This prequel to the 1971 movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starts off where Willy Wonka (who’s a young man) travels to Europe via boat. He is excited to start his chocolate-making business–except that he isn’t prepared to open a shop.

He ends up staying with this unkind woman, Mrs. Scrubbitt, in her boardinghouse, along with her henchman, Bleacher. They provide for him a contract to sign. Their orphaned servant girl, Noodle, tells Willy Wonka to read the fine print. But Mrs. Scrubbitt stops him and makes him sign the agreement.

The next day, Willy Wonka discovers all the “money” he owes, which is the equivalent to several thousands of dollars. He can’t afford it. So, Mrs. Scrubbitt forces him into the underground launderette, where he is forced to do cleaning labor with five other people, including Noodle.

That night, Noodle comes into Willy’s room, where he talks about why he wanted to be a chocolatier. He offers Noodle a lifetime supply of chocolate, while she decides to teach him how to read.

Willy needs certain ingredients to make his chocolate, including milk from a giraffe. He convinces Noodle to sneak him out in a barrel of towels to gather his ingredients. Noodle resists at first, thinking that it’s a bad idea. But then she decides to help him.

Meanwhile, a chief of the police and a few men part of this group called, “the Chocolate Cartel,” plan to stop Willy from selling chocolate. They do everything they can to keep him from succeeding, even if they end up in disasters.

I’ll admit that the movie started out a little bit boring. But I pushed myself to keep watching it. It actually got better, and even funny and beautiful at times.

One of the biggest aspects that appeals to me is Willy’s relationship with Noodle. What I admire most about Noodle is that she is smart, sophisticated, and a no-nonsense person. She does not get emotional or act naive once.

Although I don’t mind female characters acting naive or emotional (I actually can relate to them at times), I strongly appreciated seeing a girl be the opposite. I think that this kind of character can please girls and women even more, because it shows that females can be stronger, smarter, and sophisticated. And for a child character, it pleases me even more.

There is a scene where Noodle and Willy bond a little bit. This occurs at the zoo after the two sneak in and milk a giraffe. Noodle discusses how she never got to know her mother. Willy cheers her up by brainstorming words that rhyme with her name. 

The two even dance a little bit at some point, which I found strange because Noodle is only a child. However, there is a reason why Noodle is a kid and not a young woman. See the film to find out.

A funny moment that stands out to me was when Willy and Noodle tricked Mrs. Scrubbitt into loving Bleecher by claiming that he was related to a royal. That was how they planned to sneak out.

A memorable twist was when Willy claimed that an orange man with green hair kept stealing his chocolate, which Noodle wouldn’t believe. But he turned out to be right.

He captured the man in a jar, which angered him. The man, who is an Oompa Loompa named Lofty, reveals that he takes the chocolate because Willy kept taking the cocoa beans from Loompaland years ago. And that disrespected him and the other Oompa Loompas. 

One thing I noticed was that Willy’s personality resembles more of Johnny Depp’s portrayal in the 2005 adaptation of this story, minus the creepy sense of humor. As far as I remember, Gene Wilder’s depiction of the character in the 1971 movie did not involve enthusiasm or even a lot of smiling. 

I’m guessing that the writers wanted to make him more likable and even naive, which is important to his character as part of the plot. As much as I enjoy a more joyful Willy Wonka, I can’t help but see it as an inconsistency. But I do favor a happier version of the character.

As a musical, the songs did draw me in, even at the beginning. When Lofty said that he’d sing a song to teach Willy a lesson about taking the cocoa beans from Loompaland, he said that it wouldn’t leave his head. It was the Oompa Loompa song that was sung in the 1971 film after each child at the chocolate factory (excluding Charlie) did something wrong–but with different lyrics, of course. More surprises occur throughout this movie, too.

Overall, even though the beginning bored me a bit, I liked Wonka. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.