Wonka Has One Vital Thing In Common With Paul King's Paddington Movies
This post contains minor spoilers for "Wonka."
When Warner Bros. announced that they were going to make a prequel to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" focused on a young Willy Wonka, it felt like all of Hollywood's worst sensibilities wrapped in one neat little package. A seemingly unnecessary prequel driven by commercialism with a hip star — in this case
Timothée Chalamet — anchoring the whole thing to try and sell it to the masses. Yet, when "Paddington" director Paul King signed on to helm the project, it raised some eyebrows. Could the man beyond two of the most inescapably charming movies of the last decade work his magic here as well? The answer is largely yes. We're not here to discuss whether "Wonka" is as good as "Paddington" or anything like that, but it is worth pointing out that these movies do have a key element in common.
Both "Paddington" and "Paddington 2" have absolutely killer supporting casts built around the lovable bear, voiced to perfection by Ben Whishaw. One of the things that King does so impossibly well is cast his movies from top to bottom. On that note, casting director Nina Gold, who worked with him on "Wonka" as well as the "Paddington" films, is owed a lot of credit there. Through whatever master stroke of pre-production work that makes it possible, the casts assembled for those films are among the best in modern cinema history.
From Sally Hawkins giving every ounce of her award-winning heart as Mary Brown to Brendan Gleeson's delightful turn as Knuckles McGinty, every single speaking role in each of those movies elevates the material. Those supporting ensembles lift up each corner of the movies and make them better every step of the way. The sum total of those contributions ends up making for something greater in the end.
Paul King knows how to cast his movies
King brought those very same sensibilities to "Wonka," a movie that contains stellar supporting performances from the top of the call sheet right to the very bottom. This movie is loaded with both well-known and underappreciated performers giving it their all to help elevate the material. It certainly helps that this movie isn't bogged down by shoe-horned Easter eggs or a paint-by-numbers story. But the cast that King and Gold put together unquestionably makes the experience richer than it might otherwise have been.
The director brought many familiar faces with him for this ride as well, with Matt Lucas playing Prodnose, one of the evil chocolatiers, for example. He is part of a trio also comprised of Paterson Joseph's Slugworth and Mathew Baynton's Fickelgruber, who serve as the villains of the piece. We've also got Hawkins appearing as Willy's mom in a brief but very impactful role. King also managed to score the likes of Oscar-winner Olivia Colman as a supporting villain, Mrs. Scrubbit, who is accompanied by Tom Davis as Bleacher. The unexpected romance between those two delivers some of the biggest laughs in the movie.
But it's arguably those who directly support Chalamet's Wonka who make the biggest impact. His sidekick, the lovable Noodle played by up-and-comer Calah Lane, delivers a star-making turn here. Then there's the rest of the Scrubbit gang, including Jim Carter's Abacus, Rakhee Thakrar's Lottie, Natasha Rothwell's Piper, and most delightfully of all, Rich Fulcher as Larry Chucklesworth. Casting an underrated comedian like Fulcher as, well, a self-aware but committed comedian is a perfect example of a small stroke of genius that makes the movie noticeably greater.
The power of the ensemble
This movie is lousy with similar examples — too many to single out. We haven't even talked about how great Keegan-Michael Key is as the Chief of Police, or Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Officer Attable, who has one of the movie's best moments of compassion when he offers Willy a Sovereign from his own pocket to cover the cost of his room for the night. Heck, even Hugh Grant as the Oompa Looma straight-up crushes it. The trailers made that whole casting choice look a bit strange. Instead, it's just one more example of an A-lister lending their talents to elevate the final product.
So often it feels like we focus on a single star at the center of a movie. But the best movies always surround talent with great talent, making for a richer experience. Margot Robbie kicked ass as Barbie in "Barbie," but the supporting cast was the secret sauce. Even the "Mission: Impossible" movies have stacked the deck around Tom Cruise with a great supporting cast. No single star can do what a well-rounded ensemble can do.
Paul King, both with the "Paddington" films and with this prequel that could have easily been a disaster, has proved that he's one of the best directors working today at crushing this part of the job. From getting the casting right across the board to getting the best performances out of those actors, King has asserted himself as the current king of the killer ensemble.
"Wonka" is in theaters now.