Warner Bros. Pictures released three films at the end of 2023: two musicals (one a prequel and one an adaptation of a Broadway show adapting a film version of a book) and one superhero story. Though WB did advertise the superhero story as exactly what it was, for some reason neither musical (Paul King’s Wonka (2023) and Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple) were clearly shown to include song and dance. A choice, to be sure, as though audiences don’t enjoy a song-and-dance picture, especially ones that make people want to get up and move. All three are set to come available on physical formats soon with the first of them being King’s (Paddington films) take on the beloved Roald Dahl character Willy Wonka with Little Women’s Timothée Chalamet as the young chocolatier. If you enjoyed the pure joy of Wonka, be delighted to know that the home release is chockful ‘o bonus materials, with roughly 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes features on physical or digital formats that they can enjoy for the length of their ownership *or* wait for it to hit Max in March.
If you’re looking to learn about Wonka in a spoiler-free manner, head over to the initial theatrical release review. Moving forward, we’re making like Arthur Slugworth and spilling all the secrets on how the chocolate is made.
L-R: Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka and Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ WONKA, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Young Willy Wonka arrives at The Galleries Gourmet with a caseload of extraordinary chocolates, hope in his heart, and barely a sovereign to his name. Quickly, he learns that those in power — a candy mafia headed by Arthur Slughorn (Paterson Joseph) and backed by Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Ficklegruber (Mathew Baynton) — will go to great lengths to ensure that Willy doesn’t get to sell his wares and that those offering gracious help are doing it with malicious intent. Despite this, Willy finds comfort in those like himself, bound to Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Coleman) by indentured servitude, and, by their talents combined, they may just make all of their dreams come true.
L-R: Director Paul King and Olivia Coleman in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ WONKA, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jaap Buittendijk. © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Unabashedly, I proclaim King’s take on Wonka’s origin to be a delightful one. It doesn’t go so far as to give audiences a series of disingenuous moments to create a backstory, rather, it leans on what we know of the Gene Wilder performance and characterization so that lines can be connected to Chalamet’s rendition. In the Wilder version, Wonka is sly and intelligent, sharp and decisive, while giving off an air of unpredictability. It’s a performance that’s often described as cold, calculating, and manic — a persona created by capitalist gains and fear of corporate espionage. I have a different read on that version. One can tell that Wilder’s Wonka has done his homework on the ticket winners and set traps to test them. He uses the promise of chocolate and the specter of Slugworth as a means of tempting them with sugary pleasures and instilling in them a seriousness and weight to what they are about to learn. They’re children, so one must be truly special to think beyond the immediate and look down the line to the future, to look within themselves to see something better, which is why Charlie (Peter Ostrum) ultimately wins the day. Chalamet’s version, as written by King and Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2), hasn’t had the experience of a world-renowned chocolatier, so how do you provide an origin story for the maniacal man? You create situations where Wonka himself was challenged, using little pieces here and there to craft backstory that shows how Wonka learned from his past to create the obstacles for the future. He, himself, is trapped by Mrs. Scrubbit because he can’t read and therefore falls prey to the fine print — something he, as an adult, advises others not to worry about (the first test). At no point throughout Wonka does Willy lose any of his vigor or imagination, he just learns that innocence shouldn’t come without awareness. He builds his factory, he makes his name, and he does it all with help from his friends and a business arrangement with Lofty (Hugh Grant). One can make all the assumptions they want with just the Wilder version, but I really enjoy how the incorporation of the “Wonka” seal we’re shown throughout and gold wrapping revealed at the end of the film don’t just provide clues to a future innovator, but create an anchor to Willy’s origins, specifically to his mother. This implies that the gold wrapper that makes up the golden ticket later doesn’t automatically mean fame and fortune. Given any kind of scrutiny, the golden wrapper is a small affectation, a decoration, from someone who can afford little and wants to make a dessert gift special. This makes the golden tickets less about their ostentation and more about how the winner is invited warmly to come. Part of why I prefer the Wilder performance over the Johnny Depp version is that Wilder’s Wonka is entirely a performance within a performance and Chalamet’s personification of the character and the script he follows connect so beautifully that the films can be watched forward or backward and the unification is seamless.
L-R: Calah Lane as Noodle and Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ WONKA, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If the above speaks to you or if you just found the film fun and want to learn more, the bonus features are plentiful and informative. There are five featurettes that each dive into different aspects of the film, from the overall creation (‘Unwrapping Wonka: Paul King’s Vision”), the composition of the score and songs (“The Whimsical Music of Wonka”), the creation and thought process of the sets (“Welcome to Wonka Land”), a deep dive into the costuming (“Hats Off to Wonka“), and an actual walk-through of how to make the various chocolates seen in the film by Chocolatier Gabriella Cugno (“Wonka’s Chocolatier”). In each of these featurettes, one is invited to look deeper into every aspect of the making of the film, creating an opportunity to understand the painstaking work that went into the final product. I do caution you that watching “Wonka’s Chocolatier” will result in a desire for fancy chocolate, so make sure to have some handy before you click Play.
L-R: Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka, Mathew Baynton as Fickelgruber, Paterson Joseph as Arthur Slugworth, and Matt Lucas as Prodnose in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ WONKA, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Speaking of, it’s worth noting that there’s a noticeable difference in the audio level between the film presentation and the featurettes, with the featurettes being significantly louder than the film. Strangely, the degree of difference is far more significant when using the digital code via Apple TV than when playing off the 4K UHD review copy sent by WB Home Entertainment. As an example, with my volume set at -43 dB, the dialogue and audio of the featurettes comes through clearly and cleanly, but in the opening of the musical sequence where Willy introduces himself to the people of The Galleries Gourmet, his dialogue doesn’t carry as far and you can barely hear the whistle. At the same set volume using the 4K UHD disc, it’s still quiet at -43 dB, it’s easier to hear. Physical media will always trump streaming when comparing format to format because there’s compression in streaming that doesn’t occur when playing from a disc, which can lead to a reduction in sound and video quality. In this case, if you didn’t compare one against the other, you’d likely not notice. But this is something to be aware of, should you have the option of a physical disc to view the film versus the digital option.
L-R: Jim Carter as Abacus Crunch, Natasha Rothwell as Piper, Rich Fulcher as Larry Chucklesworth, and Rakhee Thakrar as Lottie Bell in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ WONKA, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
By the by, this was noticed when selecting the “Musical Moments” feature when using the digital edition of the film after watching the featurettes, so it was easy to pick up on the difference in sound. It’s great that the home version does provide the option to watch as a 30-minute musical montage or a single jump to your favorite musical sequence exploration of the film, but it would be great if the audio was more even between the featurettes and the feature presentation.
L-R: Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka and director Paul King in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ WONKA, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jaap Buittendijk. © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
When it comes to prequel stories, there are some mysteries that we just don’t need solving. What we picture in our minds too frequently doesn’t line up with what audiences are given, often creating a discordant reaction (see: The Last Jedi (2017) and Luke Skywalker). Impressively, King and Farnaby offer audiences, not a definitive backstory, but one that not only makes sense for the character of Willy Wonka, but creates space for invention and reconsideration for the film that preceded it, i.e. Willy’s future. To view adult Willy in the Mel Stuart 1971 version as callous and cruel is to misread the man who has simply learned that sometimes confusion and misdirection are the best ways to get to know a stranger, especially if you’re looking to replace the position of leader of the entire chocolate factory. To that end, looking at Chalamet’s Willy and Wilder’s, one can see how the younger would grow into the older, not ever losing that sense of wonder or mischief, just matured it a bit.
Wonka 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital Special Features:
- Unwrapping Wonka: Paul King’s Vision (12:28)
- The Whimsical Music of Wonka (6:01)
- Welcome to Wonka Land (10:52)
- Hats Off to Wonka (6:47)
- Wonka’s Chocolatier (8:51)
- Musical Moments (29:54)
Available on VOD and digital January 30th, 2024.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD February 27th, 2024.
Available on Max March 8th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Wonka website.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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