Two words: Young Wonka.
I think it was literally our last sign-off, he smiles.
Food for thought, right?
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The Gene Wilder movie was my version of it growing up, says King.
That includes little nods in starTimothee Chalamets performance.
If we are to believe that Chalamets Wonka becomes Wilders Wonka, the timeline is all-important.
So I thought, Well, maybe its about 25 years before that.
So we settled on this post-war 1948 time period for it.
I really liked the idea of that middle European vibe, he says.
I also really fancied going on holiday.
That would be fun!
It felt like that would be a world that needed Willy Wonka to come in.
Hes fun, and hes going to bring color and light and liveliness.
David Heyman is riding high on a wave of color in 2023.
While he loves the visuals ofBarbieandWonka, its not color per se that appeals.
Thats cinema, isnt it?
Its a visual medium.Gravitys not colorful in that way.
But its strong visual storytelling, he explains.
The idea was to show a more innocent Willy.
Someone who could lead up to eventually becoming Willy in the 1971 film, so thats our iconography.
What the Dickens?
She feels like shes stepped straight out ofTales of the Unexpected, laughs King.
Shes this creepy landlady who is definitely going to kidnap you and do something absolutely horrendous to you.
Theres always that whiff of menace in Dahl.
Colman is padded out and wearing these horrible teeth that she kept showing to everyone, says King.
But shes obviously also incredibly cruel and effectively kidnapping people off the streets and conning them into servitude.
Its quite Dahl-esque to have these very precocious young children and a very childish adult, says King.
Grandpa Joe is much more of a kid jumping around and dancing for joy than Charlie is.
A lot of these people are in Pauls comedy circle.
Then, of course, theres the mysterious orange-faced, green-haired chap who keeps pinching Willys candy….
They are so sardonic and sarcastic and very, very funny, but biting.
Thats the voice of the Oompa-Loompa.
And then I thought, who do I know who could sound like that?
It comes to me in my nightmares.
And, of course, keep an ear out for variations on the classic Oompa-Loompa song.
Dont dash straight out of the cinema when the movie ends, either.
Stick around for a little bit of extra Loompa as the credits roll.
To me, he is one of the highlights of the film, Heyman says.
A whole song and dance
Grant doing the Oompa-Loompa dance is undeniably funny.
But its not the most spectacular of the musical numbers.
And, of course, World Of Pure Imagination makes an appearance.
I love those Hollywood musicals of the Golden Age.
And, naturally, Chalamet was perfect for the job.
Timmys got these great tap skills.
Of course he has, because hes a perfect human being, says King.
He can sing and dance as well as everything else.
He went to LaGuardia High School, which I think is like the Fame Academy.
The sweetest things
You cant have Wonka without some fabulous confectionery, and this prequel doesnt disappoint.
But I really liked the idea that hes got a chocolate for every occasion, explains King.
I love the condensed thunderclouds in liquid sunlight.
Turns out King is now a chocolate nerd.
Not surprising since the production had a world-class chocolatier on set.
But one thing is not.
What happens to Chalamets wide-eyed Willy to turn him into the more reclusive Wilder version?
Theres nothing to it!
Hes like a Mozart of chocolate; he arises as this great genius.
And he can do everything, says King.
But he wants to fit into the villains world.
Hes a good soul in a corrupt world.
Its too much story for him to go from that to kind of some weird recluse, King explains.
And all it takes is pure imagination…
Wonka opens in theaters on Dec. 15
