Chocolate_Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Thoughts:

I don�t care how wonderful Johnny Depp is or how fantastic Tim Burton is�those two have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to surpass Gene Wilder�s Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder played Wonka as a child with a dark streak trapped in a man�s body. Johnny Depp seems to have contorted the character�s persona to one like an alien who�s just stepped foot on Earth. It�s been a while since I read the book, but I don�t remember the character being that stilted or scary.

The chocolate factory appears more vibrant and having more rooms than the one in the old movie, but there also seems to be less candy in the front candy room. As stupid as it sounds, the rest of the chocolate factory can be as awesome as you like, but the front candy room should far exceed the glory of all the other rooms. It is possible that we�re not seeing the whole room in the preview, so I�ll keep an open mind, but that room is the chandelier of this movie. If it�s not done right, I�ll be a wee bit upset.

Despite what it sounds like, I am actually looking forward to this movie, if nothing else that to see Depp and Burton work together again and to see how the screenwriter interpreted the book. Apparently, the screenwriter had never seen the Gene Wilder version, so there�s the distinct (but distant) possibility that this is an untainted adaption.

Afterthoughts:

Well, it wasn�t bad, but it wasn�t wonderful, either. Johnny Depp�s creepy and childlike portrayal of Willy Wonka was great. He was delightfully snarky and had all the social skills of an engineer, which gives the impression that he hates kids. He doesn�t really hate them so much as wants them to behave and act like small adults. Sounds like a parent to me. Unfortunately, he�s afflicted with the most common of all character problems: Daddy issues. Every other character has them, why did this one have to follow the pack?! I guess, when it�s all said and done, that�s a small complaint to have about an otherwise-great characterization.

Charlie was cute and the most likeable character in the whole movie. Talk about optimism�that kid�s spirit couldn�t be beaten down with a 10-ton weight. His parents weren�t that interesting, but I do have one complaint: does Helena Bonham Carter have such a problem getting work that she has to act in her husband�s movies? I know that they�re married and all, but surely she can flesh out her resume with some other directors.

Those complaints? All minor. My biggest complaint with the movie was the oompa-loompas. Now, I didn�t really want them to have orange skin and green hair, but I did at least want them to be as cool as the ones from the previous movie. First off, they control-c-control-v�d one guy a hundred times. You can�t tell me an entire race looks the same. They could have at least cast about 10 people around the same size for the oompa-loompas and interspersed them in the scenes. Some dance training wouldn�t have gone amiss, either. The songs were a little too modern for me, but I could have lived with that if the dance numbers had been halfway decent. The choreography was meant for Paula Abdul and the choreographer got a Rockbiter. He couldn�t move as fluidly as he needed to and they dressed him up in some of the most ridiculous costumes I�ve ever seen. The musical numbers weren�t the closing lines of a fable like in the old movie. How could they be? You couldn�t understand the lyrics half the time. It was more like they were included in the movie because they were in the old movie. If they couldn�t do them right, they shouldn�t have done them at all.

My Advice:

It pains me to say it, but don�t waste your money on this movie unless you�re a big fan of one of the cast members. Wait until it comes out on DVD and buy it the first week it�s out. It�s good, but not THAT good.