An answer to a question no one asked? A Wonka origin movie.

[Ryujin]

Don't get me wrong- I'm not against reboots (there's lot of examples, but I think most people would say the rebooted Battlestar Galactica was better than the original), and I'm not against new material that re-purposes older material (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was an amazing play before being repackaged with an ampersand into a movie).

But I am somewhat concerned that with the consolidation and commercialization in Hollywood and overall, worldwide, we are seeing that it is getting harder and harder to get original material greenlit ... while re-treads are constantly popping up.

To borrow the quote- Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.

It's really cool when someone does something new with something old. But it's sublime when someone does ... something new.

Well rather than a retread this is a prequel, so I think that meets your criteria?

I'm just not feeling Timothée Chalamet as Wonka. He doesn't have that dark undertone that Gene Wilder brought to the original film, which is somewhat in keeping with Roald Dahl's esthetic, nor the quirky gothiness of Depp. (To me that one was just OK, whereas the original hit just right. Then again I saw the original in a theatre, when it was first released.)

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Well rather than a retread this is a prequel, so I think that meets your criteria?

I'm just not feeling Timothée Chalamet as Wonka. He doesn't have that dark undertone that Gene Wilder brought to the original film, which is somewhat in keeping with Roald Dahl's esthetic, nor the quirky gothiness of Depp. (To me that one was just OK, whereas the original hit just right. Then again I saw the original in a theatre, when it was first released.)

The trailer did nothing for me. It just fell flat.

I really like Timothée Chalamet in general. But I agree with you here, I just wasn't getting the Wonka vibe off of him. And the rest of it? I don't know- I just didn't feel the "vibe" was right.

Trailers aren't always reflective of the film. So, perhaps the film will be better. I still don't know how I feel about the Hugh Grant as Oompa Loompa at the end ... but it was certainly the only part of the trailer that actually made me both curious and uncomfortable.

 

[Ryujin]

The trailer did nothing for me. It just fell flat.

I really like Timothée Chalamet in general. But I agree with you here, I just wasn't getting the Wonka vibe off of him. And the rest of it? I don't know- I just didn't feel the "vibe" was right.

Trailers aren't always reflective of the film. So, perhaps the film will be better. I still don't know how I feel about the Hugh Grant as Oompa Loompa at the end ... but it was certainly the only part of the trailer that actually made me both curious and uncomfortable.

Yes, as I mentioned there's that darkness that was missing from it. Perhaps there are a scene or two that might take it closer to the feel of the paddle boat on the chocolate river, from the original movie, but they gave no hint of it in the trailer. Maybe in a future trailer?

And I must sadly disagree with you on the matter of Mr. Grant. Ever since his days on "Lair of the White Worm" his career's trajectory has solidly been towards ultimate Oompa Loompaness. You can clearly see it in "Notting Hill", though he had some missteps along the way such as "Cloud Atlas."

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

And I must sadly disagree with you on the matter of Mr. Grant. Ever since his days on "Lair of the White Worm" his career's trajectory has solidly been towards ultimate Oompa Loompaness. You can clearly see it in "Notting Hill", though he had some missteps along the way such as "Cloud Atlas."

Fun fact:* the scene with him as an Oompa Loompa had no CGI.


*All of Snarf's fun facts are guaranteed to be 100% true, if not necessarily correct.

 

[Umbran]

I'm just not feeling Timothée Chalamet as Wonka. He doesn't have that dark undertone that Gene Wilder brought to the original film...

Well, in the original film, we have a Wonka who is implicitly addressing the matter of his own mortality - he's seeking a replacement because he eventually won't be there. So of course there's a dark undertone.

But that's going to be largely inappropriate for a movie about Wonka starting out.

 

[Ryujin]

Well, in the original film, we have a Wonka who is implicitly addressing the matter of his own mortality - he's seeking a replacement because he eventually won't be there. So of course there's a dark undertone.

But that's going to be largely inappropriate for a movie about Wonka starting out.

There's more to it than Wonka's own mortality. It also touches on the mortality of everyone who visits and a hard edge to Wonka, just barely beneath the surface. I think Wilder would have made a good candidate to play The Joker.

 

[Clint_L]

Well, in the original film, we have a Wonka who is implicitly addressing the matter of his own mortality - he's seeking a replacement because he eventually won't be there. So of course there's a dark undertone.

But that's going to be largely inappropriate for a movie about Wonka starting out.

And the original book spends a lot more time with Charlie's family and particularly the four extremely old grandparents who share a bed in his hovel, so that you have this weird juxtaposition of childhood and decrepitude that is extended through the entire plot, which Charlie and his grandfather representing ends of the spectrum. Mortality is at the heart of that book.

This trailer looks bad and this film carries zero interest for me. Plus, after Johnny Depp's bizarro version of Willie Wonka I can't help but see all the implicit creepiness.

Edit: on the other hand, it is by the director of Paddington, and High Grant's Oompa Loompa made me chuckle...I presume that the story will fix the slavery subtext.

 

[Yora]

As long as it's nothing original, you can get a couple hundred million dollars for any movie.

 

[Ryujin]

Hmmm.... Maybe we skip right over Roald Dahl and jump straight to Edward Gorey? "The Ghashlycrumb Tinies" as a "Knives Out" film?

 

[Umbran]

But it's sublime when someone does ... something new.

Sturgeon's Law still applies. 90% of new things are still crap.