the best family film of the year

Rating: Null/10 (16 July 2005)

Its rare to find a family film that is barely tolerable enough to see if you're not bringing little ones along, but Burton's version of this Roald Dahl classic is so well executed that grown ups will forget they're not the target audience. Don't get me wrong though, it's still appropriate for kids, (arguably more so than the nightmarish Willy Wonka and the Chocholate Factory,).
Right from the start, the film grabs your attention, when see Wonka's chocolate bars being made in a manner that is strangely ominous, and from there it just hits the ground running. With the exception of Charlie, the other four winners of the Golden Ticket contest are brilliant over-the-top exaggerations of the result of bad parenting yet at the same time come off as believably realistic.
While Freddie Highmore does an excellent job as Charlie Bucket, Johnny Depp and Deep Roy both manage to steal the show. Depp's version of Willy Wonka manages to have just the perfect amount of quirkiness to him without being cartoonish, and thankfully has none of the eerie maniacal undertones of Gene Wilder's version. And perfectly complementing Depp is Deep Roy as the oompa loompas. Instead of the psychedelic orange skinned midgets most people think of, Burton has made them a tribe of strangely identical miniature jungle woodsmen. And believe me, these little fellows do everything from being vinyl clad workers to synchronized swimmers to heavy metal rockers.
All in all, this film is a must-see for any fan of Tim Burton, Roald Dahl or just anybody looking for a solid two hours of escapist fun.