Audiences know and love the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, either from author Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, Mel Stuart’s 1971 film adaptation starring Gene Wilder, or director Tim Burton’s 2005 recreation starring Johnny Depp.
Dahl’s imagination-driven storytelling continues to mold the world of fantasy in film. This time around, comedy director and writer Paul King has stepped up for a 2023 interpretation of Dahl’s eccentric Willy Wonka character.
King, known for his unique British humor in Paddington and Paddington 2, takes a new angle on the classic chocolate factory story. King’s new film Wonka is a musical comedy that explores Wonka’s (Timothée Chalamet) origin story.
At a virtual roundtable interview with The Heights and other college newspapers, Chalamet and supporting actor Keegan-Michael Key discussed the challenges and delights of working on Wonka, which releases in all theaters in the United States on Dec. 15.
While Chalamet plays the familiar whimsical chocolate maker, Key plays a chocolate addict and cop named Chief of Police.
Typically, Chalamet oscillates between the role of the serious character (as seen in Beautiful Boy, The King, Little Women, Call Me by Your Name, and Dune) and the nonchalant or pretentious character (as seen in Lady Bird, A Rainy Day in New York, and The French Dispatch). Wonka demanded a different type of acting that none of Chalamet’s previous roles required—as Willy Wonka, Chalamet needed to have fun in character.
“There was an element of freedom there because I felt like I could go in any direction,” Chalamet said. “Equally, there was a sort of demand to always have the energy to be a certain level of generous.”
Chalamet describes the Wes Anderson and Greta Gerwig worlds—both of which he has played key roles in—as stories in which characters are bound to take themselves extremely seriously. In contrast, Paul King’s world is one that makes its characters draw from their childlike and playful natures.
While characters in The French Dispatch live in the real world, characters in Wonka belong to a world of fantasy. With Wonka, Chalamet navigates a new genre of film, but he does so confidently.
To build a world of fantasy, King relies on surreal elements and musical performances. Key had previous experience with projects of this nature, but for Chalamet this was novel ground.
“It’s a brand new challenge,” Chalamet said.
According to the 27-year-old actor, his experience with dancing and singing dates back to high school.
Chalamet also dealt with the looming pressure to live up to a character that has already been impeccably brought to life, first by Wilder, and later by Depp. The actor differentiates himself through King and co-writer Simon Farnaby’s screenplay, which offers new material to make Wonka stand out from its predecessors.
“I felt like it was more important to try to do my own thing with it,” Chalamet said. “I was helped by the fact that this new story is not the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s an original story.”
In regard to King’s directing, Key noted that his willingness to collaborate with others was a factor that made the filming process joyful and engaging.
“What surprised me the most about working on the film, I would say, was probably the sense of play,” Key said. “At times when you have a director who’s written a script, that director might take a lot of ownership in regard to the writing. And Paul King was very collaborative and was really willing to hear what you had to say when you came in with ideas.”
Given that Wonka is an origin story, King’s Wonka is a younger—and therefore more naive—chocolate maker. Viewers follow Wonka as he experiences the world’s injustices for the first time, but his optimism never fails to predominate and construct the film’s tone.
To prepare for the role, Chalamet said he watched Wilder’s performance repeatedly. With that in mind, he opted to use Wilder’s acting as a base rather than a model to imitate.
“So, I definitely watched that a lot before, the Gene Wilder version,” Chalamet said. “But once it started to get going, I tried to leave it behind because it’s sort of an impossible performance and film to live up to and [it’s] so beloved, rightfully.”
Wonka dives deeper into the character’s childhood and teenage years, exploring the new theme of a son-and-mother relationship that overarchs the movie. Still, Chalamet believes that Wonka’s defining quality is his mysterious aura. Therefore, some narrative gaps of Wonka’s upbringing are necessary in constructing the character’s defining mystique.
“This was the rare exception whereas in every other role I’d work on, you want to have every question answered,” Chalamet said. “Here it felt acceptable, in fact beneficial, to be kind of aberrated.”
Audiences can expect Wonka to focus on Wonka’s determination to overcome the world’s obstacles and turn his dreams into reality.
“I realized over the course of the shoot that [Wonka] is always on an up-tempo,” Chalamet said. “He’s always like a phoenix getting put together. Every time he’s told no, he’s got a new plan. That really requires a certain presence, but that was a beautiful challenge.”
