Ali Fernand- Editor-in-Chief
Jay’Mi Vazquez- Managing Editor
“Wonka,” released on Dec. 15, 2023, was a prequel to the 1971 film, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Fans of the franchise anticipated the release of this film with popular actor Timothée Chalamet playing Willy Wonka.
However, on social media, those who watched in theaters were in shock that this film was a full-blown musical with eleven songs.
Videos have been showcased of audible sighs from audience members when another song started to play.
The director of the film, Paul King, said in defense of this artistic choice that music is the heart of the original film, mentioning that there cannot be Oompa-Loompas without their catchy song.
Some fans argued that they could have gone without actor Hugh Grant’s adaptation of the Oompa-Loompa song because his singing voice was mediocre, to say the least.
In the official trailers released by Warner Bros., there was no mention of this film being a musical.
Although the previous Willy Wonka films have a small number of original songs included, it did seem like the Warner Bros. marketing team did not want to mention that this film was a musical.
“Wonka” is not alone in this phenomenon of musicals not being marketed as such. For some reason, Hollywood has felt the need to produce musicals without informing audiences ahead of time.
“Mean Girls” has been a staple in pop culture since it was released in 2004. It has since been adapted into a musical for Broadway. Now, we have come full circle to where the musical has received a movie adaptation.
However, the trailers for the musical adaptation’s movie were deceptive to those audience members unaware of the Broadway adaptation. The trailers did not feature any songs or any sign that the movie would be a musical at all.
The marketing of “Wonka” and “Mean Girls” was deceptive to audiences. They both take from stories that have huge pop culture significance and impact. From watching the trailers, “Wonka” looks like a prequel movie and “Mean Girls” seems like just a remake.
There is an audience for a musical movie adaptation. Many people have an interest in theater and the “Mean Girls” Broadway musical was a massive success. Why has Hollywood felt the need to omit that a movie is full of songs?
The marketing of movies like “Wonka” and “Mean Girls” show that production companies expect that musicals are not something that audiences are interested in. This then causes questions about why they would decide to make a musical movie in the first place.
If production companies think there is an audience for musical movies, then they should market them as such. If they think that audiences do not like musical movies, then why are they making them?
Unfortunately, deceptive marketing is not something unique to these movies. However, there is a point to be made that more people are noticing the deception within these advertisements.
