Here we go. I feel like this has been forever coming but its finally time to see Wonka. & im taking mama with me. This time last year we did Matilda together, this year, Wonka. What next year? Wicked? No that will be a friends trip im certain.

I offered mama every possible screening including a really lush Cineworld seat. we are waiting to get into the Connaught in worthing. Theres no Panto tonight so were at the big screen too & true to good form mama knew exactly which seats i was taking her too. Good woman. Id say it was mainly families or older kids being dropped off to see it. So yea we did fit the family demographic its just shes in her 60s & im in my 30s.

I cant remember the trailers if im honest, but there was one for Wish which was weird because i saw that like a few weeks before. Very very odd.

& then the film started… When the film ended i asked my mum if she was in charge of my letterboxd what review would she leave on there. Her reply… you replace a cute bear with a cute lead… & letterboxd & twitter loved it.

Timothee was insane. Like seriously sublime. I didnt know he had all of that in him if im honest. So charming & sweet & fun & such a good voice & the way he wore the suit ahhhhh. I mean half of it is the man in the Jacket & hat if that doesnt work Wonka isnt Wonka, but damn he owned it. I felt completely at ease with him as the younger Willy. He was just the perfect casting for a modern adaptation & it just worked so so so well.

I cried. Im not going to lie. I cried. I hoped they would do a certain song & i was worried they wouldnt but the second he started singing it after a really sweet scene, i was gone, crying into my scarf. It was the perfect time for it & it just worked & i was like yes & the way it was arranged & sang & delivered was fabulous. It was worth the wait. If im honest until the note before he started to sing id forgotten i needed that song because the other new songs were so so good & fitted the story so so well.

The villain dance & song was iconic. Best moment of the film. Had me balling with laughter so much that it hurt. It was so end of Paddington 2 vibes that it just did work & it was a joy to watch & the whole villain concept & why they were like they were was just, ahhhhhh. Dark but fun at the same time. Perfect for this kind of story. If that was not a Craig Revell Horwood dance then whoever choreographed it im so so sorry.

I need an Oliva Coleman & Tom Davies Rom Com Right now please. Iconic. Im sure the rest of the world was like what the heck is going on here (much like me & mum were when Phil Wang randomly turned up & started dancing we were not expecting that). But yea those two being scheming little bastards was a delight. Also they were the truest Dahl out of the new characters introduced.

Im glad Hugh Grant didnt turn up until an hour in, if hed had arrived sooner it would have become the Hugh show, but he didnt. So im very happy about that. But his Oompa Loompa was so cool & was needed for just the right amount of time & just bossed it. I love the Hugh Grant renaissance. His come back era is just being so extra.

There were other Cameos & people in it too that i was not expecting. I mean Simon Farnaby was a must & he was actually really key to the plot at points too. What a guy. but some of the other people who randomly were in it. I mean Im going to say that Walter Goodfellow rose up the church after keeping mum, & ended up there hehe. But yea so many references to other things they had made or previous bits of Wonka & Dahl. Nothing was missed. Im sure when i re watch this i will be ticking them all off so much, going ahh i got another one.

The group of girls along from me & my mum were a bit annoyed by the 4th song. It wasnt actually advertised as a musical on the trailers too much, so i can see why some people were like oooh another song really, but i was fully expecting it & so was my mum & we really enjoyed them.

Its the perfect start to the Christmas holidays at the cinema. I am sure the rest of this years box office is going to absolutely boss it & it wouldnt surprise me if Timothee is up for an oscar this year. Well worth a watch peoples. Its pure imagination.

(i wrote that last paragraph before he got snubbed & so did the film)