Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Rating: 6/10 (5 September 2005)

The was the second adaptation of the great children's book by Roald Dahl to be made, to rival or replace the musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. Director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) sticks directly to the source material, e.g. no golden egg laying turkeys, they have squirrels like they should, and the correct Oompa Loompa songs, music and and vocals Danny Elfman. Anyway, basically, a chocolate factory in the town Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) lives is sending out millions of chocolate bars worldwide, five of them contain golden tickets. One by one the tickets are found, and eventually, Charlie gets his. This ticket takes him, Grandpa Joe (David Kelly) and the other finders into the magical world of Willy Wonka (in his fourth Tim Burton film, Golden Globe nominated Johnny Depp) and his chocolate factory. Obviously all the nasty kids go one by one. Fat and greedy German Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) up the chocolate tube, gum chewing Violet Beauregard (AnnaSophia Robb) turns into a blueberry, spoilt rich bitch Verruca Salt (Julia Winter) chucked down the garbage shoot by creepy squirrels, and telly loving Mike Teevee (Jordan Fry) is shrunk by the TV laser. Also starring Helena Bonham Carter (Burton's fiancÃ©e), Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket, Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde, James Fox as Mr. Salt, Deep Roy as Oompa Loompas, and narrated by Live and Let Die's Geoffrey Holder. Three things I will say are different, but do kind of help the story, the flashbacks of a prince getting a chocolate palace and the Oompa Loompas, and the story of why Willy Wonka is kooky, and interested in candy making. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Costume Design, it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Special Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Make Up/Hair and Best Production Design. Good!