Did the Wonka Movie Rip Off Chocolat? | A Chocolate Film Analysis

Timothée Chalamet and Juliette Binoche are two of Hollywood's Most Famous Chocolatiers, and Their Stories Have More Than a Few Similarities...

Feb 12, 2024

In the past week and a half, I had the pleasure of viewing both the 2023 Wonka movie starring Timothée Chalamet and the 2000 classic Chocolat starring Juliette Binoche. I expected both films to be whimsical, fun, and chocolate-filled, and my expectations were exceeded. I did not, however, anticipate these two films to have glaring similarities, to the point where it’s all I can think about.

Wonka tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a Roald Dahl character that has delighted children for six decades en counting. A fantasy musical with a PG rating, Wonka follows Willy, a magician-chocolatier, as he attempts to open up a chocolate shop in the big city. He quickly learns the city is run by a chocolatier cartel who will stop at nothing to protect their profits. Willy has to quickly make friends, money, and chocolate to make his dreams come true.

Chocolat, on the other hand, follows the nomadic Vianne and her daughter as they arrive in a small French town circa 1959. The little family travels wherever the clever north wind blows, sharing the gift of chocolate and following Vianne’s late mother’s footsteps. When Vianne opens a chocolate shop just in time for Lent, the stubbornly traditional community is, for lack of a better word, shook. Rated PG-13, Vianne must decide if she should continue a nomadic lifestyle, or put down roots in a town that rejects her.

Here are just a few of the similarities Wonka and Chocolate share (starting with the most obvious)…

Really good chocolate blows people’s minds
Flashbacks to vaguely Central American locations, where characters acquire cacao beans
A town set in their ways, with town leaders who attempt to thwart the main character’s plans
Abundant attempts to destroy a chocolatier’s business
Chocolatier befriends someone with a bad family life and get them into a better situation
Chocolatier is deeply grieving the loss of their mother, and desperately trying to live up to their mother’s expectations, only truly facing their issues by the end of the film
Nomadic people use a long boat to sail down rivers
Meditations on the meaning of home, family, and chocolate

I could go on!

Of course, Chocolat is a more adult film: It includes romantic interests (Johnny Depp, incidentally, a member of the Wonka cinematic universe), jarring depictions of domestic violence, the weight of parenthood, the negative health effects of eating your weight in chocolate every day. Based on a book of the same name by Joanne Harris (who says she was born in her grandparent’s candy shop) Chocolat certainly has a fable feel, similar to Penelope and Big Fish, with a dash of Footloose. Generally, the film skews more toward “real life” and its responsibilities.

By contrast, Wonka is much more fantastical: Magical plant ingredients make people fly or grow colorful hair, the acting is decidedly slapstick and over-the-top, the only consequence of overeating sugar is being hilariously clumsy and out of shape, and original musical numbers are in no short supply. The film clearly targets children, and the writers — Paddington 2’s Paul King and Simon Farnaby — admit to drawing inspiration from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as well as Dahl’s other works to craft the screenplay, with no mention of Chocolat.

To me, it truly feels like the writers watched Chocolat in their research, and it seeped so deeply into their subconscious they forgot where the inspiration was coming from.

Regardless, one huge difference between the two films is the chocolate itself. Chocolat features cups of hot chocolate with chile, chocolate tortes, and capezzoli di venere (google it!) The candies and sweets are rooted in wisdom that was passed down to Vianne from her ancestors. She even guesses patrons’ “favorite” forms of chocolate — implying there are only so many to choose from.

In Wonka, while Willy certainly is inspired by his mother’s chocolate, he’s got a penchant for discovery and invention, always on the hunt for exciting new methods and ingredients to make his chocolate surprise and delight.

While both Vianne and Willy are confident in their confections, Wonka calls his chocolate candies “incredible edibles” and “unbeatable eatables.” From hover chocs to hair repair eclairs, giraffe macaroons to “big night out” truffles, 2023’s Wonka is jonesing for a viral moment that will get the town talking.

Even if you’re the type of person who could live without chocolate, Chocolat and all of the Wonka films make you feel like you can’t. Whether you loved them or hated them, these films reminded us that enjoying a bite of chocolate requires presence, living in and appreciating the moment. Now that’s the type of lesson that food movies are made for.

Further Reading: Chocolate enthusiasts might love

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Later this week, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on The Taste of Things [Editor’s Note: Now available to read here], this year’s top epicure-romance flick (also starring Juliette Binoche) just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Stay tuned for that, and if you’re still scrambling for date night ideas with your beau, I’d highly recommend dinner and a movie — specifically The Taste of Things. (In that order, if you know what’s good for you.)