Trivia / Wonka

• Celebrity Voice Actor: The Japanese dub is full of them:
  • The titular protagonist is voiced by singer Souta Hanamura, from the boys band Da-iCE.
  • Noodle is voiced by Cent Chihiro Chittiii, from the rock band BiSH.
  • While he is also a voice actor by his own right, Arthur Slugworth is voiced by Yuji Kishi, who previously played Kyosuke Jinnai in Gekisou Sentai Carranger and being the current official Japanese voice of Ken Masters.
  • The Chief-of-Police is voiced by comedian Shohei Osada.
  • Abacus Crunch is voiced by theater actor Takeshi Hirabayashi.
  • Larry Chucklesworth is voiced by comedian Takehiro Yamamoto.
  • Lofty is voiced by comedian and actor Ken Matsudaira.
• Creator Backlash: Just before the movie saw a wide release, Hugh Grant stated in an interview on no uncertain terms how much he hated his time playing the Oompa Loompa, having found the process of acting for motion capture physically uncomfortable (describing it as akin to wearing a crown of thorns) and directionless (he claims to have never received a satisfactory answer on whether he should "act with [his] body or not"). He admitted to making a huge stink behind the scenes when he found most of his work was ultimately replaced with animation in post. When pressed on why he accepted the role in the same interview, he (more jokingly) confessed that "I slightly hate [making films] but I have lots of children and need money."
• Dueling Works:
  • With Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. Both are British comedy films released in the holiday season of 2023 centering around underdog heroes going up against corrupt food businesspeople. However, Wonka is a live action musical centered around chocolate, whereas Chicken Run is a claymation spy caper centered around chickens and chicken nuggets.
  • With Wish (2023), a musical fantasy released the previous month that serves as an origin story (in Wish's case it's the "wishing star" from Disney Animated Canon films) in which an idealistic, quirky protagonist enlists the help of a racially diverse group of friends to stop a powerful, ruthless villain/villains who deceitfully hoards something valuable (chocolate here, wishes there) from the unknowing public who sees no reason to mistrust them, has a sidekick of sorts with a comically deep voice and mannerisms (Lofty the Oompa-Loompa here, Valentino the goat in Wish), and is inspired by the memory of a deceased parent (for Asha, it's her father). Both films also prominently excerpt a famous song from another movie in their underscores ("Pure Imagination" in this film, "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Wish) and have numerous call forwards and/or Easter eggs (to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory here, to other Disney Animated Canon works in Wish), and both protagonists at one point must swim back to the city to hatch their plan to defeat the villain! (In a surprising development, this was a case where the non-Disney project was the more successful one with critics and audiences, with even some Disney fans arguing/lamenting that this was a better Disney-style musical than Wish.)
• Production Posse:
  • Reunites director Paul King with his Paddington and Paddington 2 producer David Heyman and Paddington 2 co-writer Simon Farnaby. Several members of the cast - Tom Davis, Tim FitzHigham, Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, and Matt Lucas - also appeared in one or both Paddington films.
  • The film has a supporting performance from Rich Fulcher, who played Bob Fossil in The Mighty Boosh, directed by Paul King.
• Promoted Fanboy: Both Paul King and Timothée Chalamet have said they're big fans of not only the original story, but both the 1971 and 2005 adaptations as well, despite the film being primarily in keeping with the 1971 version. Chalamet even recalled seeing Burton's film as a child.
  Chalamet: If you would've told me when I was 12 years old watching the Johnny Depp version of Willy Wonka that I'd get to be here in Tokyo promoting this movie as Willy Wonka, standing next to Hugh Grant, I would've told you you were lying.
• Sequel Gap: Or prequel gap, in this case - arriving an epic fifty-two years after the original.
• Short Run in Peru: The film was released in much of the world (most prominently the United Kingdom) a week ahead of its North American release.
• Sleeper Hit: One in the footsteps of fellow musical The Greatest Showman. The film defied early skepticism based on its trailers and premise to end up the biggest hit of the 2023 Christmas season thanks to good reviews and fantastic word-of-mouth against the notable underperformances of Wish (which was expected to be a breakout as the Disney Animated Canon centennial film, and had far more merchandising) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Warner Bros. seemed to expect and encourage this, given its marketing department did far more for this film than the Aquaman sequel despite the latter having a far bigger budget to make back). In the end, it grossed over $600 million worldwide, the second biggest of WB in 2023 behind only Barbie, and the 8th highest-grossing movie overall.
• Those Two Actors:
  • Simon Farnaby, Mathew Baynton, and Charlotte Ritchie previously worked alongside one another in Ghosts (UK).
  • Farnaby and Baynton also starred alongside each other for many years in Horrible Histories.
  • Olivia Colman and Paterson Joseph previously worked together on That Mitchell and Webb Look and Peep Show, with Mathew Baynton also appearing as a guest in a handful of episodes of the latter.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Tom Holland, Donald Glover, Ryan Gosling and Ezra Miller were considered for the role of Willy Wonka before the casting of Timothée Chalamet, though director Paul King has said he felt Chalamet was the only choice after seeing YouTube recordings of his high school performances (offering him the part without an audition).
  • When the project was first announced, writer Simon Rich (Man Seeking Woman, Miracle Workers) was attached to pen the film.
  • Two scenes where cut from the final script. You can read it right here:
    • Originally, before Noodle would show to Wonka the store they bought, she would take him to the library, where he would finally be able to read while she sings "Pure Imagination".
    • During "Sorry Noodle", she would've sing the song along with Willy Wonka as she tries to call Willy thorught her room, only to get her heart broken as she watches him leave.

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