And the Best Part of the Wonka Trailer Is…

“Again?” I groaned when I saw the email from Gofobo inviting me to watch the official Wonka trailer. “Do we really need another remake?”

No disrespect to Johnny Depp. As far as character actors go, he’s a legend. Plus, he gravitates towards unusual characters, so it wasn’t surprising that he chose to play Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the 2005 remake of the beloved 1971 hit Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

Depp definitely put his own twisted spin on the part, but Gene Wilder set the benchmark. Wilder embued Wonka with just the right combo of weird and whimsy splashed with a touch of creepy. These days it would raise “Stranger Danger” red flags for sure, but probably wouldn’t trigger action.

Depp, on the other hand, dove head-first into the deep end of the crazy pool. Forget the red flags. It was more like, “Call 9-1-1 STAT!”

His Wonka came off as an escapee from an insane asylum that served the inmates way too much sugar. He was too creepy, annoying, and strained. Overall, it felt more like he was trying too hard and like his heart really wasn’t in it.

It’s taken nearly 20 years before someone (in this case, Warner Bros.) decided the world needed another Chocolate Factory movie. But whoever took on the role of Wonka had a hard task ahead of him, with both big shoes to fill and a fine line to walk. (Even tougher is trying to walk a fine line while wearing big shoes!)

That’s partly why I put off watching the Wonka trailer…for all of exactly 17 hours before FOMO got the best of me. In my heart, no Wonka can compare to Wilder. So the trailer had a tough sell ahead of it.

The first few seconds, I was “meh” about it…then the magic took hold.

“Holy cow, it’s an origin story, and the take on it looks brilliant!” my inner child squealed.

Even before I got to the end, I decided I’d pay theater bucks to see it. It’s now the first title on my list of movies I want to see this holiday season.

But the trailer definitely saved the best for last. And it has to do with an Oompa Loompa. We’ll get there after we unpack the movie’s synopsis and titular character.

Wonka Synopsis

Here’s the synopsis from Warner Bros.:

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.

The Next Wonka

Timothée Chalamet (Dune) is taking on the task of bringing a young Wonka to life. Judging solely by the trailer alone, he nails it too.

But here’s how Warner Bros. describes his character and his part in the movie:

“…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.”

The Oompa Loompa Surprise

I wasn’t even wondering if there’d be Oompa Loompas in Wonka, or how they’d work them in, until the end when one popped up. And I immediately did a double-take.

“Is that Hugh Grant?” I asked myself. Just as I was about to rewind, he spoke. That unmistakable voice confirmed my eyes were not deceiving me. It most definitely was Hugh Grant!

Didn’t see that one coming! But how fun to see this actor known for rom-coms to be enjoying a sort of career comeback. First, as a villainous evil king in the Dungeons & Dragons movie (which was also a fun surprise), and now as an Oompa Loompa.

But wait, it gets better! He sang the song!

Come on. Stop now. I can’t barely contain myself! If YouTube breaks, it’s because I’m wearing it out replaying the Wonka trailer to enjoy the feels and laughs again and again and again.

Wonka Trailer

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What are your thoughts about the Wonka trailer?