Cosm turns ‘Willy Wonka’ into a multisensory experience — putting you in the chocolate factory

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We are at the dawn of the era of “experimental cinema.”

Entrepreneurs like Jeb Terry of Cosm and James Dolan of Sphere are betting on a new way to experience classic movies. Their domed venues are bringing older films back to life with updated technology. Terry recently described this approach while introducing a remastered version of the 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” which premieres this week at Cosm in Inglewood. The goal is to enhance the original’s playful and magical qualities using modern CGI animation, celebrating the charm of the Gene Wilder classic.

Travel & Experiences

The entertainment venue in Los Angeles has become popular for its sports broadcasts and massive screen. Now, they’re changing the way people experience movies.

As a total movie fanatic, I recently checked out ‘Wonka’ at Cosm, and it’s unlike anything I’ve experienced in a theater before. They’re really trying to reinvent how we watch films – they did it with ‘The Matrix’ last year and have plans for ‘Harry Potter’ too. They call it ‘shared reality,’ and honestly, it’s immersive, but in a surprisingly cozy way. You’re completely surrounded by this massive, 87-foot spherical screen, but they’ve got comfy couch seating, which makes it feel more like hanging out with friends. And get this – they want you to use your phone, take pictures, and share the experience! It’s a really cool, communal vibe.

“Wonka” is an enjoyable film as long as you don’t overthink it. Because it focuses so much on imagination and creating an experience, some of the details feel a little underdeveloped. The filmmakers, working with Secret Cinema and MakeMake, really prioritize visual spectacle, constantly bombarding the audience with bright and colorful imagery. This approach is often delightful, but sometimes feels overwhelming, and I questioned why the animation style didn’t lean into the aesthetic of the 1970s, which would have better matched the film’s tone.

Has the film traded its original sense of intrigue for flashy special effects? Perhaps that’s not the right question to ask when the viewings are more like parties, complete with fancy treats like peanut butter mousse tarts and sparkly red cocktails.

This is a fully immersive experience. The opening credits, originally featuring flowing chocolate, now include smoothed-out, almost cartoonish visuals reminiscent of “Super Mario Bros.” – with pipes and tubes designed to make you feel like you’re inside a chocolate factory. It’s charming and draws your eye away from the movie itself to appreciate the playful animation. My only issue is that the live-action footage seems overly processed and smoothed out by the animation.

The film expands on news reports, revealing a whimsical, animated studio. We see scenes of children running by above chocolate factories, and the first big musical number, “The Candy Man,” is enhanced with vibrant, carnival-like imagery—spinning Candy Buttons, flower-shaped slot machines, and subtle encouragement to sing or at least move your lips with the song.

Movies

The classic 1939 film has been reimagined using artificial intelligence to fill the massive space of a Las Vegas entertainment venue. But has the new version strayed too far from the original story?

While ‘Wonka’ wasn’t a blockbuster when it first came out, it became increasingly popular over the years, thanks to Sammy Davis Jr.’s hit song ‘The Candy Man’ and countless TV showings that made it a beloved classic for many families. The film is playfully eccentric, a family movie with a surprisingly strange—and sometimes even a little unsettling—side. However, I attended the premiere of Cosm’s ‘Wonky’ experience not to review the film itself, but to see how Cosm’s immersive technology could breathe new life into an older movie.

The moment young Peter Ostrum, as Charlie, discovered the golden ticket in “Willy Wonka” was incredibly powerful. I recall feeling anxious as a child, worried someone would grab the ticket from him amidst the bustling crowd. However, the film’s visuals transformed that potential tension into pure joy. It really highlighted how much impact added elements like music and special effects can have on a movie’s overall emotional feeling.

Cosm’s goal of complete immersion sets it apart from previous attempts at interactive entertainment, like the choose-your-own-adventure style show on Netflix, ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,’ or 4DX movie theaters with moving seats and environmental effects like wind and water in movies like ‘Twisters.’ I found the experience most effective when it focused on more artistic and abstract visuals – for example, when colorful city scenes shifted to simple black and white sketches, or when the animations emphasized the playful, unusual side of Willy Wonka’s factory rather than trying to make it feel completely real.

I found myself pulled away from the story at times, like when Willy Wonka, played by Gene Wilder, hobbled onto the scene with a surprisingly modern, industrial backdrop replacing the whimsical factory. However, I was completely captivated by moments like the dazzling light display surrounding Wonka near the film’s end, and the creative way the Oompa Loompas were shown as glowing, DNA-like shapes.

It’s been over twenty years since I last saw the original “Wonka” movie, so my memories of it are a bit hazy. I’ve seen more recent adaptations that are fresher in my mind. Unlike with “The Matrix,” where I rewatched the original before experiencing it at Cosm, I didn’t do that with “Wonka.” I think how much you enjoy the Cosm experience will depend a lot on how familiar you are with the original movie. Because I’d forgotten so much of “Wonka,” I wasn’t sure whether to focus on the original story or the immersive experience itself. With “The Matrix,” the movie was still fresh in my mind, so I felt comfortable relaxing and enjoying the dome’s amazing screen.

The movie is truly stunning. When Charlie begins to float inside Wonka’s factory, the visuals expand, filling the screen with bubbles. Depending on where you sit, it feels like you’re looking straight up at the ceiling. The picture quality is so sharp that it creates the illusion of movement and depth, and the scene where the characters are stuck in a room with no doors is disorientingly immersive.

The movie also finds a lightheartedness when Violet delightfully turns into a blueberry. A particularly creative scene happens when Charlie’s wall of hands extends past the screen, appearing to wave to the viewers.

The film truly shines in moments like these, where Cosm’s innovative approach to cinema moves beyond being just a new idea and becomes a genuinely immersive experience.

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2025-11-20 14:31