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Hollywood loves nothing like an origin story and believe it or not, they've cooked one up for Willy Wonka. Helmed by director Paul King (who directed the "Paddington" films), "Wonka" is the story of the young chocolatier who tried to share his magic and passion for chocolate with an entire city. Who knew there would be so much chocolate drama along the way?

When Willy (Timothée Chalamet) arrives in a new city, he's envisioning his future through a jubilant song and dance. The moment his feet touch the ground in the city, he feels his life has just begun. "I've got nothing to offer but my chocolate and a hat full of dreams," he sings with a company of people behind him (but only in his imagination) because for Willy life is about chocolate and magic. He will soon find out life is a little tougher than that.

For as much hope as Willy arrives with, he comes with less money. He's ready to spend his first night on a snowy bench, but he encounters Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman), who offers him a place to stay as long as he can pay by the next morning, which Willy is confident he can. He's warned to read the fine print of Mrs. Scrubbit's contract by Noodle (Calah Lane), but Mrs. Scrubbit - who is immediately untrustworthy - gets him to sign.

Willy's optimism and his hope of carrying on the legacy of his mother (played by Sally Hawkins in flashbacks) keeps him from seeing Mrs. Scrubbit's nefarious intentions, as he works to pay his debt to her. His problems only get worse when he becomes the target of the chocolate cartel, who don't like Willy moving in on their business. It doesn't help that they have the chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) on their side. If that's not enough, Willy also has to fend off an Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant) who is always causing trouble for him.

"Wonka," which is written by King and Simon Farnaby and adapted from Roald Dahl's characters, has an undeniable energy and whimsy to it, which carries it along the way. The story is often busy, and it causes the screenplay to be a bit more muddled than it needs to be. It's clear King wants to make good on the name he made for himself with the "Paddington" movies and replicate the innocence and charm those films had without ever being cloying. "Wonka" doesn't touch the heights of either "Paddington" movie, but King clearly hopes you would disagree.

Everything that works in "Wonka' is carried by Chalamet, who gets his first chance to be a true movie star. Yes, he was the lead of the successful "Dune" adaptation, but "Dune" as a property can generate its own success. Willy Wonka is a known commodity, but it's safe to say there hasn't been a campaign for an origin story of the character. Should "Wonka" be successful during the holiday season, a lot of it will be a test of Chalamet's star power. He's proven to be a great actor (he was Oscar-nominated for his intimate and introverted performance in "Call Me by Your Name") but he hasn't yet had to prove his star power in a big way. He has the fanbase of a movie star without the box office receipts of one.

There's a lot of razzle-dazzle on display throughout "Wonka," from the musical numbers to the imaginative production design, but it does get bogged down in uneven side plots. EVentually the movie's rhythm gets thrown off, but Chalamet's magnetic star turn is able to correct the course - at least most of the time.