I, Tim Burton, have decided to let moviegoers once again into my magical world

Rating: 9/10 (1 September 2005)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a movie with great visuals, a good message, good performances, funny scenes, but it also had some minor flaws.
CatCF tells the story of Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), a poor boy who (along with 4 other kids) wins a tour through the biggest chocolate factory in the world, owned by the weird Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp).
I haven't seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), so I can't comment on the similarities and the differences between the two movies, But I've read the book 3 times, and I can assure you the movie is pretty close to the book.
Tim Burton is at his visual best. Each set is as magnificent as the one before it. I really liked the chocolate waterfall, the inventing & television rooms, and the elevator. Burton also succeeded in telling a good story. Sure, the movie is based on one of the best books ever written, but Burton also had his touches like the flashbacks and the trademark dark humor.
Freddie Highmore was great as Charlie. He was totally convincing as the poor boy. You could really feel his sadness when he didn't win the golden ticket in the beginning of the movie. David Kelly, who played Charlie's grandfather was just as good. I'm afraid the same thing can't be said about Johnny Depp. Don't get me wrong, Depp gave a good performance, but as a great fan of him, I was expecting more.
As I said, the movie had some minor flaws. I felt we should have seen more interaction between the 5 kids,they barely spoke to each other during the movie. Also, the songs performed by The Oompa Loompas (Deep Roy) were fun to watch the first couple of times, but after that, they became somewhat boring and predictable. Anyway, you always had the eye-candy to look at during these songs.
So, I'd recommend CatCF, it's one of the best movies of the year.