For Willy Wonka, the key to happiness comes in the form of chocolate. When he was a child, he lived with his mother. They were poor, but every day his mother would bring home one cocoa bean. By the time his birthday came around, Wonka’s mother would have enough cocoa beans to make one bar of chocolate.

And that she did. She roasted and ground the beans, then heated the mixture over the stove, letting its warm and chocolatey aroma float through the house. Later, she poured the chocolatey goodness into a mold, let it cool, and gave it to Wonka for him to enjoy.

Years later, Wonka’s passion for chocolate-making grows and he dreams of owning a chocolate shop with his mother there beside him. However things go sideways when the local chocolatiers don’t like their new competition, and try to make life harder for Wonka.

There have been many different adaptations of the Willy Wonka story, but Wonka (2023) is the only movie that focuses on how Wonka came to fame, and the hardships Wonka had to face before he became a chocolate shop owner.

First off, I really like how they made this movie a prequel and told the story of Wonka’s childhood, and how he’s dreamed of being a chocolatier ever since he was little and watched his mother make chocolate. His creativity and wit was a really enjoyable element in the story.

The movie includes the song “Pure Imagination”, which was also featured in the 1971 version of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” so I loved that parallel.

This movie also includes a rendition of the Oompa Loompa song, which is present in both the 1971 and 2005 versions of this movie. As a person who has watched both of these versions, hearing the Oompa Loompa song offered a sense of nostalgia, as it took me back to the day when I witnessed the magic of the chocolate factory for the first time. This made me love the Wonka movie even more.

Overall, the main message of this movie is to never give up, no matter how hard it gets. When Wonka’s dream business gets destroyed, he’s down in the dumps for a bit. But gradually, he gets back to work, and is soon able to continue doing the thing he loves most.

This movie also shares themes of selflessness. When Wonka is faced with an ultimatum, he decides to leave his dreams behind, so that his friends can walk free.