A curious rendition of an old song

Rating: 7/10 (30 July 2005)

I really didn't know what to expect when I paid for my ticket to see this movie. I KNEW that it would be nothing like the old movie, and much more like the book. Alas, I was correct. But therein lies the problem. While the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory dwells less on the book and more from the excellent adapted screenplay, the new one stays almost entirely on the book source. What's the problem with this? It's a children's book. There's not a whole lot to it. Just like in the book, most of the lines go to Willy Wonka or Charlie, and sometimes Grandpa. Only occasionally do the other characters say something interesting. The kids are interesting enough, especially Augustus Gloop, who I liked enormously better in this one than the old (haha get it, enormous...). But anyway, the parents just pretty much follow their kids and don't offer much enthusiasm for anything. In the old version, the parents were just as interesting and diverse as the snotty kids they brought to the factory, adding humor and substance to the story. Not so in here.
Johnny Depp was very interesting as Willy Wonka. Not quite as inviting as Gene Wilder (who did an excellent job in the original), but very unique. Like the rest of the movie, he's more like the description the book offers than in the original. I think I would have liked him better if he had better things to say.
That goes for pretty much the entire movie. The set design and everything were as they should be, but the script is what fell behind and dragged these marvelous actors with it. The movie would have hummed with magic and whimsy and been much funnier if the screenwriters had stepped aside from the book at times and allowed some creativity to enter their brain flow.
The oompa loompas are much better in the old one. nuff said about that.
So basically, the old one is better. It may not be fair to judge the two movies, since Tim Burton didn't try to imitate the old one, but overall Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is just a better movie. I'm still a Burton fan, and this movie is by all means infinitely better than his last "reimagining" (planet of the apes). Watch this movie if you've wanted to, just don't buy a bag of high hopes at the concessions.