Fans rave about Wonka and admit they cried over Timothee Chalamet's performance after critics hailed the movie as 'surprisingly good'

Moviegoers are raving about Wonka, the big screen origins tale of Roald Dahl's chocolatier.

The embargo for reviews and reactions lifted on Tuesday night as the world premiere took place in London, prompting a flurry of positive tweets from fans.

Those lucky enough to catch a preview screening of the movie, which is out on general release in Europe on December 8 and in the US on December 15, have hailed leading man Timothée Chalamet as 'whimsical' and 'charming'.

'I’m not a film critic and so many others are doing it on such an eloquent level, so I’ll just say this about Wonka. Wonka. GOOD! Very good. I of course cried. Give it all the golden tickets,' posted one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

'#WonkaMovie was so cute!! I really enjoyed it and would totally watch it again. Timothée Chalamet was whimsical as Willy Wonka, and Calah Lane as Noodle was amazing! Don’t go in expecting Charlie or golden tickets. This movie is about Willy and how he became a famous chocolatier!' added another.

 'I loooooooved #Wonka— everyone else did too right? It’s so tender and entertaining with Colman a superb villain and Chalamet proving he can sing, too. Plus great songs and visuals. Take all of your kids.'

Another posted that 'it absolutely rules.'

Others felt justified in their early hopes for the movie, despite criticism of trailers and promo material.

'People being surprised that Wonka is good… I never doubted Paul King, director of Paddington! Not for a second!!' posted one fan. 

'It should be shouted from the rooftops that WONKA is that it is written by the same team that wrote/directed PADDINGTON and PADDINGTON 2, Paul King and Simon Farnaby. It's genuine, not saccharine, and yes, I cried. It has Billy Wilder-style fast moving comedic dialogue.' 

Other moviegoers put any fears to rest that the film wouldn't live up to the 1971 adaptation of Dahl's novel starring Gene Wilder.

'OK, I can finally say it. The embargo is down @RealChalamet is Woknalicious in #Wonka I am old, so I love the original movie, but this is a new story with an amazing energy & joyfulness and it is just as delightful. It made me laugh and smile, and I can't wait to see it again,' posted one delighted fan. 

Critics have also added their praise to the movie with Collider senior producer Perri Nemiroff writing: '#Wonka is a super charming delight powered by an exceptional & pitch-perfect performance from Timothée Chalamet.'

'It can get quite silly and there's a few plot points that are a tad on the thin side, but that couldn't stop such an impossibly sweet film with a hefty & very effective dose of sincerity from warming my heart.' 

Variety/The A.V. Club film critic Courtney Howard called Wonka 'a winning confection, filled with perfect amounts of charm, whimsy & poignancy, powered by pure imagination & bright, nimble musical numbers.'

'Timothée Chalamet is a charisma factory. His full committal is intoxicating,' Howard added. 

 'Hugh Grant [as an Oompa-Loompa] in exceptional IDGAF mode.'

IndieWire chief film critic David Ehrlich simply wrote: 'Wonka good. Paul King king.'

Roger Ebert associate editor Robert Daniels 'surprisingly, mostly, enjoyed WONKA' and called Timothée 'a really gifted comedic actor, smartly leveraging his star persona for laughs.'

'The staging is good and there's lots of heart and whimsy. I did not however like the barrage of fat jokes. Poor form in a delightful film,' Daniels scoffed.

The origin tale on Willy Wonka - based on Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - hits UK theaters December 8 and US theaters December 15.

Wonka also features Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, and newcomer Calah Lane.

Chalamet earned $9M to portray the titular character after beating out Tom Holland, Donald Glover, Ezra Miller and Ryan Gosling for the role.

The eccentric genius, who delighted in punishing naughty children, was memorably originated by Gene Wilder in Mel Stuart's 1971 beloved classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.