What Is Wonka Rated & Is The Movie Appropriate For Kids To Watch?

The PG rating given to «Wonka» is nothing out of the ordinary for family films nowadays. However, it will be interesting to compare and contrast the upcoming release to the two prior «Charlie and the Chocolate Factory» movie adaptations. «Wonka» serves a different narrative purpose than these past renditions, so does that mean the property’s creepier elements will be altered in the process?

«Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,» starring Gene Wilder, got away with a G rating upon its release in 1971 despite containing some pretty unsettling moments — perhaps most infamously with the manic tunnel ride scene. When Tim Burton and Johnny Depp put their spin on the classic tale in 2005’s «Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,» it received a PG rating. The overall experience of Burton’s adaptation can be best described as a 115-minute CGI fever dream, with its $150 million budget delivering some truly demented visuals, especially any scene where the kids are being taught their lesson.

As a prequel that doesn’t directly adapt any Roald Dahl material, audiences going into «Wonka» are not going to see any beheaded chickens or girls turning into blueberries. But if its PG rating indicates anything, the film may still have some elements that come off a bit creepy, especially if it explores Wonka’s motivations for making these off-kilter decisions in the chocolate factory’s creation. Time will tell if this sweet story has any hint of scariness when it releases on December 15.