Wonka | 2023 | PG | – 2.3.2

Why is “Wonka” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some violence, mild language and thematic elements.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of kisses, a couple of seduction and flirting scenes, a boat explosion implying the death of a character, an implied drowning in chocolate, many scenes of a young man running from authorities, many scenes of the magical effects of a chocolate created by a young man, a girl dreaming of being reunited with her mother, depictions of people toiling as indentured workers to pay off a debt, a young man giving up on his dreams, yelling, and some mild language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When a young man’s (Timothée Chalamet) dream takes him to the city where chocolate is celebrated, his ambition is thwarted by the men that dominate the market and will do anything in their power to keep him from competing with them. Also with Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Jim Carter, Rakhee Thakrar, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Hugh Grant, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and Rich Fulcher. Directed by Paul King. [Running Time: 1:56]

Wonka SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A man wears shorts that resemble Lederhosen and parades through a room, bending over to show his bare legs to the upper thighs, hoping to entice a woman.
► A man and a woman kiss in a couple of scenes.
► A man and a woman flirt and she falls into his arms. A man and a woman each call the other, apologizing for a lost relationship. A man proposes marriage to a woman and she declines.

Wonka VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – After eating chocolates in a chocolate shop, several people grow long and brightly colored hair and their skin changes color; a young man declares that the chocolates were poisoned and people panic throwing things, and a chandelier crashes to the floor bursting into flames (we do not see injuries). A boat is rigged with explosives and we see it blow up in the distance; men onshore believe that the man onboard was killed (we see him uninjured later). Two people are locked in a room with a large vat of chocolate and they are left to drown (we see them unharmed later).
► A man wraps a newborn child in a sack and drops her down a laundry chute (she is not injured). A police officer pushes a young man’s face into the frigid water of a fountain twice and threatens him if he does not stop making chocolate. A woman yells at a girl and locks her in a dirty and dark bird coup in several scenes. A woman yells at a girl and kicks her on the bottom telling her to get busy with a chore. An Oompa Loompa hits a young man in the head with a heavy frying pan and then on the leg causing him to fall to the floor and the Oompa Loompa steals a jar filled with chocolates and slides down a cable to the ground outside. A girl lunges toward a woman when she threatens her and calls her names. A man shakes a young man’s hand and we hear cracking as he squeezes and the young man winces. A man pushes a young man into a laundry chute and he falls into a bin filled with laundry. Several people are shown toiling over piles of laundry in a dingy laundry room.
► People are held at gunpoint and threatened; a gun is fired in the air. Three men talk about threatening a young man with violence or even death if he doesn’t stop making chocolate. A man sitting in a confessional passes a chocolate through to a priest on the other side and the man is lowered into a secret area where he plots talks with three other men. A police officer takes a jar of coins that a young man has just collected after a chocolate demonstration. A young man is charged an exorbitant amount for what he is told are “extras” at a place where he is staying and he must work off his debt in a laundry. A young man runs through streets while being chased by police and jumps into an open manhole escaping capture in a few scenes. A man kneels down, but cannot get back up saying the he must have gained 150 pounds in the last 2 weeks after eating a lot of chocolate.
► An Oompa Loompa is launched through the air by a device and trapped in a glass display case where he is questioned by a young man. A man and a girl float through the air holding onto a large collection of balloons; they land on a glass roofed building and walk along it before floating away again. A young man demonstrates the magical effects of eating a chocolate that was made with a tiny insect that will make people fly and we see people floating; he later says that when the creatures are tired, they will “pass out of your [anatomical term deleted].” A man and a woman each eat a chocolate that makes them behave as if they are inebriated; a young man lists the alcoholic beverages that they will taste after eating the chocolate. A young man gives chocolates to men in a barbershop and tells them that they will re-grow hair (we see hair on their previously bald heads). People remark about others selling their souls. We see a casket and a funeral with mourners gathered inside and outside a church.
► A girl imagines being reunited with her estranged mother and we see the event drawn in an animated sequence. A giraffe nips at a man’s pants causing him to spill candy on the ground and the giraffe eats the candy. A man enters a giraffe enclosure at a zoo, scratches her chin and milks her while a girl continues to scratch the animal’s chin; the giraffe licks the girl’s face and we see slobber on her face. A young man rides on the top of a moving truck and spins around a light pole to the ground. A young man slides down a ladder on a ship. A girl nearly falls off a ladder.
► An Oompa Loompa describes being sent away from his home. A girl says, “The greedy beat the needy” a couple of times. A woman says that a girl suffers from “orphan syndrome.” A girl warns a young man to “read the small print” when signing an agreement. Men talk about “bludgeoning the competition.” A man offers to injure several people in exchange for chocolate. A man warns a young man that he will be frozen solid if he sleeps outside at night. A young man sings about wearing wet shoes and rotten socks. A man gags twice and says, “I’ve just been a little sick in my mouth,” (we do not see anything). A woman yells about a toilet not functioning. A person remarks that something looks or tastes like rabbit droppings in a pool of custard. A young man says that chocolate had yeti sweat in it. A woman yells from off-screen, “I’m on the toilet.”
► A man (who cannot read) opens a door to a tiger enclosure at a zoo and the animal approaches snarling and roaring loudly. A large dog growls and sniffs a young man’s pants before being called away by a man. A young man drops a coin into his pocket and it falls through a hole at the bottom and into a drain where it is lost. A young man blows on a candle and it lights. An Oompa Loompa is shown with green hair and orange skin and is very small in stature. A man bends over and a white plume emanates from the back of his pants (implying flatulence).

Wonka LANGUAGE 2

 – 1 scatological term, 1 anatomical term, name-calling (mangy mutt, idle peasant, damaged, suspicious, miserable little brat, little brat, crazy, beady-eyed, stupid old hag, bookworm, funny little man, whopper, rude, tragic, in cahoots, chocoholic, sadness, dirty deals, disappointment, nasty little urchins, ridiculous, stupid, retched chocolates, worst, complicated, mime, shorty pants, naughty naughty urchin, common little bookworm, chocapolypse, flop, chatterbox, hair-brained, pair of monsters, disgrace, greedy, smart mouth, needy, weird), exclamations (put a sock in it, here we go baby, bingala, oh no, oh my goodness, jeez, tickety-boo), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my Lord, oh God, Amen, pious). | profanity glossary |

Wonka SUBSTANCE USE

 – A young man and a woman drink shots of gin and the young man remarks about how strong it is, an Oompa Loompa mixes what looks like a cocktail and drinks it in one gulp, a man behaves as if he is addicted to chocolate and makes a deal with other men to get some more, and a man and a woman each eat a chocolate that makes them behave as if they are inebriated.

Wonka DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Dreams, ambition, competition, cutthroat competition, cartels, friendship, the kindness of strangers, secret ingredients, shame, abandonment, temptation, death of a parent, chocolate, wonder, magic, promises, profit, cheating, a man cannot read, snobbery, silver linings, small print.

Wonka MESSAGE

 – Every good thing starts with a dream.