Very refreshing, surprisingly better than I expected

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2005)

The audience sits down as ten minutes of commercials scroll past, the separate groups waiting, intrigued and wanting to see Burton, Depp, and memories of Gene Wilder. The lights fade, everyone quiets, and I wonder why I spent money when I know I'm not going to like it... just look at Depp's annoying acting in the trailer! And I love Johnny Depp! Danny Elfman's score begins. I hate Danny Elfman, but of course he would be used, he's in every one of Burton's endeavors. A CGI factory makes CGI chocolate in what seems like a mockery of the same imagery used to make cookies in the beginning of Edward Scissorhands... the narrator starts; in Burton's typical fairy-tale style comes images of fairy-tale times with fairy-tale dilapidated old houses, and I'm really beginning to not like it until...
...it all sucks you in. You watch Charlie's family as they anticipate the finders of the Golden Tickets, and their quite acute comments on the nature of the winners. You watch as Charlie simultaneously tries to hide his hope and maintain it at the same time, along with his family's fluctuating eagerness to get a Golden Ticket. And as Charlie finds a ten dollar bill on the ground, you suddenly realize, "Geez, this movie's a lot like the book... well, of course it was one dollar and not ten dollars, but who's really counting?" And a lot like the book it stays, with a few minor deviations which frankly are brilliant. Wonka's flashbacks into his childhood are perfect addendums to Depp's quirky new creation of the beloved character that most could not separate from Wilder, and in the end Wilder's character is still maintained because he is not blaspheme'd. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton make a new Willy Wonka that is standalone enough that all thought of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory becomes mere nitpicking by people annoyed by change.
In fact, considering the book, Willy Wonka movie, and Charlie movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is truly brilliant. It holds true to the book while still maintaining cinematic appeal by becoming it's own thing. It is not a remake of Willy Wonka, and thank God (or just Burton, as it was his choice anyways, right?) for that, because even though I like the older version, remakes are just incredibly tedious.
Special appeal to Burton fans would be the almost demented acting of Johnny Depp... the strange grins when kids get in trouble, the timid voice when he becomes unsure of himself, the reclusive germophobe he makes of a once maudlin and glurgy character. In fact, all the characters are perfectly translated to the screen, even if they do look like porcelain dolls from time to time (I hypothesize this comes from the drawings found in many of Rhoad Dahl's books).
Another great aspect of this movie is it's adherence to the musical bits in the book without really being a musical itself. Other than one other song, the Oompa Loompas sing everything, and though their music isn't really that good (I'd like to have it on a CD for laughs, but I don't really care for it otherwise), at least the situations are pretty funny, especially since all of the Oompa Loompas have the same face... and aren't like Munchkins.
As the movie progresses, it deviates more and more from the book, which is fine because it feels at that point like the trust has been salvaged. If people are still worrying about details so far into this movie, then I don't really see how they enjoy very many movies at all. About the time we reach the television room scene, it begins to feel a little tedious but right then wraps up everything pretty nicely (not to say there isn't more good stuff to come, but I'm not going to give away ALL the details). Eventually the credits roll, the audience is clapping and leaving, and I'm suddenly realizing, "Wow, that was two hours... felt like two minutes." A sure sign of a pretty good movie if there is one.
--PolarisDiB