The classic story of the charming chocolatier is unwrapped to capture the man behind the mischief in “Wonka.” But did it reveal a golden ticket?

On Dec. 15, 2023, “Wonka,” directed by Paul King, hit the big screen just in time for the holidays. A prequel to Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the film pleasantly surprised me by maintaining the same childhood wonder as the book, but might have overwhelmed my senses with saccharin.

The movie follows Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) on his entrepreneurial journey to open the world’s best chocolate shop while being targeted by the “chocolate cartel.” Along the way, he meets a crew of imprisoned laundry workers, including a young orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane). Together, they face a corrupt police force who are paid off in chocolates and the maniacal Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman).

The movie begins with Chalamet breaking out into song aboard a ship sailing toward his destiny, immediately setting the musical tone for the rest of the film. Usually, I am not the biggest fan of musical numbers intertwined with dialogue, but King makes them effortlessly entertaining. The songs like “A World of Your Own” were catchy and the choreography was mesmerizing to watch.

One of the most important parts of Willy Wonka’s lore is undoubtedly his famous chocolates. I was pleased to see that every ounce of creativity was put into making these fictional sweets. From “hoverchocks” that make the enjoyer float to chocolates made of liquid sunlight and the bittersweet tears of a Russian clown, I was not disappointed.

Chalamet restores Willy Wonka to his originally intended charming self through his alert, eccentric expressions and strange but endearing rhyming habits. He perfects the mischievous sweetness akin to Gene Wilder’s 1971 Willy Wonka, and it is no wonder he was nominated for a golden globe for this performance.

However, the writing for Willy Wonka’s character was definitely lacking. Willy Wonka stays the hero throughout the film and remains uncomplicated and underdeveloped. Though it is somewhat forgivable because this is meant to be a kids movie, I would have liked to see more depth beyond his boyish naivety.

Though the primary intended audience is children, the humorous moments are timeless and definitely one of my favorite aspects of the film. The “Chocoholic Monks” and their underground chocolate dealing was endlessly funny. King knew exactly how to make jokes that children would laugh at without understanding the double entendre directed at adults. One of my favorite scenes involves a chocolate that emulates “a night out,” causing a zookeeper to go through five stages of drunkenness until ultimately calling his ex-crush before passing out.

My main issue is that everything ended in perfectly tied up bows and every ‘good’ character like Noodle gets exactly what they dreamed of, and all of the villains get their well-deserved bitter end. The middle chunk of the movie is full of wild chocolate-chasing-maniacs, Oompa Loompa thievery and many turns of events. I found it disappointing that despite all the plot twists, everyone ends up where we expect them to.

This movie was full of lighthearted songs and magical twists, leaving me perfectly content. It was simple and rife with obvious ‘bad guys’ and ‘good guys,’ but served its purpose for a happy holiday movie. I think my eight-year-old self would’ve loved this if she’d seen it.

Overall, I would recommend this to someone looking for a warm, gooey, cookie-cutter kids movie. But it wasn’t necessarily the greatest movie of all time.