Heavy chocolate.

Rating: 3/10 (22 July 2005)

A lot of press has been made of this version "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" being more faithful to Roald Dahl's story than the 1971 "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory". After having seen both, and having read the novel to my kids for years, I have to say that this movie has given me a greater appreciation for Gene Wilder's nuanced performance in the earlier movie, as well as director Mel Stuart's shrewd choices.
It's true, the new picture's director, Tim Burton, had the budget to make a more accurate film. It is more accurate in it's details. And it's clear that Burton has a real affection for the story. But, the details do not make for a whole that has the impact of either the book or the earlier movie.
The reasons involve Mr. Burtons bewildering deviations from this "more faithful" rendering. For one, Mr. Burton feels compelled to add back-story explaining why Willy Wonka is the way he is, and so he and/or the scriptwriter, John August, have added a pointless subplot involving Wonka's father.
Secondly, his take, or maybe Johnny Depp's take, on the character of Willy Wonka is just plain bad. Willy Wonka, as originally written by Dahl was a spritely little man, an eccentric driven by humor, and a love of chocolate and children. He was light. He had to be light to balance out the mean-spirited nastiness of the children. Not this Willy Wonka. This guy is heavy. He doesn't care about the kids, and he doesn't seem to care about chocolate as much as be obsessed by it. His eccentricity is driven by a self-absorbed humorless desire to escape his dysfunctional relationship with his father. (Like Spielberg in "Hook", Burton has bent a classic story to deal with his "Father" issues. Is this a Hollywood thing?)
Even the Oompa Loompas are heavy. In the book, they are characterized by their humor, by their joy. They laugh a lot, and their songs come from their joy. Well, there's no joy here. These guys are serious. Serious when they work, serious when they dance, serious when they sing. Serious when they psychoanalyze Mr. Wonka.
Yes, the details here are more loyal, more faithful to the original story. But if you want to see a Willy Wonka more as Roald Dahl intended, and a story whose details may be less perfect, but whose broad strokes are, unlike this movie, right on target, go down to you local video store and rent the 1971 film.