“Wonka” Assigned MPA Rating for Language and Violence in the Film
The newest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was just assigned a rating from the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and it’s associated with violence depicted in the soon-to-be-released film.
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First announced in October 2016 but delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Warner Bros Pictures said that its latest Wonka movie was originally slated to be released in March, is now set for a theatrical release just in time for Christmas.
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Wonka was directed by Paddington‘s Paul King and features an all-star cast that includes stars Timothée Chalamet (Dune) as the aspiring chocolatier, Rowan Atkinson playing the role of a priest in the film, Sally Hawkins (Paddington, Paddington 2) as Wonka’s mother, Keegan Michael Key (Pinocchio, Toy Story 4, Super Mario Bros. Movie), and Hugh Grant (Paddington 2, Dungeons & Dragons) as an Oompa-Loompa.
Filming for Wonka took place between September 2021 and February 2022, and most of it was on location in the United Kingdom, specifically in the cities of Lyme Regis, Bath, London, Oxford, and at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden in Watford, England.
In 2018, the producer of the film, David Heyman, described the upcoming film project as the prequel to Gene Wilder’s 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and suggested the film would answer a very important question about the peculiar candy maker.
“When we find [Willy Wonka] at the chocolate factory doing the golden ticket,” Heyman asked rhetorically, “where is he before that?”
Yet Another Adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Iconic Classic Novel
Three Wonka-themed films preceded the newest Wonka movie, which is scheduled for a December release.
They include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) starring Gene Wilder, a Tim Burton take on the story about a boy named Charlie Bucket, titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) starring Johnny Depp, and an animated film starring Warner Bros. cartoon characters titled Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (2017). Each film is based on British author Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The newest adaptation, however, serves as the origin story of the eccentric chocolatier.
A Very Different Adaptation
The 2023 adaptation of Dahl’s novel set itself apart from its predecessors from the beginning as the film’s producer and director have touted it as a prequel to the novel’s very first adaptation in 1971. Not only will it serve as the only prequel among the Wonka-inspired films, but it will also be a lively musical–one in which Timothée Chalamet will sing and dance as part of the narrative.
The Wonka movie tells the rags-to-riches story of a young Willy Wonka and follows him as he finds and follows the inspiration to make a name for himself as a world-famous chocolatier.
“Wonka” Gets Its MPA Rating
As Wonka‘s December 15 release date draws closer, FilmRatings has unveiled the MPA’s official rating. The film was expected to garner a family-friendly rating of PG, which it accomplished. The 1971 film received a G rating, and the 2005 adaptation received a rating of PG. But the reason for the new film’s rating is raising a few eyebrows.
The Motion Picture Association has awarded Wonka a PG rating because of the film’s “violence, mild language, and some thematic elements.” And it goes without saying that the “violence” in the rating’s description is the most concerning of the film’s elements.
Common Sense Media describes Wonka as “an origin story, following a young Wonka through adventure-filled mayhem as he meets friends, including the infamous Oompa-Loompas. After seven years of perfecting his craft, Willy sets off to prove people wrong and create the best-tasting chocolate they’ve ever had. Expect some action and conflict, but it promises to be family-friendly overall.”
Wonka makes its box office debut on December 15, 2023, at theaters across the country.
