Wonka defies early reactions with high Rotten Tomatoes score

Wonka, a new prequel starring Timothée Chalamet, didn’t have the best public perception after its first trailer dropped – but it now boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score after the opening wave of reviews.

Perhaps quite rightly, audiences were immediately divided when a prequel to Willy Wonka’s time in the chocolate factory was announced.

Starring the likes of Chalamet and Olivia Colman, prospective fans initially rubbished the movie’s trailer release, commenting on a number of different flaws that assumed the all-out musical prequel might not work.

Now that critic reviews have been released, Wonka’s current Rotten Tomatoes score tells a different – and much more positive – story.

Wonka proves naysayers wrong with high Rotten Tomatoes score

After social media reactions were largely negative towards the initial trailer, Wonka has prompted an opinion u-turn, with its Rotten Tomatoes score currently sitting at 79%.

Though Wonka got off to a shaky start in terms of public opinion, many viewers and social media users have picked up on the feature film going above and beyond what the original trailer had set up.

In our 4-star review, we wrote: “Like any movie ever made, Wonka challenges us to hold two types of thought at once – not only is the film exceptionally delivering on changing the chocolatier’s story to one of unfiltered joy, but it also doesn’t go far enough in addressing stereotyping concerns and underhand humor.

“For kids who have routinely been traumatized by their parents making them watch Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory growing up (or by Johnny Depp’s rendition of the role altogether), Wonka is the ideal chance to repair, reheal, and carry forward the magic.”

Courtney Howard at AV Club wrote: “Sweet yet never saccharine, their hyper-stylized portrait is not only powered by the pure imagination that inspires the songs’ spectacle but it’s also filled with audacious flourishes of charm, whimsy, and poignancy.”

Hoai-Tran Bui over at Inverse agreed: “Wonka exists in a world where cynicism and detached irony don’t exist. From its candy-colored visuals to its dazzling musical numbers, the movie dares you not to get swept up in its rapturous glee.”

However, Wonka hasn’t been sickly sweet for all reviewers so far, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of a small handful.

Nicholas Barber at the BBC disagreed: “Dahl’s novel bristled with the author’s annoyance at the nuisances of contemporary life… [but] the film ignores the gravitational pull of reality. Relentlessly wacky and over-the-top, everything in it is too contrived to care about.”

Audience reviews haven’t been included on Wonka’s Rotten Tomatoes page yet – we’ll keep this page updated with all the latest developments.

Wonka is in theaters on December 8 in the UK, and December 15 in the US. To check out more of Dexerto’s TV and movie coverage, click here.