Wonka really is a musical!

Despite the studio's best efforts to keep it a secret, it turns out that the new Wonka, which opened this weekend at No. 1, really is a musical with a delightful, very proper musical theater- sounding score. In addition to  the Bricusse/Newley "Pure Imagination" and "Oompa Loompa Song" from the '71 Gene Wilder film, there are a dozen or so terrific new songs by Neil Hannon (the front man for the seriously wonderful Irish pop group The Divine Comedy), which are not only very entertainment but also move the plot along as they should. In a better world, "A World of Your Own" would become a major pop hit. The movie kind of feels like a warm and witty blend of Oliver!, Mary Poppins, Doctor Doolittle (in a good way) and the first season of  Schmigadoon, with an adorable central performance by Timothée Chalamet  as Wonka and delicious musical comedy turns by Olivia Colman, Keegan Michael-Key, Rowan Atkinson, and Hugh Grant. The scene design is fantastical and the choreography very Oona White.  I hope it continues to do well into the new year. 

 

Updated On: 12/18/23 at 06:51 PM

I spent the whole movie, just wondering when the announcement for the stage version was coming. 

This has to be better than last year’s “Spirited,” right? A lot of the music was pleasant, but the plot set a pretty low bar for other movie musicals to clear.

 

Updated On: 12/17/23 at 10:17 PM

As reported by Anthony D'Alessandro in his Box Office Updates at Deadline.com:

Friday: Warner Bros’ ''Wonka'' is looking at a $12 million-$13 million Friday, including those $3.5M previews from last night, on its way to a $35M+ start at the domestic box office at 4,203 locations. That’s a respectable opening for this time of year when moviegoers are still sidelined by holiday activities, and it’s a solid start for a feature musical, currently ahead of the three-day total of 2008’s ''Mamma Mia!'' ($27.7M) and ''Hairspray'' ($27.8M).

In fact, after such musical missteps as ''In the Heights'' ($11.5M), ''West Side Story'' ($10.5M) and ''Dear Evan Hansen'' ($7.4M), ''Wonka'' is a definite comeback for feature musicals.

Saturday: ''Wonka'' is doing what it’s supposed to do this weekend for a mid-December, pre-Christmas family title: It has posted an A- CinemaScore on its way to an improved $37M-$38M, after a higher than expected previews/Friday of $14.4M. Some industry estimates have ''Wonka'' reaching a $40M opening. Dive deep into ''Wonka'' demos and you find that many are sweet on the film. Female ticket buyers under the age of 18 (11% of the audience) gave it an A+ and those under 25 (36%) gave it an A. ...

Again — a great result for a musical after the genre’s post-Covid funk, and the studio intentionally didn’t sell ''Wonka'' as such in trailers. Why? Apparently, test-audience focus groups generally hate musicals and the only way to get people into the theater with one is to trick ’em. If they get in the door and wind up enjoying themselves, then business is solid for a studio on a musical.

Updated On: 12/18/23 at 02:24 AM

Well, they fooled me. I had no idea it was a musical. My wife still doesn’t really want to see it. 

This whole ‘bait and switch’ strategy feels weird. I know they’re doing it for Mean Girls too. If I really hated movie musicals, or just wasn’t in the mood for one, I would be rather irritated if I suddenly found myself watching a musical.

I guess the strange part is this: If people hate movie musicals so much, why are film studios making them anyway and then going to elaborate lengths to trick people? 

I was wondering why Wonka even existed, other than what looked like an origin story. Now I know. The original film has a few famous songs, so perhaps this is a unique case where filmgoers won’t be irritated.

Impeach2017 said: "Shhh... ixnay on the usicalmay. Whatever they're doing is working!"

 How have so many of you escaped all the articles about the hiding of the movie musical (Wonka, Mean Girls AND The Color Purple) (and a bajillion posts on other sites.

 

One of the aforementioned articles.

With movie musicals slumping, Hollywood has resorted to disguising song-and-dance films—from ‘Mean Girls’ to ‘Wonka’—with deceptively song-free trailers

https://www.theringer.com/2023/12/15/24003017/hollywood-hiding-musicals-wonka-the-color-purple-mean-girls-trailers

I remember being so shocked at the opening of La La Land. I knew there were dance sequences, but did not expect an actual musical at all. I was pleasantly surprised.

MrsSallyAdams said: "The Wonkasoundtrack makes the film sound gloomy. Several sad and wistful ballads, some mean villain songs and one peppy song about chocolate. Critics say it's cheerful though so my impression must be mistaken."

Like most good children's stories it does have its darkish and slightly scary elements, but the supporting characters provide a lot of laughs, and ultimately the movie ends up being cheery and heartwarming. I wanted to hug it when it was over. 

It was…ok. But it really suffers from poor lyric writing and hum drum music, which should be the elements that make a musical sing. Glad to embrace something new and always happy for a new musical but this just doesn’t rise above so-so 

Personally, I loved it. I was smiling for the entire movie. This is the HIT show that needs to go into the Broadway with a director that can do spectacle.

'' IMO, Wilder's *completely* en-pointe performance has never been eclipsed. He captured Rhold Dahl's dark yet compassionate style to a T.''

Just for the record, Roald Dahl disowned the 1971 movie of ''Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.'' He was ''infuriated'' with the plot deviations, and called the music ''saccharine, sappy and sentimental.'' Dahl also thought Gene Wilder lacked the edge to play Wonka, and thought Spike Milligan, an Irish comedian, writer and actor, should've played him.

As a result, Dahl refused any more versions to be made of ''Willy Wonka'' during his lifetime, as well as an adaptation of its sequel, ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.''

Updated On: 12/21/23 at 10:59 PM

Robbie2 said: "Timothee C eh...... he'snot that great in this so come on people what's all the buzz cuz he's dating Kylie Jenner????"

I mean, Chalamet is one of the youngest Best Actor nominees for the Academy Award, has consistently been working with some of the buzziest filmmakers nearly his whole career and has already headlined a blockbuster franchise with Dune. He's not just famous for dating a Jenner. 

I thought the movie was pretty charming. Chalamet is fine in it, more successful when he leans into sincerity than quirkiness (quirky isn't really his thing), but the real stars are the characters actors that fill out the rest of the cast. Colman, especially, is really fun. Paul King has a way over wrapping up sentimentality and whimsy in the least cloying way possible; his movies feel like a warm hug. 

Hiding singing in musical trailers is no new trend, I remember the groans and exclamations of surprise at the beginning of Sweeney Todd back in 2007.