Blockbuster Wonka is released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the UK this week and scenes from the magical movie were filmed in Hertfordshire.
Starring Hollywood A-lister Timothée Chalamet in the title role, fantasy film Wonka introduces cinema audiences to a young Willy Wonka, as he becomes the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolatier.
What is Wonka about?
Based on the eccentric character at the heart of Roald Dahl’s classic children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, origin story Wonka tells the whimsical tale of how a young chocolate-maker, armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time.
Director Paul King said: “I wanted to bring to the world a Wonka back when he was young and wide-eyed and full of hope and optimism, before he became this sort of Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka that we all know and love.
"Somebody that didn’t have a penny to his name, but had a dream of a brighter tomorrow. What I wanted to show is the flowering of a genius in the most extraordinary way you can possibly imagine — a man who discovers who he is, but also finds a family.
“So, when we first meet Willy Wonka in the movie, he hasn’t really become the character that so many of us grew up with. He’s really a young man arriving in this strange city, this magical, mystical place.
"He has come with a very clear vision of what he wants the future to be and he believes it to be possible… and so he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer."
Speaking on the red carpet at the festive film’s world premiere in London, Call Me By Your Name actor Chalamet, 27, told the PA news agency: “I do think this is a Christmas movie because I think it’s joyful.
It’s hopeful. It’s fantastical. It’s huge.
“David Heyman is a producer on this, obviously he didn’t direct it, but the films he does, like Harry Potter or Barbie, are these huge world-building movies and this is one of them.”
As well as Timothée Chalamet, the ensemble cast of Wonka includes Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson, Downton Abbey's Jim Carter, Oscar winner Olivia Colman, who filmed The Favourite at Hatfield House, and Hugh Grant as a green-haired Oompa Loompa.
Little Britain’s Matt Lucas, Calah Lane as Noodle, and Horrible Histories' Mathew Baynton are among the film’s other stars.
From Paul King, the writer/director of the hit Paddington movies, Wonka is released in the UK on December 8 and on December 15, 2023 in North America.
Where was Wonka filmed?
The world of pure imagination seen on screen in Wonka was created in Hertfordshire at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, which was also home to this summer's $1billion box office smash Barbie movie and the Harry Potter franchise.
As well as Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, Wonka was filmed on location in Bath, Oxford, Lyme Regis, London and St Albans.
Filming at Leavesden began in the autumn of 2021 and shot for 21 weeks on more than 50 incredible sets built across three sound stages, a massive backlot, and an aircraft hangar, and also involved shooting at more than 10 stunning locations across the country.
On crafting the scrumdiddlyumptious world of Wonka, production designer Nathan Crowley said: “Designing for ‘Wonka’ — this wonderful origin story with music — allowed me to go into pure fantasy, and to think differently than I usually do when designing other types of films.
"I could be more creative and experimental. As a designer, I’m trying to make the world seamlessly exist for the audience without being distracting.
"With fantasy, you get to stretch that idea considerably and hopefully create a world that is both whimsical and believable."
He added: "The film’s setting is a fictional city that is flavoured with many familiar elements of different European cities, but Willy Wonka’s influence changes that city into a magical place where anything is possible.
At one point, we contemplated filming in Europe, actually going to a real town square. But if we did that, where is that square? And it would have to be decided that this was going to be a location film.
"It would have made things more challenging, with big dance numbers and having to control areas for long periods of time.
"I think it worked out well that we got to build a big backlot, because we got to make it ours."
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Where is Wonka set?
Director Paul King described the location of Wonka to his creative team as “the best of Europe”.
Production designer Nathan Crowley — working closely with set decorator Lee Sandales and property master Jamie Wilkinson — gave Paul exactly that, fashioning a charming town with a mix of Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, German and Swiss architecture.
King and his team mapped this island city out to the smallest detail, starting with a ruined castle at the top and an ornate town square in the middle, with cathedral to one side and opposite the famed Galeries Gourmet.
From the square, cobbled streets lead down to the docks and over the bridge and down the alleyways to Mrs Scrubitt’s Bruges-style workhouse laundry.
Another network of streets is revealed underground, where Wonka secretly escapes the laundry to peddle his chocolates in the square.
Building the storm drains on a soundstage limited the space available, but Crowley applied old school techniques to expand the space, forcing the perspective with back-lit painted backings and mirrors.
Creating Wonka world: Behind the scenes of filming Wonka
Here's an in-depth guide to the Wonka filming locations and sets built at the Leavesden studios.
1. Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, Hertfordshire
Set before the events of the chocolate factory, Wonka focuses on the enigmatic Willy Wonka and the candymaker’s origins.
To realise the fantastical Wonka world Paul King had imagined, art, set decoration, construction and props crafted a romantic, fairytale city on the huge Leavesden backlot, and built on and adapted beautiful locations in and around England — from a small village in Oxfordshire, to a 1950s ballroom in London and the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral.
The bulk of the filming took place at Leavesden. Here's a look at the various sets at the Warner Bros film and TV studios near Watford.
TOWN SQUARE
This was an epic build, some 900m x 900m across Leavesden’s biggest backlot, and took around eight months to complete.
Inspired by the Old Town Bridge Tower — a beautiful Gothic gateway guarding Charles Bridge in Prague’s Old Town — Crowley built a fairytale entrance into the square.
On one side of the square sits the cathedral, with Crowley playing to the beauty of St Paul’s, where interiors were also shot, and mixing in some Prague churches, with St Nicholas Church in Prague’s Old Town Square a key influence.
For the square itself, production built 12 functioning shops, two restaurants, two al fresco restaurants, and dressed in a food market and a florist, with each shop boasting its own personality.
Sandales brought the square to life, sourcing items to dress the establishments from markets to antique firms, as well as rental companies in the UK and Europe.
To cap it all, a practical fountain was constructed in the centre of the square, and SFX was charged with transforming it into a winter wonderland by adding a dusting of snow.
On the detail of the Leavesden sets, Paterson Joseph, who plays nefarious Chocolate Cartel head Slugworth, said: “I’d never seen how vast this cavern was, and that was amazing in itself.
"Then we’d gone onto the set of the town square, which was the next scene we shot, and it was snowing. I mean, you just melted, because it was perfect.
"It’s a sort of 1940s fairytale European setting. It’s beautifully designed — the detail in the shop windows, the cafes, the details on the costumes… every single one is perfect.”
GALERIES GOURMET
Opposite the cathedral, behind grand iron gates, sits the Galeries Gourmet, home to the shops of the Chocolate Cartel, chocolatiers Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton), Slugworth (Paterson Joseph) and Prodnose (Matt Lucas), along with other high-end merchants and one currently vacant space.
Influenced by the neo-Renaissance architecture and design of spaces like the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Crowley created a glass-domed arcade with an octagonal intersection.
Every shop window was dressed with passion and care, along with a huge amount of bespoke velvet drapery made on-site at Leavesden.
Practical requirements demanded production build a temporary stage for the Galeries Gourmet set to accommodate the flying action for the Hoverchoc sequence.
Matt Lucas, who plays the less-than-sharp Chocolate Cartel member Prodnose, feels Simon Farnaby and Paul King, who wrote the screenplay, "have really fleshed-out Fickelgruber, Slugworth and Prodnose".
They’ve set up this cartel of chocolatiers who are rivals, but who will work together to ward off any threat, and the threat right now is this magnificent new chocolatier on the block by the name of Wonka.”
WONKA’S CHOCOLATE SHOP
The interior of Wonka’s Chocolate Shop was a separate build on Leavesden’s S Stage. A romantic and enchanted candy land, this was Dahl-inspired design at its finest.
The filmmakers based the design on Willy’s childhood memories. The centrepiece of the shop is a cherry blossom tree — a beautiful tree Willy and his mother used to sail past on their barge.
The rotating tree is reached via a bridge and features a curved trunk, which Willy walks up into the twirling treetop surrounded by pink-tinged, cotton-candy clouds.
Calah Lane said: “I loved the sets. The sets are absolutely beautiful.
Every set is just its own character. And my favourite set, I’d say, is the Wonka Chocolate Shop. I love it.
"It’s like when you walk in, and you see everything, it’s just like a big bright sun. It’s crazy. When you see it and you see all the flowers and the river, it’s just really cool to me.”
SCRUBITT & BLEACHER
The entire enterprise of Scrubitt & Bleacher was realised on Leavesden’s F Stage: the shop “lobby” with its long counter and laundry-stuffed shelves; the wash house; Willy’s room; and Noodle’s room.
All are connected by a series of corridors, circular staircases, chute and dumb waiter, and also feature little turrets and the infamous coop.
Shiny reflective tiling brought light into the washhouse basement, where Willy lands amongst the laundry workers who have met the same fate as he.
Olivia Colman, who plays the scheming and entrepreneurial Mrs Scrubitt, said: “I think ‘Wonka’ really goes back to an era of grand filmmaking. The tricks, the flying and things are all in-camera. They’re not post.
Scenes with big musical numbers and tunes that I’m still hearing in my head. I can imagine kids around the country singing these songs at school. Paul’s done such a beautiful job and he’s made a masterpiece, I think.”
CATHEDRAL VAULT / CARTEL LAIR
Built on Leavesden’s I Stage, this concealed vault was comprised of several separate sets, including the vault control room, the chocolate tank, the confessional booth access, secret elevator and vault corridor.
The Crypt itself was an elaborate build created on a radius with an ornate Art Deco- and Russian-inspired dress.
OTHER SETS
The interior of the narrowboat of Willy’s childhood was also constructed at Leavesden, with the charming set comprised of many elements lifted from old caravans.
Other constructions included the boat on which Willy arrives (above and below deck), various storm drains, and multiple locations within the zoo, including the welcome lodge and giraffe enclosure.
2. St Albans, Hertfordshire
Scenes of Wonka were also filmed on location in St Albans, Hertfordshire, about seven miles up the road from the movie's base at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.
Chalamet, who also plays Paul Atreides in the forthcoming Dune sequel, Dune: Part Two, was spotted on set in St Albans last year for filming of the Wonka movie.
Warner Bros took over Verulamium Park and the Abbey Mill Lane area of the cathedral city in late February/early March 2022 for location filming of Wonka.
Film crews built sets covered in fake snow around the lake and near the historic Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub for the shoot.
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Footage filmed in St Albans featured in the first official Wonka trailer, with the lake area transformed into a magical snow-covered winter wonderland.
- You can watch the first Wonka trailer below.
Eagle-eyed viewers can spot Chalamet as Willy Wonka and co-star Calah Lane as Noodle running around the lake, picking up some balloons, as pictured below during the night shoot, although the area looks more polished on screen thanks to the wonders of visual effects and post-production work.
Jim Carter — best known as Mr Carson in Downton Abbey — was also spotted filming scenes of Wonka in St Albans near the city's historic cathedral on Abbey Mill Lane.
Wonka Watch: For more on filming of Wonka in St Albans, visit www.hertsad.co.uk/topics/wonka-watch/
3. Cardington Hangar, Bedfordshire
There were also a few days’ shooting at the Cardington Hangar, a former airship shed near Bedford.
Here the Flying By Foy team rigged multiple trapezes for Timothée Chalamet and Calah Lane to rehearse and shoot their high-flying duet, dancing in the zoo, and then being lifted airborne by colourful balloons.
4. St Paul's Cathedral, London
For shooting in the interior of the Cathedral, in the Nave and Choir, St Paul’s was closed for a first-time, three-day stretch.
Production worked around-the-clock to prep, shoot and strike within the 72 hours.
Special permission was obtained to also open the Great West Door, which is normally only used as a pass-through for the current reigning monarch.
5. Lyme Regis, Dorset
Location filming of Wonka also took place in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in October 2021.
Lyme Regis’ charming harbour offered the perfect location for the town’s docks and where the boat carrying Willy lands.
The historic harbour wall — known as The Cobb — and the seaside town with its beautifully preserved period buildings tied in perfectly with the overall aesthetic of the film.
On the first day of filming in Lyme Regis, Chalamet was seen in full costume as Willy Wonka walking along The Cobb carrying a cane and a suitcase.
Chalamet was later seen riding on top of a truck, which read Moreau & Fils.
Matt Lucas and Peep Show star Paterson Joseph were also spotted on location in Lyme Regis during filming.
Scenes were shot on the historic vessel Lydia Eva, which is the world’s last surviving steam-powered herring drifter. It was covered in artificial snow during the two days of filming.
Lyme Regis, however, proved a challenging location, as the busy working port is home to many small fishing businesses.
Production had to shut down the harbour for three days, stopping all access in and out, which meant negotiating with 40 different companies to mutual satisfaction.
Holidaymakers and hundreds of fans were also more than happy to gather in the hope of catching a glimpse of Hollywood star Chalamet.
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6. Goring Gap
Goring Gap, a location situated between two separate Areas of Outstanding Beauty — a picturesque valley occupied by the River Thames, with a riverbank in the Chilterns and, on the other side, in the North Wessex Downs — provided the backdrop where young Willy (played by Colin O’Brien) performs magic for his Mamma (Sally Hawkins) on the narrowboat that is their home on the river.
Scenes with the narrowboat were also shot at Sutton Bridge, a picture-perfect stretch of the Thames with weeping willows and a beautiful stone bridge.
7. Bath, Somerset
In the beautiful and elegant city of Bath, the stunning honey-coloured Georgian architecture complemented the Leavesden build.
It proved a perfect location to situate exterior shots near the cathedral, along The Colonnades, and a riverbank.
8. Oxford
The university city of Oxford provided its historic Radcliffe Camera, part of the Bodleian Library, and another riverside location for filming.
Fans gathered in the streets of Oxford when news broke that Chalamet had been spotted in a purple frock coat and top hat filming near the Bodleian Library.
Scenes were also filmed in Catte Street, Merton Street and Hertford College, according to the Oxford Mail.
The Wonka crew filmed in Oxford in December 2021 and returned in February 2022.
9. Rivoli Ballroom, south London
Another Wonka location was the Rivoli Ballroom, a beautiful original 1950s example in Brockley Road, Crofton Park, and the only one left in London.
This was used for a comedy club and telephone exchange, according to Warner Bros Pictures.
10. Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property with a beautiful 1930s Art Deco interior, provided a perfect environment for interiors in the Slugworth house and factory.
- Wonka will be released in cinemas across the UK on December 8 by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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