Wonka director teases Timothée Chalamet's singing voice, but says the movie isn't a musical
From what we've seen so far of Wonka, the origin story of Roald Dahl's eccentric chocolatier from Paddington director Paul King, it looks like it's set to be an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza.
However, according to King, it's not really a musical, – but he's full of praise for leading man Timothée Chalamet's singing voice.
"The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Dahl always uses poetry. But I didn’t want it to just become a musical where people are singing dialogue to each other for no discernible reason. I felt like it was more like a movie with songs than a musical," King tells Total Film magazine in the new issue out on September 14, which features Wonka on the cover.
"[Chalamet]’s got a beautiful singing voice," he continues. "The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range, because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion and he can do it all… I’m going to sound like a crazed fan."
Alongside Chalamet, the cast of Wonka includes a who's-who of British acting royalty, including Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, and Rowan Atkinson.
Wonka is released in theaters on December 15. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of this year's most exciting movie release dates.
The above is just a snippet of our interview in the new issue of Total Film magazine, which features Wonka on the cover. The magazine hits shelves this Thursday, September 14, and features new insight into everything from The Exorcist: Believer to Killers of the Flower Moon, as well as plenty of reviews for all of the latest releases.
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