The cast of Wonka (2023) on the upcoming film
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Dec 2023 Film & TV
6 min read
Wonka is set to be one of the biggest films of the year when it is released in December. We sat down with the cast to ask them all about the blockbuster musical
Willy Wonka is a character on par with Harry Potter and James Bond, when it comes to iconic British literary characters. His optimism and eccentricity is infectious, and it's this joie de vivre that Paul King, the director and screen and story writer for Wonka, so successfully captures in his origin story for the chocolate maker. The film's tagline "every good thing in this world started with a dream" encapsulates that perfectly; it's a movie about dreams and making them a reality.
Wonka will be released, in the UK, on December 8 2024 but Reader's Digest were lucky enough to attend the virtual press conference, to listen to the cast reflect on the film, the character of Wonka and working together.
In attendance were screen legends like Timothée Chalamet (who plays the titular "Willy Wonka"), Hugh Grant (an "Oompa Loompa") and Olivia Coleman (who plays the villainous "Mrs Scrubitt"). They were joined by the equally iconic Paul King, Calah Lane (who played "Noodle"), Keegan-Michael Key (who played the "Chief of Police") and Simon Farnaby (one of the screen writers who also played "Basil, Zoo Security Guard").
Paul King on the essence of Willy Wonka
King: The essence of Willy Wonka is that he is a great optimist. Our story is set 25 years before the events of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so Wonka is a young man in our story. He hopes for great things and doesn't take "no" for an answer, so he sets out to change things.
Timothée Chalamet on being enamoured with King's work in film
Chalamet: I was enamoured with Paul (King)'s work, since I love both Paddington films. Within five pages of reading the script I saw how clever Paul's take was on how Wonka became the man we know.
Simon Farnaby working on script with King
Farnaby: We're great together, Paul's good at typing and I'm good at talking...but seriously, we do make each other laugh a lot. That's so important. We have a similar sense of what strikes emotions and how to move people. I'm not sure if enough is being said about the loneliness of security guards is being said though!
Calah Lane on filming the scene in the chocolate tank
Lane: That was so fun to film. The first time we filmed it was with lotion and we were sitting down in a tank, but the second was with chocolate. I still love chocolate, despite that scene!
Olivia Coleman on playing the villainous Mrs Scrubbit
Olivia Coleman plays the bad Mrs Scrubbit in Wonka. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Coleman: It's really fun playing a baddie. I knew I'd have fun on the job, since I love the Paddingtons and Paul's work. I'm a big fan of Timmy's (Chalamet) too, so I thought it would be a really fun thing to do.
Paul: And yet...
"I knew I'd have fun on the job, since I love both Paddington films and the rest of Paul's work"
Coleman: And yet awful! Just joking... Paul is very collaborative, so we would mess around and shout things, thinking they would never make it into the film. And yet they did!
Paul: Olivia (Coleman) is just brilliant. We kept writing more and more for her every day.
Hugh Grant on the motion capture
Grant: Miserable! You wear a crown of thorns and you're got 16 cameras on you. I did my best and then I had to do it again! (Laughs) I couldn't tell whether I was acting with just my face or my body, but I think everything from the neck down was replaced by an animator.
Keegan-Michael Key on his character's love of chocolate
Keegan-Michael Key as the Chief of Police (seated) in Wonka. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Key: We had a chocolatier make all of the chocolate in the film, which was beautiful. I think I ate as much chocolate as my character on set. Take after take, I'd eat chocolate and ask "are you sure we have enough? Maybe we should do one more"
Chalamet on his favourite message in the film
Chalamet: I think "every good thing in this world started with a dream" and also the message of the song "Pure Imagination." I love Willy's optimistic attitude and his refusal to give up on his dreams. I never would have thought I would get to play this character with such an iconic British cast.
"The film felt like a great Union Jack of a movie"
Chris Gattelli was amazing, in teaching me the choreography. Everyone working on the film is at the top of their craft.
The film felt like a great Union Jack of a movie. An incredibly talented British team.
King and Farnaby on adapting Wonka for the screen
King: It's a double edge sword in a way, because it is daunting to tread in the footsteps of someone like Roald Dahl. We felt that we could stand on his shoulders though and that we had so much to play with.
Grant on playing the iconic "Oompa Loompa"
Chalamet (Willy Wonka) and Grant (Oompa Loompa) in Wonka. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Grant: I will say it is fun messing around and trying new lines. Singing and dancing should be fun, but, like I said, I can't tell where I end and the animation begins. My father, at the premiere of Paddington, said "is that a real bear?" It's confusing with CGI now, it's so good.
Coleman: So much of it was practical effects too, though.
Key: The town square that you see is absolutely real. You can touch everything, it's tactile.
The cast on taking parts of the set home
Chalamet confesses to having taken home the iconic Willy Wonka jacket. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Coleman: The fabric behind me, in the laundry, was this amazing rough linen, so I took it and made some curtains out of it.
Lane: I took my headband.
Chalamet: I took something but I don't know if anyone knows...
Coleman: Is it the hat?
Chalamet: It's bigger than that...
King: Was it the coat?
Chalamet: It may have been the coat...
King on what he wants viewers to take away with them
King: It's a film about family, best enjoyed with the family. It's about families we make along the way. Wonka makes many friends along the way.
Key on what makes the music of Wonka special
Key: The music has more heart and it's sweet. It's hard to explain, but it's all in those two words. It just strikes you.
King: The challenge for Neil (Hannon) was with that "Pure Imagination" and the "Oompa Loompa Song" are such classics, so creating something that could stand with those must have been daunting. He more than rose to the occasion, he knocked it out of the park.
Chalamet on Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and finding his own version of the character
Chalamet: We wanted to make something that was the companion piece to the Gene Wilder film. People are rightfully skeptical, but the script is so amazing. The beautiful thing about film is that I got to throw a lot at the smorgasboard and try a lot of things.
"Timothée is very aware of how he comes across on screen, which is great for a character like Wonka"
King: Timothee's such a controlled performer. He can see so many things in his performances. He's very aware of how he can come across on screen, which is great when you have a character like Wonka who is so eccentric.
Chalamet: A lot of it was learning to let go. These films are so generous.
King on the film's influences
King: It's strange to set something in the "storybook world". It's in the 1940s, we think, but it's also Dickensian. It was all about getting the balance between the realistic, contemporary elements with the more whimsical ones.
The cast on their favourite chocolate
A delicious Wonka chocolate bar from Wonka Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
King: I'm a big salted caramel fan
Coleman: I like dark chocolate with sea salt.
Lane: I do like the fruit ones
King: I don't trust fruit in a chocolate
Grant: I like cheap rubbish. I can't stand it when people give me expensive chocolates.
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Wonka is in cinemas from December 8
Banner credit: Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka in Wonka (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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