Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
(C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
Our eyes are as wide as Charlie's in 'Charlie & the Chocolate Factory', an adventurous comedy directed by Tim Burton. We all know the story by now: Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), a young lad from a poor family, lives near a chocolate factory. Recently re-opened, sweets are being sold at such a rate that Charlie's grandpa's job of screwing on toothpaste caps is in jeopardy. Sweets leads to cavities. Cavities leads to toothpaste. So, with the surge in toothpaste, machinery steps in & negates Grandpa Joe (David Kelly) a job at the factory. Luck changes when Charlie finds one of five golden tickets & entry into the renovated chocolate factory. This film barely holds a candle to 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, but it does have its own surreal sense of style & charm.
To escape a world where he's saddened by his impoverished family's dire situation, Charlie dreams about eating chocolate (that he can't really afford). Things change when Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) holds the very contest which enables Charlie to win a once-in-a-lifetime tour. In the nearby factory, Charlie realizes he is the tamest out of 4 other brats who've won the other 4 tickets. They are, of course, a chubby, gluttonous Augustus Gloop, a spoiled Veruca Salt, a TV-fanatic, Mike Teavee, & champion bubble gum chewer, Violet Beauregarde (AnnaSophia Robb). Upon meeting the chocolate manufacturer, Willy Wonka, they/we all find him to be an eccentric, mysterious man with an annoyingly childish nature. 1 child will win a prize at the end of the tour, but what will they have to endure?
Like the 1971 film, this one uses vibrant colors, odd shapes, sizes, & CGI effects to create a fun, yet eerie effect. i.e., creating hundreds of Oompa Loompas out of one actor, named Deep Roy. Depp's Wonka takes the kids on a wild, psychedelic ride through the factory. Some awful things happen to the nasty kids along the way. One of my favorite sections (of both films) is the original moral-telling songs that the Oompa's sing after a child has been exited from the tour. Freddie Highmore is great as the sweet child who's the pride & joy of his family (including Tim Burton's wife, Helena Bonham Carter, as his mom). I love the set designs in this version. Some of the new songs are fun. And I was startled by a different, but rather effective ending to this version.
However, some things didn't jive with me. The imaginative mood of the film, while frenetic, is lacking something. The 1971 film is a cult classic of passionate madhouse entertainment, but this film tries to one-up that madhouse effect and it misses the mark. Johnny Depp is intriguing as Wonka, his facial expressions got me laughing, but he's too creepy here. Gene Wilder's Wonka was witty, odd, & endearing. Creepy, he was not. While this role is right up Depp's alley, it inexplicably doesn't work because he's not sweet (like his chocolate) ... you don't know the source of his mischief. Sometimes casting like this is inspired, & sometimes it's just a freak miss. I understand that this version is a lot more like the original book; and that's fine. I don't condemn this remake. It was just okay for me.
To escape a world where he's saddened by his impoverished family's dire situation, Charlie dreams about eating chocolate (that he can't really afford). Things change when Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) holds the very contest which enables Charlie to win a once-in-a-lifetime tour. In the nearby factory, Charlie realizes he is the tamest out of 4 other brats who've won the other 4 tickets. They are, of course, a chubby, gluttonous Augustus Gloop, a spoiled Veruca Salt, a TV-fanatic, Mike Teavee, & champion bubble gum chewer, Violet Beauregarde (AnnaSophia Robb). Upon meeting the chocolate manufacturer, Willy Wonka, they/we all find him to be an eccentric, mysterious man with an annoyingly childish nature. 1 child will win a prize at the end of the tour, but what will they have to endure?
Like the 1971 film, this one uses vibrant colors, odd shapes, sizes, & CGI effects to create a fun, yet eerie effect. i.e., creating hundreds of Oompa Loompas out of one actor, named Deep Roy. Depp's Wonka takes the kids on a wild, psychedelic ride through the factory. Some awful things happen to the nasty kids along the way. One of my favorite sections (of both films) is the original moral-telling songs that the Oompa's sing after a child has been exited from the tour. Freddie Highmore is great as the sweet child who's the pride & joy of his family (including Tim Burton's wife, Helena Bonham Carter, as his mom). I love the set designs in this version. Some of the new songs are fun. And I was startled by a different, but rather effective ending to this version.
However, some things didn't jive with me. The imaginative mood of the film, while frenetic, is lacking something. The 1971 film is a cult classic of passionate madhouse entertainment, but this film tries to one-up that madhouse effect and it misses the mark. Johnny Depp is intriguing as Wonka, his facial expressions got me laughing, but he's too creepy here. Gene Wilder's Wonka was witty, odd, & endearing. Creepy, he was not. While this role is right up Depp's alley, it inexplicably doesn't work because he's not sweet (like his chocolate) ... you don't know the source of his mischief. Sometimes casting like this is inspired, & sometimes it's just a freak miss. I understand that this version is a lot more like the original book; and that's fine. I don't condemn this remake. It was just okay for me.