Aspiring chocolatier, Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet), arrives in a European city to realise his dream of establishing his chocolate shop. Burning through his meagre savings, Wonka decides to stay at a boarding house run by Mrs Scrubitt (Olivia Colman). In doing so, Willy unfortunately neglects to read the fine print.

Gene Wilder gave a generation the definitive portrayal of Willy Wonka in his 1971 adaption of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel. In 2005, Johnny Depp committed to an awkward outsider inspired by Michael Jackson to a lesser extent. Here, Chalamet plays the lead role as a naïve hopeful, with nothing in his pocket but a hat full of ideas.

The creative team behind Paddington 2 do it again, forcing our likeable protagonist to the depths of Britain’s social class, with nothing but his hopeful heart and talent to inspire those around him to assist his rise back to the top. 

Chalamet kicks things off with a song and a gravity-defying dance. The world from Wonka’s idealistic perspective is laced with magical realism, showcasing the potential of his grand ideas on this city, his potential customers, and the world.

The colourful, comical and comedic forces against Wonka include parasitic exploiters, corrupt city officials and a mafia bent on maintaining the status quo at all costs. It is up to Wonka and his band of misfits to shake off their shackles and take on the giants of the chocolate industry!

Verdict: A feelgood holiday classic, with designs, acting and singing that invoke the whimsical feeling of Christmas. 4 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net