The review embargo for Paddington director Paul King's Wonka lifted last night, and with 63 verdicts counted, an early Rotten Tomatoes score for the family-friendly prequel has been revealed.
Currently, Wonka sits at an impressive 81% on the popular review aggregator.
The majority of critics seem to have been won over by King's whimsical origin story for the eccentric chocolatier, with many praising the set design, songs, and joyfully light-hearted tone. Timothée Chalamet's lead performance was also singled out, although some felt the Dune star's attempts to recapture the personalty traits of Gene Wilder's most famous interpretation of the character didn't quite work.
The consensus seems to be, if you liked the Paddington movies, you should have a good time with Wonka - but don't expect it to live up to the 1971 classic.
In related news, Hugh Grant, who plays the Oompa Loompa in the movie, didn't seem to have the best experience while shooting his motion capture scenes as the diminutive songster.
When asked to describe the process during an interview with Metro, Grant called it "drivel," adding that, "It was like a crown of thorns, very uncomfortable. I made a big fuss about it. I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more."
Grant went on to note that he was unsure throughout whether he was supposed to "act with my body or not, and I never received a satisfactory answer. And frankly, what I did with my body was terrible, and it’s all been replaced with an animator."
Asked if it was all worth it when he saw the film, he shrugged, "not really."
Grant has made a habit out of this sort of curmudgeonly behaviour during press tours, so we wouldn't take his comments too seriously!
Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s most iconic children’s book and one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, Wonka tells the wondrous story of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.
From Paul King, writer/director of the Paddington films, David Heyman, producer of Harry Potter, Gravity, Fantastic Beasts and Paddington, and producers Alexandra Derbyshire (the Paddington films, Jurassic World: Dominion) and Luke Kelly (Roald Dahl’s The Witches), comes an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor.
Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time—proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.