Rent Wonka (2023)

3.4 of 5 from 349 ratings
1h 51min
Rent Wonka (aka Willy Wonka) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
"Wonka" tells the wondrous story of how a young dreamer named Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) becomes the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate maker.
Actors:
, , , , , , , Matilda Tucker, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
Alexandra Derbyshire, David Heyman, Luke Kelly
Writers:
Roald Dahl, Paul King, Simon Farnaby
Aka:
Willy Wonka
Studio:
Warner
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Children & Family, Comedy, Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Collections:
10 Films to Watch if You Like: Elf, Films to Watch If You Like..., Top 10 Modern Musicals, What to Watch Next If You Liked Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
BBFC:
Release Date:
04/03/2024
Run Time:
111 minutes
Languages:
Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Flemish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Dutch, English, English Hard of Hearing, French
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
04/03/2024
Run Time:
116 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Danish Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Atmos, Finnish Dolby Digital 5.1, Norwegian Dolby Digital 5.1, Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Unwrapping Wonka: Paul King's Vision
  • The Whimsical Music of 'Wonka'
  • Welcome to Wonka Land
  • Hats Off to 'Wonka'
  • Wonka's Chocolatier
BBFC:
Release Date:
04/03/2024
Run Time:
116 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish Dolby Atmos, Danish Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Atmos, Finnish Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Atmos, Norwegian Dolby Digital 5.1, Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Italian Hard of Hearing, Norwegian, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Unwrapping Wonka: Paul King's Vision
  • The Whimsical Music of 'Wonka'
  • Welcome to Wonka Land
  • Hats Off to 'Wonka'
  • Wonka's Chocolatier

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Reviews (5) of Wonka

Great fun - Wonka review by MW

Spoiler Alert
23/03/2024

My wife and I thought Wonka was brilliant fun and we found it very funny. Watch out for all the UK comedians who make appearances.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

Leaves a bad taste in the mouth - Wonka review by LC

Spoiler Alert
28/06/2024

This is a disappointingly toothless and unnecessary origin story, which seems to have no reason to exist other than as an exercise in milking as much cash as possible out of an intellectual property. Willy Wonka himself has been stripped of any dark side (no terrifying boat-ride madness or glee at naughty children's comeuppance here), and the generic storyline shines little new light on his character. The story is set in France, but for some reason seems to be populated almost exclusively by either plummy-voiced upper-class English or cockneys. Olivia Colman does a solid comedy turn, and Hugh Grant makes a surprisingly good Oompa Loompa, but this is ultimately a pointless exercise that just trades off the goodwill of the original film.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

Cheerful Musical Origin Story - Wonka review by GI

Spoiler Alert
17/12/2023

This is a charming family fantasy musical with a hugely talented lead actor and I've no doubt children everywhere will be in raptures watching it. But it is all a little lacklustre and the dark edge of Roald Dahl's famous character is nowhere to be seen here. Timothée Chalet portrays him as a thoroughly likeable and naïve young adventurer who arrives in 19th century Paris with the ambition to open a chocolate shop using his late mother's recipes. The Willy Wonka from the book and even the Gene Wilder film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) has that scary side of the character that children are meant to fear. This film has the stereotypical cartoonish baddies (Olivia Colman and Tom Davis) who trap the young Willy in their sweatshop laundry at the behest of the nasty chocolate kings who dominate the market and don't want any cocky new competition. So Willy has to escape and expose all these baddies so he can finally realise his dreams. There's an orphan story running alongside the main plot and Chalet handles the average songs with aplomb. But it's Hugh Grant as the original Oompah Loompah who steals the show. There's a host of British talent here and Sally Hawkins cameos as Wonka's mother in a high production and pleasant enough film that is ok. Director Paul King hasn't really captured that magic he managed to bottle in Paddington (2014) and it's sequel.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

Critic review

Wonka (aka Willy Wonka) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

A prequel film about the story of Willy Wonka’s rise to power doesn’t sound like the most enticing of films. But if there’s anybody who could make this whimsical tale work, it’d be director Paul King. Having previously showcased a lavish wholesomeness with his Paddington films, King’s work has this air of feeling clever yet charming and sweet in a palatable manner for the family. He delivers that same level of magic with Wonka, even if it’s not as robust a tale as the Paddington movies (nothing can top Paddington 2).

Introduced in song and a brightly wondrous vision of a Dickens-style Europe, Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) is a young man with big dreams. Having traveled the world and researched the most magical of chocolates, he’s ready to show his inventions and candy. The problem is that he’s not given the warmest welcome. His first day finds him spending nearly all his money and falling into the trap of a hotel managed by the swindling duo of Bleacher (Tom Davis) and Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman). No matter. Wonka figures he’ll sell enough chocolate to escape their financial clutches. That dream turns out to be tough when the entire town is under the control of the chocolate boss, Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph). With little to no funds and a grand conspiracy against his magical candies, the blossoming businessman will have to cleverly maneuver his way to success, perhaps with the aid of the chipper orphan Noodle (Calah Lane).

This type of film mostly works because Paul King does his own thing with the Willy Wonka story. Even though he clearly evokes the same styles as the 1971 film, there’s rarely a moment where it feels like this is a pale prequel. In truth, it feels closer in that wholesome tone to the Paddington films, where good-natured people seem to make the world brighter and always succeed over the cackling villains. That sense of wonder comes through beautifully with the imaginative depiction of this European city and some songs to match. The good news is that songs don’t feel like retreads of past iterations. The bad news is that they probably won’t be anywhere near as memorable with their good-but-not-great lyrics.

The entire cast also feels like they work in their own right rather than attempting to line up with the Willy Wonka story. I particularly dug how Slugworth was more a vicious, corrupt official than a quietly conspiring villain. Chalamet also does a solid job portraying Wonka with more inspiration and chipperness than a knowing cynicism for the world. The only part of the film that doesn’t seem to work as well as it should is the late addition of Hugh Grant as a CGI-created Oompa Loompa by the name of Lofty. His addition is strange, as the film is doing just fine without his dry and wry commentary being tossed on top. At least Grant does have some charm, even if he’s coated in orange and shrunk down for this role.

The visual splendor of Wonka is enough to warrant this latest retread of the Roald Dahl classic novel. The performances are smile-worthy all around, and the production design is a colorful dose of allure that matches the sweet tone of the entire story. It’s no substitute for Mel Stuart’s unforgettable musical of 1971 or Tim Burton’s genuine weirdness of the 2005 adaptation. But it works well enough with the material to be as tasty as the candy, sugary enough to forget the empty calories.

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