'Wonka' trailer: When Timothée Chalamet's Wonka met Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa

Updated

“Wonka” looks pretty sweet.

The first trailer just dropped for the upcoming Willy Wonka prequel movie, which will explore how the famous chocolate factory owner from Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” got his start in the chocolate business.

Timothée Chalamet stars in the fantasy musical as a young Willy Wonka, a plucky adventurer with big, chocolate-themed dreams.

“I’ve spent the past seven years traveling the world perfecting my craft,” he says in the trailer. “You see, I’m something of a magician, inventor and chocolate maker, so quiet up and listen down. Nope, scratch that, reverse it.”

Chalamet’s Wonka seems to have an earnest, optimistic energy, compared to Gene Wilder’s more sinister spin on the role in the 1971 take on Dahl's classic novel, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Wonka (Warner Bros. )
Wonka (Warner Bros. )

Still, the trailer promises plenty of quirky eccentricity in this adaptation, from the time Wonka is chastised by a policeman for breaking the city’s “No Daydreaming” rule, to mentions of an ominous “chocolate cartel” that makes it hard for Wonka to get ahead.

“Many people have come here to sell chocolate. They’ve all been crushed by the chocolate cartel,” one character tells young Wonka. “You can’t get a shop without selling chocolate, and you can’t sell chocolate without a shop.”

There’s also a delightful cameo at the end of the trailer, when Hugh Grant appears as an Oompa Loompa — bright orange skin, green hair and all.

Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant in Wonka.  (Warner Bros.)
Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant in Wonka. (Warner Bros.)

“So you’re the funny little man who’s been following me?” Wonka asks the Oompa Loompa, who is small enough to fit inside a glass jar.

“I will have you know that I am a perfectly respectable size for an Oompa Loompa,” Grant replies.

In a nod to 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” he breaks into the now-infamous Oompa Loompa dance.

“I’ve started now,” he says. “Once we’ve started, we can’t stop.”

Fans took to the comments section on YouTube to share their excitement about the upcoming prequel.

“Hugh Grant being cast as the Oompa Loompas is not something we wanted but something we needed,” one person wrote.

“This is my highest anticipated movie for the holiday season,” another person wrote.

“I still think Gene Wilder is the definitive Willy Wonka but may he rest in peace, I’ll give this movie a chance,” another fan said.

One commenter said Chalamet “looks perfect as Wonka,” with another commenter calling the trailer “beautiful” and saying they were “in tears already.”

The film's star-studded cast also includes Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, and many more.

"Wonka" hits theaters Dec. 15.

Wonka (Warner Bros.)
Wonka (Warner Bros.)
Wonka (Warner Bros. )
Wonka (Warner Bros. )
Wonka (Warner Bros. )
Wonka (Warner Bros. )
Wonka (Warner Bros. )
Wonka (Warner Bros. )

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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