A story as sweet as chocolate for those who dream of ‘Wonka’

A story as sweet as chocolate for those who dream of ‘Wonka’

​When asked to draw a picture of Magic, my 7 year old drew Wonka's magician. I watched this movie with my child out of curiosity.

​The story of Willy Wonka, the main character in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', a film adaptation of the novel by famous British writer Roald Dahl, has returned to the screen in a new form.

​'Wonka' conveys in the sweetest way the sweetest story that dreaming is not in vain to everyone who dreams of their own.

Magician and chocolate maker Willy Wonka's dream is to open his own chocolate shop in Sweet Department Store, the mecca of desserts. He decides to make chocolate that will captivate people with his own special magic recipe.

Wonka, who inherited the secret of chocolate making from his deceased mother, arrives in a European city with the dream of opening the world's best chocolate shop in the 'Sweet Department Store', famous for its sweets.
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However, with nothing to eat, a place to sleep, and no one to rely on, Wonka, who stays in an old inn, falls into Mrs. Scrubbitt and Bleacher's scheme and quickly falls into debt due to the snowdrift of lodging expenses. In addition, Oompa Loompa, a small thief who steals chocolate every night, appears and is subject to strong checks from the chocolate cartel that monopolizes Sweet Department Store. Will he be able to make the world's best chocolate as his late mother wished?

People who have forgotten happiness, people who have forgotten dreams, and people who have forgotten ordinary life gather around Wonka as supporters.

The movie is a fairy tale that talks about dreams and hopes, but it also depicts the inn owner who lures good citizens and treats them like slaves, the tyranny of unscrupulous businessmen who try to violently block Wonka's talent and business, and the sabotage of a corrupt priest and a corrupt police officer. It can also be seen as a story of Wonka's adventures of overcoming evil, punishing evil, and returning home.
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Wonka is an excellent work that tells the story of Wonka's frustration and glory as he dreams of success. Wonka is always positive and never goes back in anything he does. He doesn't have any plans and just lets things happen as they happen. Although he experiences failure one after another, he does not give in at all and remains hopeful. And eventually succeeds.  Meanwhile, the movie shows in many places a stark reality that even adults find difficult to deal with. The sight of Wonka not knowing how to read, signing a contract for cheap lodging provided by an inn, and then becoming a debt slave and working in the inn's basement laundry room is both unrealistic and all too realistic.
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Wonka, in which a fantastical world of colorful and pretty colors constantly unfolds, is by no means a film as fantastical and beautiful as a dream. This seems to show how realistic and difficult dreaming is, and that it only exists in dreams, like flying up in the sky on a balloon.

​In fact, if you know it, all artists in the world are just like Wonka. They paint with a magical dream that floats like an unrealistic balloon. To be honest, selling paintings is like selling chocolate. Magic and art that make the invisible world visible seem to have very similar meanings.

​And while artists draw and sell paintings, they also experience countless difficulties and confusion, like Wonka's Timothee Chalamet. It is like Wonka's chocolate cartel or the police force that wants to create a world where one can no longer dream by showing the difference between reality and ideals. If there are no people who dream like Wonka, the world will turn into a bleak and visionless place without sweetness and beauty. It is the same way that when Wonka showed the magic of dreams in the movie, the color of the movie changed from colorless to colorful and sweet.
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A scene from a movie

​As always, the world is beautiful because we dream. Without dreams and hopes, there may be no expectations and sweetness, like a world without chocolate. The meaning of a dream is not that it can be turned into reality, but isn't the dream itself an exciting and enjoyable adventure, like holding a balloon and flying up the sky? Therefore, like Wonka, we must dream and move forward every day.