The other week I went to see “Wonka” starring Timothée Chalamet. I won’t dive into the plot of the film but my takeaway did leave me with one question in mind. Who is the “Wonka” film’s target audience? At the time, I left the theater with my socks not blown off, but entertained and amused. Paul King’s “Wonka” is the cute if not a bit overblown origin story of Willy Wonka before he became the famous chocolatier. It is an adventure tale, complete with a heist involving a telephone operator, an accountant and an orphan.
As I laid my head on my pillow that night, I thought to myself, “There are some parents who are getting a kick out of explaining to their kids what a telephone operator is.” I also realized that parents with young kids are possibly in their early-mid 30s. This means they probably would also have minimal experience engaging with telephone operators themselves seeing as telephone operators became obsolete by the early 1980s. They grew up with their parents showing them the 1971 “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and would probably feel compelled to “Discover how Willy became Wonka” as the tagline reads. However, I believe they would be disappointed when it came to the actual story and execution. So, while the 30-40 year-old parents are probably the ones that would be taking their young kids to this kind of movie; I don’t believe the millennials are the target audience because it isn’t that right kind of movie for them.
But, the parents with teenage children are not going to see this movie either. As much as they might have loved the Gene Wilder Wonka of the 1970s or were amused by Johnny Depp’s rendition in 2005, there are definitely some parents out there that are not dragging their angsty teen to see Chalamet help the world discover their sweet tooth. Nor, is it really drawing on enough of the original movies to be nostalgic enough to award their attention. It’s a prequel, so we get to the truth behind why the Oompa Loompas work in the chocolate factory. However, the wonkiness of Wonkas of the past seems to be missing from Chalamet’s performance. He plays goofy, but not goofy enough to stand up against Wilder’s prowess or Depp’s chameleon abilities. I think Gen X and Baby Boomers would see the trailers and know that nothing could beat those performances. So, again they are not the market age for this movie.
There are lovable and notable actors in this movie that might attract some buzz. Other than Timmy at the helm, Olivia Colman plays the grumpy and hateable Mrs. Scrubbit. Her performance is enjoyable, and her singing is lovely. Hugh Grant appears to be having a great time as Lofty the Oompa Loompa. Some other big British names include Sally Hawkins and Rowan Atkinson, but these aren’t marketable movie stars in the vein of Chalamet or Colman. Sure, they are wonderful additions who did a fabulous job, but they aren’t the sole reason you are going to see this movie.
Not to say the target audience can’t just be the kids. However, Paul King, the writer and director of “Wonka,” was also the mastermind behind “Paddington” and “Paddington 2.” are arguably more loved by the older audience than the average child viewer. The same sentiment is behind Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise with the final installments making a more serious impact on the parent watching than the child. So, it’s hard to believe that King was crafting this movie with just the kids in mind as the target audience. And yet the film is performing well at the box office.
Maybe it was just the Christmas and winter break that brought people to the theater for “Wonka.” Maybe it was the appeal of Chalamet singing his own songs for this film. Regardless, it reached $500 million in the box office, an impressive feat for any movie, let alone a musical. “The Color Purple,” another remake released during the winter break, did not receive the same love. And the jury is still out on the newest “Mean Girls” musical from Tina Fey (but I would guess not well). So, it leaves me looking at “Wonka” with confusion and slight awe because it has found a way to be successful in the midst of all these remakes.
Critically, it’s doing fine, Roger Ebert calls it “amiable enough.” With an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.4 rating on Letterboxd, the people are still slightly more than lukewarm to the film. Though, viewers still appear to be more than lukewarm towards the film, which may be because it lacked a central audience. The parents were only going to see it to bring the kids along. The college kids/ teenagers were going maybe for Timmy, maybe because they didn’t want to see “The Color Purple” over the holidays. Whatever the reason, the people are going to see “Wonka,” proving that remakes can still bring in a crowd and the money. Maybe all it takes is a name like Timothee Chalamet to make it work. If you do choose to go see this movie or you’ve seen it already, ask yourself “Who was this for?” Because personally, I’m still stumped.
