Hugh Grant learned some years ago that if a filmmaker doesn鈥檛 make something from the heart, it shows. The that work best, and are most loved, he's found, are the ones that the directors really meant.
It applied to his romantic comedies with Richard Curtis as well as 鈥淧addington 2.鈥� And he鈥檚 pretty sure it鈥檚 true of 鈥� The lavish big screen musical about a young Willy Wonka 鈥� before Charlie, before the chocolate factory 鈥� is dancing into theaters this month with its heart on its velvet sleeve.
Like the 鈥淧addington鈥� movies, 鈥淲onka鈥� was dreamt up by Paul King, a lifetime Roald Dahl fan and a writer and director whom his collaborators somewhat universally agree may actually be Paddington in a human costume. With a beloved troupe of actors, including Grant, Timoth茅e Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins as well as newcomer Calah Lane, its vibrant costumes and sets and a contagious 鈥渓et鈥檚 put on a show鈥� energy, 鈥淲onka鈥� feels like a modern homage to classic MGM productions of the 1940s.
But King wasn鈥檛 so sure about 鈥淲onka鈥� at first. He worried that like so many other 鈥渂rands,鈥� a young Willy Wonka movie was something devised in a boardroom with visions of 鈥�12,000 movies and a TV show.鈥�
Then he went back to the book, which he鈥檇 read so many times as a child that the pages fell out of the spine. This time he found not just a great character in Willy Wonka, an unapologetically flamboyant dreamer whom Dahl also seemed a bit obsessed with, but also a breakthrough about his work.
鈥淚 realized how informative Dahl had been to everything that I love about family movies. They鈥檝e got these great heightened characters, but there鈥檚 a real beating heart to them,鈥� King said. 鈥淚t was like, oh this is the mothership.鈥�
And, with his 鈥淧addington 2鈥� co-writer Simon Farnaby (of fame), he would spend years toiling over what they鈥檙e calling a companion piece to the Gene Wilder 鈥淐harlie and the Chocolate Factory.鈥�
Chalamet, the wildly popular Oscar-nominated actor of and 鈥淒une,鈥� wasn鈥檛 technically a song and dance man (though his digital footprint from his teen years contains some evidence to the contrary) when he signed on to play Wonka. But King was convinced that he was the perfect person to balance 鈥渟incere鈥� and 鈥渞idiculous鈥� thanks in part to his memorable (and 鈥渉ella-tight鈥�) performance in Greta Gerwig鈥檚 鈥淟ady Bird.鈥�
This was a little baffling to Chalamet, who only learned this at the premiere in London. But for him, 鈥淲onka鈥� was a chance to do something a bit different, on a grand scale. He also understands audiences being a little skeptical of any spin-off of a beloved character, but he takes comfort in something Gerwig said while they were making 鈥淟ittle Women.鈥�
He recalled her telling him "something like, 'For anybody that鈥檚 saying that a lot of versions of this have been made, you know, when it鈥檚 done well, no one complains,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 think Paul really did that here.鈥�
In addition to 鈥淧ure Imagination鈥� and the Oompa Loompa song from the 1971 film, Neil Hannon, frontman of The Divine Comedy, wrote six original songs, while Christopher Gatelli (鈥淗ail, Caesar!鈥�) oversaw the choreography.
Though Chalamet grew up surrounded by dancers (his sister, mother and grandmother included), and had done musicals at his performing arts high school, he didn鈥檛 fully appreciate the exhaustive rigor of it. He鈥檇 trained for 鈥淲onka鈥� for months, but he was still not fully prepared for how taxing 鈥渢ake 13鈥� of a large-scale dance number would be.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very modest and I think that鈥檚 one of the nice things about him,鈥� said King, who has compared Chalamet鈥檚 singing voice to Bing Crosby.
The sets, overseen by production designer Nathan Crowley (鈥淚nterstellar鈥�) were also something grand to behold. King wanted the city to look like 鈥渢he best of Europe.鈥� In total, they built more than 50 set across three soundstages, a backlot and an aircraft hanger around Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, in addition to several on-site locations in the U.K. to give the film its whimsical, but grounded feel. Lindy Hemming ("Paddington") designed the vibrant costumes.
Perhaps the most inspired twist of 鈥淲onka" is Grant, an actor made world famous for his good looks and charm and romantic leads, who is playing an Oompa-Loompa.
King had already introduced Grant to a new generation of youngsters having him as the washed-up actor Phoenix Buchanan in 鈥淧addington 2." When he was re-rereading 鈥淐harlie and the Chocolate Factory鈥� he found 鈥淗ugh鈥檚 voice鈥� coming into his head for the devious little workers.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e so biting and satirical and funny, but they鈥檝e got a real kind of edge to them 鈥� and they take an enormous delight in these children鈥檚 demise,鈥� King said. 鈥淚 had this vision of Hugh Grant, you know, this high with orange skin and green hair. And once you have that picture come into your mind, you have to try and get it out there.鈥�
Grant is also a self-proclaimed miserable curmudgeon, which he鈥檒l say with a straight face right before saying something completely contradictory. In his interviews, which often go viral, he鈥檚 witty and wry and reliably unreliable.
Yet when he talks about King, and 鈥淲onka,鈥� and it all being from the heart, something melts away.
鈥淥ne of the things that made those romantic comedies that I made with Richard Curtis work, apart from the fact that he鈥檚 very good at writing comedy was that he meant it. He really cared about love and he was always falling in love, falling out of love and being traumatized by it. But he meant it,鈥� Grant said. 鈥淧aul King means all this. The message of Paddington and the message of this one, you know, family matters, the people you share your chocolate with. It鈥檚 not a trite, tacked on motto. It comes from his heart.鈥�
And it鈥檚 easy to believe that Grant, miserable though he may be, actually means it too.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
