on display are the real stars of the film. No, I'm talking about Mr. Wonka himself, played by Timothée Chalamet in the new prequel/reboot.
Chalamet had some mighty big shoes (and top hat) to fill when agreeing to play Young Wonka here. He was preceded by Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the iconic, memed-to-death turn by Gene Wilder in the 1971 film, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," and, of course, the original written character by Roald Dahl.
His choice for the character is somewhat different than what a fan of the previous on-screen Wonkas might expect. This script by Simon Farnaby and Paul King calls for a more whimsical, less sinister, and weird Willy Wonka, which honestly falls well within the tone King has established over two very excellent "Paddington" movies. And that's just how Chalamet plays him. This is an idealistic young man, more Mary Poppins than mad scientist. This Wonka has all the dreamer qualities of the previous versions of the character, but not the sadistic edge, which might anger some folks who liked that sarcastic, sardonic interpretation, but that's not what Chalamet or his director were going for here.
So, we all agree this is a different interpretation of Wonka. How does Chalemet stack up to his predecessors?
Let's get weird
My least favorite approach to the character is whatever the hell Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were up to in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I respect having the foresight to know you can't just copy what Gene Wilder did in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," but a respectable wild swing and a miss is still a miss.
Depp's iteration of Wonka took the socially awkward part of the character and made it front and center, emphasizing how singularly isolated and alone the character was. Again, interesting on paper, but man does it come off as creepy in execution. Some of that might be the veneers, some of that might be in the Michael Jackson-esque voice and personality woven into the character, and some of it might boil down to Burton's penchant for leaning into the creepy side of just about anything he does. Whatever the reasons, Depp's Wonka is a creep that is light on whimsy and magic.
Chalamet, in comparison, is low on the creep factor and double digits on the whimsy. He's a dreamer who has similar parental issues, except instead of being traumatized by a dentist father (played by Christopher Lee), he's yearning for a reconnection with his deceased mother who instilled his love of chocolate and magic. Chalamet's Wonka might be off-putting, but it's rooted in his unflagging optimism and earnestness, not because you think his too-wide grin is concealing murderous intent.
The OG and still the greatest
And then there's Wilder's Wonka, the gold standard and the image most of us have in our minds when we think of the character. The reason that portrayal is so brilliant and has survived across multiple generations is because it's a perfect balance of childlike innocence, cocksure glee, madman's lunacy, and genius intellect. This Wonka is always in control of every moment, even the ones that look like an accident (like his big entrance where his cane gets stuck and he tumbles only to roll into a somersault and pop back up). He's the lovable, silly uncle and the spider inviting the flies into his web all at once.
The King/Chalamet version of the character doesn't have that mischievous twinkle in his eye or the desire to really screw with people, not even with the big chocolate cartels who do everything in their power to crush his dreams throughout the whole movie. This is a pure, innocent, helpful version of the character, way more in line with the wholesome naivete of "Paddington."
Could Chalamet's version of Wonka grow into the Wilder version? Not believably, no, at least not with this team involved, despite King saying he views his film as a canon lead-in to the Wilder one. Could Chalamet handle the character going in a darker direction? Absolutely, and I'd kind of like to see him go for it, but I just don't know if I buy the jump after what we get from this first film.
My ranking would be Wilder, Chalamet, Depp. All three brought something unique to their interpretation of Willy Wonka and all three appeared in wildly idiosyncratic films. Call it nostalgia, but nothing will ever top the perfect mix of flavors of that first movie for me, but give me the hopeful, helpful, sing-song young Wonka any day over the nightmare fuel that was Depp's interpretation.