"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a masterpiece. Gene Wilder is an incredible Wonka and makes that movie what it is. The remake with Johnny Depp in the role was complete garbage. Now we have "Wonka," a prequel of sorts that explores Wonka before he became the most famous candymaker in the world.

Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) finds his dream of opening up a chocolate shop stymied by a cartel of candy makers.

Chalamet's version of Wonka is nowhere near the jaded man that Wilder played in 1971. All Wonka wants to do is fulfill his dream of opening a chocolate shop. He has these whimsical, fun ideas and wants everyone to experience his confections. He has gotten through life by relying on strangers' kindness, which becomes his Achille's heel. He gets tricked into signing a contract while looking for a place to stay, which leaves him indebted to Mrs. Scrubitt (the scenery-chewing Olivia Coleman).

Slight tangent here, but it's leading somewhere, so stay with me. Hollywood is afraid to market musicals as musicals. Look no further than the trailers for the new "Mean Girls." It will be an adaptation of the musical, but there are no songs from the musical in the trailer. That brings us to "Wonka." This is a musical, but I did not even know it was when I went to see it. The trailers hid all of that. The songs are decent, nothing earthshakingly great. The important thing is that they added to the magic and whimsy of the world they built.

My expectations for this were low. The Gene Wilder version is a seminal movie in my movie-going life and is one of many reasons why the Depp version is terrible. I was pleasantly surprised by this version. It was a lot of fun, and I think Chalamet did a good job showing a younger, more idealistic Wonka.

7/10

Rated PG for some violence, mild language, and thematic elements

1hr 56min