History Film / Wonka

* EyeOfNewt: Wonka explains to the Chocolate Cartel that the salt in his magically floating Hover Chocs comes from the [[SadClown bittersweet tears of a Russian Clown]].

* RapidHairGrowth: Among Wonka's various chocolates is his Hair Repair Eclair, able to restore hair on any bald person or cat. Later in the movie, his chocolate creations are tempered with, causing the customers to unexpectedly grow lots of hair.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After much struggling and almost losing hope, Wonka [[spoiler:defeats Slugworth, Fickelgruber and Prodnose by exposing their chocolate cartel, frees his friends from indentured servitude who go on to live happy lives, reunites Noodle with her mother, befriends and employs Lofty, and opens his chocolate shop. The film then ends with him buying the ruined castle that will one day become his famous chocolate factory, happy to have finally achieved his dream. And crossing over into AdaptationalBackstoryChange, Slugworth, Prodnose and Ficklegruber are presumably arrested meaning they are unable to send spies to try and steal Wonka's recipes, implying that this version of Wonka won't become the cynical recluse from the book.]]

* RapidHairGrowth: Among Wonka's various chocolates is his Hair Repair Eclair, able to restore hair on any bald person or cat.

[[caption-width-right:350:You’ve never had chocolate like this.]]

''Wonka'' is a 2023 musical fantasy comedy film prequel to Creator/RoaldDahl's ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', specifically the famed [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory 1971 film adaptation]]. It is directed by Creator/PaulKing from a screenplay by King and his ''Film/Paddington2'' cowriter Simon Farnaby and stars Creator/TimotheeChalamet, Calah Lane, Creator/KeeganMichaelKey, Creator/RowanAtkinson, Creator/SallyHawkins, Creator/PatersonJoseph, Creator/MathewBaynton, Creator/MattLucas, Creator/NatashaRothwell, Jim Carter, Rich Fulcher, Rakhee Thakrar, Tom Davis, Creator/OliviaColman, and Creator/HughGrant. Neil Hannon of Music/TheDivineComedy composes the film’s songs.

* AngryGuardDog: Tiddles is a Mastiff owned by Scrubbit and Bleacher whose job is to watch their debtors in making sure they keep working in the washroom.

* BatmanGambit: When the Chocolate Cartel leave Wonka and Noodle to [[spoiler:drown in a vat of chocolate]], Wonka gives them a jar of chocolates and asks them to deliver it to the "little orange man" -- knowing very well that they'll eat the chocolates themselves, which are [[spoiler:extra-strength, delayed-action Hover Chocs.]]
* BigBadEnsemble: On the one hand, there are Scrubbit and Bleacher, the unsavory wash-house owners who trick travelers such as Wonka into signing themselves into indentured servitude. On the other, there’s the Chocolate Cartel, a trio of businessmen who hoard and water down their chocolate while using any means, including bribery and murder, to maintain their control of the chocolate industry. [[spoiler: The two forces at one point merge as a BigBadDuumvirate when the Chocolate Cartel bribes the wash-house owners to join them in sabotaging Wonka's business and keep Noodle as prisoner indefinitely but afterwards they go their separate ways again]].

** Wonka grew up on a river boat. When he opens his chocolate shop, there is a decorative boat on what appears to be a river of frosting. This is presumably why he has a boat for his chocolate river in his factory.

* ComicallyWordyContract: The contract to rent a room from Mrs. Scrubbit initially appears to be a single normal sized sheet of paper but unfolds until it nearly reaches across the room.

* DramaticallyDelayedDrug: Early in the film, Wonka is shown selling “hoverchocs”, special chocolates that allow one to fly temporarily. [[spoiler:In the climax, he tricks the villains into eating a delayed-action variation of the hoverchocs, which take effect when they try to flee.]]

* EatTheEvidence: When Wonka and Noodle's discovery of [[spoiler: Slugworth's accounting book incriminates Scrubbitt and Bleacher for their part in contaminating Wonka's chocolate with potions that gave the customers horrific mutations (such as Yeti Sweat), police come knocking on the criminal pair's door. The smart thing for them to do would have been that one of them take all the potion bottles to the bathroom and dump it down the toilet or sink while the other distracts the police[[note]]Though earlier in the film Scrubbit mentioned their toilet was clogged so that may not have been an option.[[/note]]. Instead, they both panic and being too frightened to think rationally they both gulp down the potions themselves. As the police come barging down, we see that they drank so much of it their mutation instantly happened and the police considers them caught red-handed]].

** The main premise of the "Sweet Tooth" number. Instead of cash, the Chocolate Cartel offer 100 boxes of chocolate to the Chief of Police (specifically of his favorites). The Chief of Police keeps turning it down claiming he must watch his waistline as to not [[HenpeckedHusband upset his wife]]. They then offer 700 boxes (plus the business card of a tailor who specializes in "Elastiwaist" pants), then ultimately 1800 boxes and the Chief accepts. In the reprise of "You've Never Had Chocolate Like This", the Chief-of-Police comes to regret his decision as he finds Wonka's chocolate much more delicious, even begging the Cartel to give Wonka a break because of this, but is blackmailed by the Cartel to ruin Wonka's business given he already took their bribe.

* FryingPanOfDoom: After Wonka releases Lofty from the jar, Lofty asks Wonka to pass him the frying pan hanging on the wall behind him. Wonka does so, and Lofty immedately hits him in the head with it and runs off with Wonka's chocolates.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In a non-romantic example, [[spoiler: Wonka is prepared to leave town and never make chocolates again in exchange for Slugworth erasing his friends' debts with Scrubbit and Bleacher, and to pay for a better life for Noodle. Once he's onboard a ship bound for the North Pole, he only decides to go back upon realizing Noodle has some kind of relationship to Slugworth and thus may be in danger (he's right), which ''also'' saves his life because the boat was rigged to explode]].

** Noodle's name is randomly given in-universe, but it's a slightly archaic slang term for ''brain'' (as in the phrase "using your noodle"), which is appropriate for a highly-intelligent, bookish child. The Chief-of-Police even believes her to be "the brains of the operation" as Wonka manages to sell his chocolate across the city.

** The Chief-of-Police derisively calls Wonka "Candy Man" during their second encounter.
** The Oompa-Loompas in this film are clearly based on the versions from the 1971 film; that said, they’re closer in size to those from the book and 2005 film.

* PunnyName: Most of the characters’ names are puns of some kind.

** At the zoo, Wonka and Noodle wonder why the flamingoes never just fly off and leave their enclosure. Inspired by the humans' {{Balloonacy}} in "For a Moment", ''they do'', and appear flying over the city several scenes later. During the climactic stretch they become part of a traffic jam (that Slugworth's car gets caught in) when they swoop down on the bounty left by a wrecked truck that was transporting fresh fish.

* SchmuckBait: After freeing Lofty to discuss negotiations, Lofty non-sequentually asks Willy to hand him one of the miniature frying pans hanging on a rack. He specifically clarifies the heavier one. After handing it to him, he asks Willy to come closer, to which he obliges. [[FryingPanOfDoom Take a wild guess what happens next.]]

* ThirdActMisunderstanding: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Wonka choses to leave the city and give up his dream of selling chocolate in exchange for the Chocolate Cartel paying off his friends' debts and providing Noodle money to have a good life. The others actually feel rather betrayed by this decision but reluctantly accept the deal. Scrubbit and Bleacher reveal that [[ILied Slugworth and the others actually paid them to keep her in their custody for good to get her out of the way]]. When Wonka finds out about this however (and survives an assassination attempt on the boat), the others understand pretty much immediately and forgive him because this sort of thing sounds ''exactly'' like something the Cartel would pull]]. Noodle requires a bit more convincing, less due to her not trusting Wonka but more because of [[DarkestHour how bad things have gotten by that point]].

* AngryGuardDog: Tiddles is a Mastiff owned by Scrubbit and Bleacher whose job is to watch their debtors in making sure they keep working in the washroom. Wonka gets around this by using a scrap from his pants (which, having originally been the property of a mailman, has a scent that appeals to the dog) as "bait" for Tiddles to happily chase on a treadmill, thus powering the Wild and Wonderful Wishy-washy Wonka Walker.

* {{Balloonacy}}: Wonka and Noodle use a bunch of balloons to leave the zoo and fly over the city during "For a Moment".

* CanonCharacterAllAlong: Mrs. Scrubbit and Mr. Bleacher are strongly implied to be the couple who grow up to be known as Literature/TheTwits.
* Catch22Dilemma: "You can't sell chocolate without a shop, and you can't have a shop without chocolate."[[spoiler:Wonka manages ''both'', by using a pop-up shop and canvassing.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After much struggling and almost losing hope, Wonka [[spoiler:defeats Slugworth, Fickelgruber and Prodnose by exposing their chocolate cartel, frees his friends from indentured servitude who go on to live happy lives, reunites Noodle with her mother, befriends and employs Lofty, and opens his chocolate shop. The film then ends with him buying the ruined castle that will one day become his famous chocolate factory, happy to have finally achieved his dream. And crossing over into AdaptationalBackstoryChange, Slugworth, Prodnose and Ficklegruber are presumably arrested meaning they are unable to send spies to try and steal Wonka's recipes, implying that this version of Wonka won't become the cynical recluse from the book.]]

* {{Expy}}: [[https://mashable.com/article/paul-king-wonka-interview In an interview with Mashable]], King stated that he drew inspiration for the villains from other Roald Dahl stories. Slugworth, Ficklegruber, and Prodnose were inspired by Boggis, Bunce, and Bean from ''Literature/FantasticMrFox'', while Ms. Scrubbit was inspired by the titular character of ''Literature/TheLandlady''.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In a non-romantic example, [[spoiler: Wonka is prepared to leave town and never make chocolates again in exchange for Slugworth erasing his friends' debts with Scrubbit and Bleacher, and to pay for a better life for Noodle. Once he's onboard a ship bound for the North Pole, he only decides to go back upon realizing Noodle has some kind of relationship to Slugworth and thus may be in danger (he's right), which ''also'' saves his life because the boat was rigged to explode]].

* TheMatchmaker: Wonka plays this by triggering various people into high levels of pleasure with his chocolate that he adds even helps them dance, sing and propose with higher confidence while he and Noodle concoct a scheme to make Scrubbit and Bleacher more romantically interested in each other to be too occupied to watch their imprisoned debtors in the washroom.

* BaitAndSwitch:
** When offered a sample of Wonka's work, Slugworth seems to be deeply moved after tasting the Hover Choc, telling Wonka that it is, without a doubt, the absolute 100%...''worst'' chocolate he's ever tasted, although it's strongly implied that he and the others are lying to try and discourage people from trying Wonka's product, with his private words about Wonka's chocolate being highly respectful of the quality.
** [[spoiler:After Wonka is sent away, the Chocolate Cartel gives their final payment to the Chief: a massive box of chocolate that needs to be handled by a crane. It gets dropped on his car, but despite being many times larger, the car emerges unscathed.]]

* BondVillainStupidity: In the climax [[spoiler:Slugworth has Wonka and Noodle at gunpoint in a secret location where nobody would find their bodies. Does he shoot them? No. He forces them into a vat to be filled with chocolate. An ironic fate maybe, but aside from giving them the chance to escape, if it had worked the Cartel's vast supplies of chocolate would have tasted foul afterwards!]]

** Played with regarding Slugworth's ''very'' firm business handshake, which lets others know he means business. [[spoiler: It's so strong that the second time he does it, it leaves an imprint of his signet ring on Wonka's hand for a while afterward. Wonka recognizes it as looking similar to the ring Noodle has...]]

** The first stretch of the end credits has [[spoiler:Lofty, by way of "The Oompa-Loompa Song", explaining what happened to everyone other than Wonka, Noodle and the Chocolate Cartel]].
* CrowdSong: The reprise of "You've Never Had Chocolate Like This" evolves into this as the whole city experiences the wonders of Wonka's wares.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Wonka and Noodle come up with the idea of making Scrubbit and Bleacher (who are merely criminal associates) [[OutlawCouple fall in love with one another]] so much that they pay less attention to Wonka and their other debt victims sneaking out to sell chocolate, with the bonus of the heroes generating enough money at a rapid rate to finally pay off their debts. So while Noodle suggests to Scrubbit that Bleacher is actually aristocracy (inspired by how she tried to seduce an actual aristocrat the previous year), Wonka tells Bleacher that Scrubbit's crazy about him and to do things like bathe and wear short pants to ShowSomeLeg!

* FriendOrIdolDecision: Wonka is faced with this at the end of Act Two: [[spoiler:stay in the city and continue to pursue his chocolate-making dreams (which tie back to his beloved mother's memory) against all odds, or leave the city forever '''but''' with knowledge that all of his friends will be freed from Mrs. Scrubbit's contracts ''and'' Noodle will be provided for. He chooses the latter. In fact, the Cartel's not being wholly honest -- the adults are free of Scrubbit but poor Noodle remains a prisoner (owing to her unknown relationship to Slugworth), ''and'' they are going to kill Wonka in a phony accident. Luckily, he figures out she's in danger on his own and this inadvertently saves him from the "accident"]].

* InformedAbility: The dreaded martial artist vault guard only ever demonstrates her martial skills during the ImagineSpot in which the heroes are learning about the cathedral security precautions (though this talent could tie into how [[spoiler: she's a pretty good dancer when she tries the chocolate Wonka and Noodle leave for her as a distraction, precisely so they don't have to confront her]]).

** Whenever Slugworth or Fickelgruber make implied threats regarding Willy and his friends, Prodnose explicitly clarifies them, up to and including things like "...in which they died."
* SadClown: A literal example provided one of Wonka's ingredients: "[T]he bittersweet tears of a Russian clown."

-->'''Affable:''' Sir, shouldn't we focus on those unsolved murders?\\

* VillainHasAPoint: Bleacher is luring Wonka into indentured servitude when he gets him to come off the streets into the hotel, but he is right to warn Wonka that he will freeze to death if he tries sleeping outside in weather so cold that it instantly turns a glass of hot chocolate into a frozen pop.

* WhereAreTheyNow: For the first stretch of the end credits, [[spoiler:Lofty uses one last performance of "The Oompa-Loompa Song" to share how Wonka's fellow wash-house prisoners returned to their lives before showing Scrubbit and Bleacher being arrested for their part in the Cartel's crimes]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The Chief of Police attempts to coerce Wonka into giving up his chocolate business by roughing him up, his chosen method being to dunk his head into the nearby fountain while ordering him not to sell chocolate in town. Wonka politely informs him that he couldn't hear him while underwater.

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: It's revealed that [[spoiler: the zoo guard and the security woman of the Chocolate Cartel’s hidden vaults were once chemistry classmates and the two exchanged phone calls after eating Big Night Out Chocolate. They get together by the end of the film]]. Lampshaded by [[spoiler: Noodle as she and Wonka realize this]]: "What are the odds?"

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: At the end, [[spoiler: as Lofty is about to leave Wonka alone for good with the last jar of chocolate needed to settle Wonka's account with him, Wonka tells him that he's going to open up a chocolate factory. Lofty dismisses his prospects and insincerely tells him "Good luck with that" before Wonka brings up he needs someone as his tasting department and uses "Pure Imagination" to convince Lofty to come work at the factory]].

* ComicallySmallBribe: The Chocolate Cartel pays every associate of theirs, most prominently the Chief-of-Police, not with the large amounts of money they no doubt have, but with chocolate (and watered-down chocolate at that). And it's enough for said associates to help with crimes ranging from sabotage, conspiracy and murder.

** There's a fine for daydreaming about the vacant storefront in the city, as Wonka learns to his dismay in his DaydreamSurprise. It's easy to miss, but [[spoiler:at the end the castle he purchases has a sign out front that notes "Daydreamers Welcome!"]], by contrast.

* DaydreamSurprise: Wonka fantasizes about his future of opening a store in a vacant shop, only for a cop to interrupt and tell him that there's a fine for daydreaming in the area.

* AnimalsLackAttributes: Very pointedly {{defied|trope}} - one of Wonka's chocolate recipes requires giraffe milk, and when we see one, she has noticeable teats.

* CompositeCharacter: The Oompa-Loompas combine their iconic look in the 1971 film while also being 18 inches tall as they were described in the book.

* ClassyCane: Wonka carries one, but it doesn't just look good -- it can serve as a modest flag for his pop-up shop, there's a secret compartment in its knob just big enough to hide a finely-boxed chocolate, and it even conceals an elaborate screwdriver. It also can be stood on its tip and serve as a hat and coat rack.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Chocolate Cartel is a trio of fine-suited chocolate makers who work together to crush any would-be competition (such as Wonka). As it turns out the so-called "rivals" are actually working together, hoarding the chocolate from the masses and making them expensive for the poor. The members of the cartel are Prodnose, Fickelgruber, and Slugworth, the candy makers that stole recipes from Wonka in the original book.

* DirtyCop: The Chief of Police is in the pocket of the Chocolate Cartel, although he seems reluctant at first to strongarm Wonka. The rest of the police force appears to not be in on the corruption and is only enforcing the rather draconian letter of the city's laws and some of them even appear sympathetic to Wonka and his allies. [[spoiler:The second hard evidence of the Cartel's misdeeds and the Chief's corruption is presented, the rest of the police start arresting the lot of them.]]

* DodgyToupee: Prodnose has one, revealed as such when he loses it upon his being sent floating by the Hover Choc.

* FearlessFool: Wonka is hardly perturbed by being '''nearly''' eaten by a tiger, swimming miles in chilly water, and the like because he's risked his life countless times already...in his quest to become a great chocolatier.

* FormerlyFit: The Chief of Police, who starts the film as a reasonably fit man, takes all his bribes from the Chocolate Cartel in kind, promptly eating it all. After two weeks of eating all this chocolate, he gains what he guesses is 150 pounds.

* GentlemanSnarker: The Oompa-Loompa is incredibly mannered and elegant even when he threatens to poke Wonka with a cocktail stick. [[spoiler:Given he's Wonka's first hire for the factory (as a taster) in the denouement, it's possible that the gift for snark Wonka has in the novel and adaptations is courtesy of his and, eventually, the other Oompa-Loompas' influence]].

* LoanShark: Scrubbit and Bleacher entrap unfortunate travelers in debt by making them sign contracts that charge exorbitant expenses (for such things as using the stairs, with up and down counted separately). While it is provided that they have very small print in the contracts detailing what the expenses are, hesitance to sign away will result in a big bonk on the head as demonstrated when Wonka hesitates for a while and Bleacher is ready to bludgeon him.

* NeverLearnedToRead: Wonka was so focused on learning the ways of chocolate that he's a case of this, which is a reason he doesn't ReadTheFinePrint and '''nearly''' gets eaten by a tiger. Being a bookworm, Noodle takes it upon herself to teach him, which pays off when [[spoiler:it helps him identify from details in the hidden ledger her relationship to Slugworth and from there, who her mother is]].

* NoNameGiven: The Chief-Of-Police is the only major character in the film without a proper name. The film itself pokes fun at this when [[spoiler: Affable reveals that the Chief’s name is in the Cartel’s ledger… a lot.]]

* TheNotLoveInterest: [[ShrinkingViolet Lottie Bell]] when she's introduced is quiet and shy and being the closest to Wonka's age of the adults, it could be interpreted that she'd be set up as his future romantic partner. However, when she starts being more open once feeling the need to speak up and be heard, no kind of attention is given to the idea. Her relationship with him is ultimately no different than his dynamic with the rest of the adults or hers with them.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The Chocolate Cartel proves to be incredibly classist when they discuss how Wonka's chocolate is more affordable than theirs, with Fickelgruber even dry-heaving at the word "poor" while Slugworth is [[spoiler:unable to remember the name of Noodle's mother because she was poor]].

* TheQuietOne: Justified and lampshaded with Lottie Bell. She is so quiet that everyone is shocked when she speaks as the group hatches their plan to sell Wonka's chocolate under the noses of the law (Larry notes "I thought you were a mime!"), but she explains that this is because she hasn't had much to talk about since becoming a prisoner of Mrs. Scrubbit. She "was quite the chatterbox" at her old telephone switchboard job.
* RaceLift: Slugworth is played by Afro-British actor Paterson Joseph. While his race was never stated in the original book, in the 2005 film he was portrayed by a white actor while the 1971 film featured an imposter who was also white, implying that Slugworth was the same in that version. [[spoiler:Becomes important when Noodle's origin is taken into account.]]

* SadClown:
** Almost literal with Larry Chucklesworth, a failed standup comic who is stuck in Mrs. Scrubbit's boarding house/laundry and pines for the wife who left him so long ago, with a lot of his attempts at jokes clearly his way of dealing with the pain. [[spoiler:The epilogue establishes he gets better in more ways than one, to the point that his act wins her back once he's performing again!]]
** A literal example provided one of Wonka's ingredients: "[T]he bittersweet tears of a Russian clown."

* TerribleTrio: The "Chocolate Cartel": Slugworth, Prodnose and Fickelgruber.

* WideEyedIdealist: Zig-zagged. Wonka is this ''in spades'' as the movie begins, and the hardships of Mrs. Scrubbit's laundry, the more cynical outlooks of his fellow boarders, and all the trouble he goes through trying to establish his shop (including persecution by the authorities) do wear him down after a while, and he does eventually take a level in ''cunning'' if not cynicism (that comes later in his life). But it's precisely his optimistic attitude combined with kindness and creativity that brings hope and joy to other people, which helps him triumph in the end.
* WouldHurtAChild: It turns out [[spoiler: the Chocolate Cartel has no qualms over attempting to drown Noodle, a young girl, in chocolate along with Willy]]. This is on top of [[spoiler: Slugworth abandoning her as an infant by dropping her down a laundry chute in the first place, assuming she wouldn't survive]].

* NeverTrustATrailer: The fact that the movie is a musical was left out of almost all of the marketing. In fact the first trailer features the Oompa-Loompas even lampshaded the original film's musical status by making it seem like Wonka didn't want the Oompa Loompas to sing.

** Unlike the 1971 film's Wonka, who at least seems ''indifferent'' to the fates of the Four Bratty Kids, this younger self will not hurt a child. And when he accidentally gives a little girl a mustache, the mother doesn't give Wonka a pass for his negligence and gets even!

* AccidentalTheft: Lofty reveals that the cocoa beans Wonka harvested from Loompaland several years ago were actually property of the Oompa-Loompas that he was guarding. Upon learning this, Wonka tells him that had he known that from the beginning he never would've taken them.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: At the end, [[spoiler: as Lofty is about to leave Wonka alone good with the last jar of chocolate needed to settle Wonka's account with him, Wonka tells him that he's going to open up a chocolate factory. Lofty dismisses his prospects and insincerely tells him "Good luck with that" before Wonka brings up he needs someone as his tasting department and uses "Pure Imagination" to convince Lofty to come work at the factory]].

** The Oompa-Loompas in this film are clearly based on the versions from the 1971 film.

** While traffic is being blocked by a herd of flamingos and Slugworth learns that suspicious activity has occurred at the church about his secret base, he exclaims to his driver, "Damn the flamingos! Full speed ahead!" This line parodies the famous (shortened version of the) quote by U.S. (Union) Rear Admiral David Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay in the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar.

** The various talents of Wonka's fellow workers in the launderette -- accountancy, knowledge of the city's sewers, telephone switchboard work, and being able to make his voice sound like he's underwater -- all play a part in [[spoiler:Wonka's plan to expose the Chocolate Cartel's corruption]].

* CastingGag: Creator/OliviaColman plays Mrs. Scrubbit, a sleazy landlady who overcharges for her services, abuses a young girl under her care, and schemes alongside a fellow con artist (whom she later falls in love with). In short, she's basically [[Literature/LesMiserables Mme. Thénardier]], whom Colman portrayed in the [[Series/LesMiserables2018 2018 miniseries]].

* TruckDriversGearChange: "For a Moment" shifts up [[https://youtu.be/cRIQARH6-VE?t=60 between verses]].

* PercussiveMaintenance: During theStinger, the Oompa-Loompa gets the projector working after it stops by thumping it.