Willy Wonka Prequel From Warner Bros. In The Works

[AndrewCrossett]

Strike that; reverse it!

HA!

Wilder is the only Wonka for me. (Sounds like a song title.)

I tend to like Depp when he's originating a new character, much more than when he's interpreting an existing one.

[mr_crisp]

Good. This will finally satisfy my desire to see Willy Wonka exploiting the Oompa Loompas.

[electr1cgoblin]

As with almost all remakes, prequels, what have you . . . no interest whatsoever.

[Totoro Man]

Very little was any closer to Dahl's novel than the original. Including the squirrels was about it, aside from Charlie's father working in a toothpaste factory. Dahl wrote nothing about Wonka having father issues. The Wolper-produced film had charm, great music, and real suspense and thrills. This was a mess. It pretty much presaged the abomination that is Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

well, Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Lee were pretty good there... but otherwise, the Burton "Alice" film was a painful mess. I hated every second of Johnny Depp's performance in that film... so when it turned out he would have an even bigger role in the sequel I decided to skip it altogether. Depp, like Robin Williams before him, is descending into a sort of self-parody that is painful for me to watch. (they both did really interesting stuff over the course of their respective careers... but they've both done a lot of truly awful stuff as well)

[codystarbuck]

well, Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Lee were pretty good there... but otherwise, the Burton "Alice" film was a painful mess. I hated every second of Johnny Depp's performance in that film... so when it turned out he would have an even bigger role in the sequel I decided to skip it altogether. Depp, like Robin Williams before him, is descending into a sort of self-parody that is painful for me to watch. (they both did really interesting stuff over the course of their respective careers... but they've both done a lot of truly awful stuff as well)

Depp has fallen into the trap a lot of actors do, in playing the same thing, again and again. For Depp, it's weird characters who are played over the top. Like Robin Williams, he has had a troubled career and has dabbled in substances; plus, his rather messy divorce suggests that he has a lot of demons. Quite frankly, I never found him to be a deep actor (if you'll pardon a pun); but, he can be an interesting one, when motivated. However, both he and Burton seem to delight in weirdness for the sake of it, like it's some artistic statement, rather than just focusing on surface gloss, instead of getting to the heart of a character or story. Bother were better at it early on; but, have since settled into a signature that will earn them a certain income, no matter what. That is a formula for diminishing returns; but, it is a common one in creative fields. look at how many authors wrote their best work early on, then churn out the same kind of material over the bulk of their career. Actors and directors aren't much different. When you are young, you are hungrier and willing to take chances, with little to lose. When you are older, you play it safe, with everything to lose.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

[AndrewCrossett]

The Wilder version was definitive IMO.

This is the Wonkaverse answer to Oz the Great and Powerful. Might be a cute way to kill an evening, then will be forgotten.

[Scott Taylor]

This looks really good to me. Its definitely set in the Wilderverse rather than the Burtonverse, which is enough to get me to go see it no matter what. I'm always, 100 percent of the time, up for seeing oompa loompas with orange skin and green coifed hair, in tiny soldier suits.

[Frontier]

I feel like they're trying their best here, but it feels like it's a little too..try hard?

Chalamet also feels like a miscast.

But Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa though !

[williamtheday]

The kids were killed in the first version; what more did Dahl want?

[thwhtGuardian]

I never really wanted to see a Willy Wonka origin story but that trailer looks pretty good and I loved the Paddington movies.

[Zauriel]

Wonka performed better at the box office than I thought. Wonka already reached the global box office $250 million milestone a couple days ago. The global box office earnings are currently over $272 million. I haven't seen it yet but it must be a very good film.

[Wildling]

For a movie dealing with human trafficking, child abuse, Gotham-style corruption, church corruption, and police brutality, this movie was great fun for the whole family. I'm not a Dahl expert, but maybe that makes it a worthy enough original prequel to one of his books/movies.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

For a movie dealing with human trafficking, child abuse, Gotham-style corruption, church corruption, and police brutality, this movie was great fun for the whole family. I'm not a Dahl expert, but maybe that makes it a worthy enough original prequel to one of his books/movies.

*pearl-clutch and a gasp* Messages?

[Ramsay Snow]

The Wilder version was definitive IMO.

This is the Wonkaverse answer to Oz the Great and Powerful. Might be a cute way to kill an evening, then will be forgotten.

I had the same impression when I first heard about this prequel, and also when I saw the trailers (similarities to that Oz prequel, and perhaps all those Disney villain origin movies where they try to humanize the villains)....But Wonka was actually pretty good, I saw it opening weekend. I enjoyed it more than Aquaman 2. It's not as good as the original Wilder film, but it's leagues better than the abysmal Burton remake.

well, Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Lee were pretty good there... but otherwise, the Burton "Alice" film was a painful mess. I hated every second of Johnny Depp's performance in that film... so when it turned out he would have an even bigger role in the sequel I decided to skip it altogether. Depp, like Robin Williams before him, is descending into a sort of self-parody that is painful for me to watch. (they both did really interesting stuff over the course of their respective careers... but they've both done a lot of truly awful stuff as well)

I thought Crispin Glover was great in Burton's Alice film, he was almost unrecognizable both in appearance and his acting.