Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Wonka 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Hey, at least Ezra Miller didn't get the part.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 23, 2024

Paul King's recent musical fantasy Wonka might owe more to the director's own Paddington and its even better sequel than the work of Roald Dahl, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This visually-minded production defied expectations back in December by actually getting decent reviews and selling tickets and, while I don't believe it holds up to close scrutiny (especially in the song department), it's enjoyable enough to recommend to children of all ages.

For starters, who'd have thought that a prequel to the 1971 semi-classic would actually end up being pretty decent? Wonka cuts right to the chase as its titular chocolatier (Timothée Chalamet) arrives in Europe in hopes of opening his own candy shop. But not just anywhere, mind you -- in the heart of the Galéries Gourmet, a prestigious square where three world-class chocolate makers have already made their mark. With only a dozen silver sovereigns to his name, Wonka finds a boarding house but its sneaky service contract leaves him with a massive debt to owners Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman) and Bleacher (Tom Davis). He'll presumably be stuck there for years alongside a few other unfortunate souls including young orphan Noodle (Calah Lane), who was found by Mrs. Scrubitt in a laundry chute as a baby. So before Wonka can change the world with his magical confections, he'll need to find his way out of debt.

Naturally, Wonka tries to do both at once, routinely sneaking out with Noodle's help and selling candy -- including his new "Hoverchocs", which make people fly -- to raise funds. Unfortunately, he's met with resistance from the chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) for peddling chocolate without a shop, and it's then that Wonka realizes that those three established candy-makers -- Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) -- are actually part of a chocolate cartel, complete with an underground bunker of the full-strength stuff. So now Wonka's got three problems to deal with, and four if you count finding Noodle's parents.

As a straightforward adventure, Wonka works well enough. But as a full-blown musical it falls a bit short, due partially to Chalamet's lukewarm performance and singing -- he gets his character about 50% of the way there -- and some of its less-than-memorable song breaks. Calah Lane's performance as Noodle fares even worse, as the young girl seems to be sleep-walking through her role. But while "passable to below-average turns for its two main heroes" sounds like the kiss of death for any movie, Wonka has many other strengths. The production design is spot on; perhaps a bit too dark and gloomy during several extended scenes, some of which involve too much dialogue at the boarding house, but otherwise this film at least feels like it exists within the world of Roald Dahl. But Wonka's supporting characters might be its best asset: like both Paddington film, many of these colorful folks -- from those mentioned above to others like former cartel accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), corrupt cleric Father Julius (Rowan Atkinson), and a runaway Oompa Loompa named Lofty (Hugh Grant) -- end up stealing scenes right out from under Wonka's nose.

So even though Wonka doesn't always seem like the main (or at least most memorable) character in his own movie, the bulk of Paul King's film feels like a largely satisfactory affair and well worth watching for fans of the original. The director's strong visual sensibilities also tie it together and add a few much-needed emotional beats, again picking up the slack where both heroic leads fall short. With a more expressive performance from Chalamet, a stronger orphan character, and perhaps two or three better songs at its disposal, Wonka could have confidently walked into four-star territory... but as it stands, it's still a respectable effort that might just end up surprising new viewers.

In keeping with tradition, Warner Bros. stubbornly offers Wonka as separate standard 4K and Blu-ray editions, but Walmart's exclusive Steelbook variant (review coming in a few days) is advertised as a combo pack. All versions provide proportionately great A/V presentations and a few lightweight but well-rounded bonus features.

Wonka 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the separate Blu-ray edition, covered here.

The world of Wonka mixes overcast doom-and-gloom with occasional bursts of candy color, even if it unfortunately favors the former during the bulk of its lifespan. But regardless of my opinion, this 100GB 4K disc from Warner Bros. serves up a pitch-perfect 2160p/HDR transfer that beautifully handles everything without incident. Fine details and textures, smooth as they occasionally are by design, look suitably crisp and the fully edible confections by chocolatier Gabriella Cugno -- who created some 2,000 candies for the film and gets a short featurette all to herself -- look good enough to reach out and grab. Colors are often full-bodied and robust, even the darker and more oppressive ones, and the transfer's HDR pass ensures that bolder colors pop up against the darkness in an eye-catching way. Black levels run deep but do not fall victim to crush, and the encoding looks quite good as Wonka runs at an extremely supportive bit rate and routinely peaks above 100Mbps. Simply put, it's about as good as you'd expect for a full-strength UHD edition of this kind of film, inarguably making it the preferred choice for anyone currently set up for 4K playback.

Wonka 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wonka's Dolby Atmos audio certainly brings the goods as well, with an incredibly rich and dynamic presence during many of its sporadic song performances. The side, rear, and even height channels are particularly well-used in these moments, creating an extremely enveloping "sonic bubble" that fully captures viewer attention. Not surprisingly, the rest of the film plays it a bit more straight, with occasional use of surround hits depending on locations and group conversations, but there's more reliance on the front three channels. Discrete subwoofer activity is intermittent but runs plenty deep when needed, often again during song breaks but certainly during stray action scenes and occasional flights of fancy. Altogether, dialogue is crisp and well-rendered, perfectly intelligible regardless of regional dialect or volume level. It's basically a highly polished and effective mix, one that does its job and then some.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the main feature and all extras listed below.

Wonka 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with colorful poster-themed cover artwork; a matching slipcover and Digital Copy are also included. The included bonus features are lightweight but well-rounded.

• Unwrapping Paul King's Vision (12:28) - Key cast and crew members -- including producer David Heyman, actor Matt Lucas, producer Alexandra Derbyshire, actor Jim Carters and Keegan-Michael Key, director Paul King, Timothée Chalamet, and others -- speak about the production's inception and development, which blends Roald Dahl's source material with new ideas and characters to create the colorful world of Wonka.

• The Whimsical Music of Wonka (6:01) - Director Paul King and others speak about their collaboration with The Divine Comedy songwriter Neil Hannon to create the film's frequent musical detours.

• Welcome to Wonka Land (10:51) - Various cast and crew members speak about their first introductions to Roald Dahl, as well as the unique challenge of representing his work through the production design.

• Hats Off to Wonka (6:47) - Another like-minded piece praising the work of Welsh costume designer Lindy Hemming, who won a 1999 Academy Award for her contributions to the 1999 film Topsy-Turvy.

• Wonka's Chocolatier (8:51) - Chocolatier Gabriella Cugno talks about crafting some 2,000 fully edible confections for the production and demonstrates her culinary ability.

• Musical Moments (13 clips) - Instant access to the film's key songs and performances.

Wonka 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paul King's Wonka works better as an adventure than a musical, and its two heroic leads might be miscast... but the end result is still surprisingly effective and enjoyable at times, thanks to a great supporting cast and production design. I'm not sure if this prequel will actually earn a sequel (how would that even work?), but that's a story for another day. Aside from the forthcoming Steelbook combo packs mentioned above, Warner Bros.' 4K release is clearly the version to get for format enthusiasts: its inarguably top-tier 2160p/HDR transfer places it well above the separate Blu-ray edition. Both options contain identical audio and bonus features, which are lightweight but all worth a run-through.