Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Review
Let me just start by saying that Johnny Depp is truly a man of many faces. He is a very multi-faceted actor. He can play whatever character he is up for. This movie is really a larger than life type of movie. The factory was really what you would expect Willy Wonka’s factory to look like. It was just a fantastical place that can make your dreams come to fruition. Many parts of this movie are what Gene Wilder was going for in the original Willy Wonka, but then there are also parts that the character Depp plays could not be a part of the more loving world of the Willy Wonka from before. It was a good movie where you really have to separate yourself from the original to get the full effect that Tim Burton was going for. But if you can do that, then you can really enjoy the atmosphere of the factory and all of the amazing things that happen there. I give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a 7 out of 10.
The team of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are a great pairing. Each movie they have done together really has a great feel to it in worlds that could only exist in the mind and imagination of a filmmaker. The cast for this movie was really well played. Each of the children had a Tim Burton feel to them where they looked so perfect that they didn’t seem real. They almost seemed to be plastic children. I really don’t know what I can say about this movie in terms of critiques since I love the original. So it makes me a little bit biased toward it, so instead I thought I might go through and contrast the two as to what is different, as well as some of the different takes that they have on parts of the story.
Additions:
In the new version of the Willy Wonka story there is a lot more backstory. You really learn how Willy Wonka came to be who he is in the story and why he thinks the way he does. You also have backstory of Grandpa Joe who used to work for Willy Wonka before the factory was closed to the public. You get to go to Loompaland and see the Oompa Loompas in their natural environment, and even get to learn about Charlie’s father. Yes, I said Charlie’s father. In the new movie, Charlie has a father who lives with the family and supports the family while the mother stays home to take care of the grandparents. Another addition is a boat ride down the chocolate river in Wonka’s factory which was a very surreal rollercoast ride instead of the very small boat that was taken in the first movie. In Mel Stuart’s version of the movie there were the geese who laid the golden eggs, whereas the Burton version has geese who shell out the nuts. So instead of the bad egg, you have a bad nut.
Losses:
Slugworth is apparently dead. He never shows up in the new version of the story, which seems to take away from the story arc of the original. There is also the loss of the Double Bubble Burpa-cola room that gave Charlie the realism of having a fault and being inquisitive. The new Charlie is a perfect child with no faults whatsoever that kind of takes away from the interest in him. I also missed the songs like the Golden Ticket song. Not all of the songs, as the Oompa Loompa songs were still there and very well done. The lyrics were a little harder to understand in this one, but the parts that were understandable were a lot of fun and had some good jokes woven into the song. Then there is the loss of the contract signing sequence. But with the loss of the Double Bubble Burpa-cola, there is no need for this section. The last thing I missed was the snozzberries. I know you are thinking that is strange, but one of my favorite lines "The Snozzberries taste like snozzberries". Especially after it got put in Super Troopers.
Whether you think that you know what happens in the movie or not, you do need to go see it. It really is a funnier movie than the original. There were separate sets of jokes for children and adults. Not in a bad way, but instead they simply wanted to appeal to the widest audience possible. So there were many parts where the children didn’t laugh, but a handful of adults were really enjoying the humor that was snuck in between storyline points. There is a very large amount of cgi in this movie since there was actually only one person who played the oompa loompas and they simply used the computer to replicate him. The glass elevator was more fantastical than the original as it could go all directions and you could see that it would. It was even used for transporting people to various places outside of the factory. Johnny Depp with his Dr. Evil meets Valley Girl voice was a lot of fun and you really equate it with his character after a few minutes of listening to him speak. Something that caught my eye, but isn’t credited was that the "snitch" of Wonka’s factory was David Battley who played the teacher in the original Willy Wonka. Now, I checked the Internet Movie Database and it does not credit him as being in the movie, but if it isn’t him, then it is someone who looks a lot like him. Let me know if you think it is or isn’t him.
In Conclusion, this movie is a lot of fun. The visuals are absolutely stunning, the actors do a great job, and the storyline, of course. is solid. There are other movies that I, as an adult, have enjoyed more this summer, but for kids, this movie is perfect. It is a great mix of family values, fun slapstick comedy, and a beautiful, magical place. If I had to choose one though, I would pick the original, because of the emotional attachment, as well as the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka. I give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a 7 out of 10.