Movie musicals are a tried and true genre in the film world, with a number of musicals winning Best Picture at the Oscars. There have a been a number of recent additions to the genre lately, including the wildly successful Mean Girls, as well as Timothée Chalamet's Wonka. I finally saw the latter movie, and I have some issues with the new musical numbers.
Wonka's reviews have were rather positive upon its release, with critics praising the performance of Chalamet, a well as the magical visuals of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel. I enjoyed watching the movie (which can be streamed with a Max subscription starting March 8th), but I thought that the new songs by and large failed the project, even if some fans think Wonka is the best version of the Roald Dahl story. Let's break it all down.
Chalamet grew up doing musicals and has a lovely singing voice that was on display. But apart from the opening number, I felt the lackluster songs failed to highlight his talents. And some of the tracks given to the rest of the cast were downright rotten.
For instance, let's take the song "Never Had Chocolate Like This." While the Dune star sings and dances, the melody leave something to be desired. Hearing him use three syllables to sing "chocolate" drove me nuts. You can re-watch a clip of that song below:
Aside from what Chalamet got to sing, some of the other songs in Wonka were less than stellar, especially when compared to the beloved music from the original film. The "Scrub Scrub" song was painful to get through, despite having some great talent singing it.
The issue with Wonka's new songs are all the more obvious towards the end of the film. As Willy's quest to open a sweet shop plays out, eventually Timothée Chalamet gets to sing his own version of "Pure Imagination." This is the only track from the original film that's used, and it's a moving moment from the film's 116-minute runtime. But upon hearing that beloved track belted out by the film's star, it's doubly obvious that the newer songs just can't be compared to the OGs. You can re-watch that scene below:
I mean, how can you even compare the two? Even the music in Johnny Depp's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had a few bangers in there, albeit not being a full musical. And as much as Wonka was a fun ride, I think it could have been even more enjoyable with better music. Where Greatest Showman writers Pasek and Paul not available for this one?
Wonka is available on Max officially beginning March 8th. Be sure to check out the 2024 movie release dates.
