A perfect film for Burton, Depp and Elfman to work on

Rating: 10/10 (5 August 2005)

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Director: Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow)
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Freddy Highmore, Deep Roy, Christopher Lee
Review: Tim Burton the master of the Gothic and the dark, the bizarre and the fascinating takes on Roald Dahls children's book which if you ask me was tailor made to be adapted into film by Tim Burton. Burtons affinity to the weird side of cinema lended itself for him to do this movie and to have Johnny Depp star in the main role as Wonka and to have Danny Elfman do the music and songs...well thats just perfection in my book.
Many are familiar with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, the magic chocolatier from the 1970s children's film. The story in Burtons version doesn't change much. A reclusive Willy Wonka locks himself up in his gigantic candy factory because some competitors try to steal the formulas for making some of his candies. So he goes into a fifteen year seclusion and then suddenly he decides he wants to leave all his fortune to one lucky kid. So he makes a contest...whoever finds the magical golden ticket in one of his candy bars gets to come in to his factory and see all of his marvelous candy making secrets. One of the five chosen children will get to keep it all at the end of the day...but which one? It will be inevitable to compare the two films. They are very similar story wise, same situations, same kids. But the thing that makes this one different is Wonka. Depps Wonka is slightly darker, slightly nuttier, slightly less nice. He is quickly annoyed by kids, he hates parents and he actually has a background story made specifically for the movie. Thats what makes this movie different. Willy Wonka has depth, a past and a reason for being the wacky dude that he is. Other then that, we also get a background story for the Oompa Loompas which was great. It was cool to finally get to see "Loompa Land".
This movie is very very Tim Burtonesque. It has hes Gothic flare, once we get to Wonkas factory and its rooms its very evident that yes, this is a Burton flick. From the moments that you see huge twisted candy canes resembling dried up trees...and when he starts addressing those familiar Tim Burton issues like the whole thing with the abusive unloving parent...well that reassures it. Tim Burtons own personal life bleeds into his films, he didn't have a happy go lucky childhood and he and his father obviously didn't get along. This shows up in the film via Willy Wonkas unhappy relationship with his father played by non other then Christopher Lee.
Another thing that had me worried. Would this movie have the oompa loompas singing their little Oompa Loompa rhyme songs? Well I was surprised to see that yes, they did their little musical numbers. But unlike the first film where the songs where this little 1 minute diddys...on this one the Oompa Loompa do their musical song and dance, but damn was it cool! Burton transformed the Oompa Loompas song interventions into big huge musical numbers! With hundreds of Oompa Loompas singing and dancing all over the place! Great music by Danny Elfman and even wardrobe changes for every single song! I mean its a real step above from the first film. My hats off to Burton for making a movie which I will no doubt watch over and over again simply for watching the oompa loompas singing and dancing. When Willy Wonka says "I believe they are going to treat us with one of their songs" get ready for something special! Anyhows, in conclusion, this film was great! I'm glad Tim Burton decided to do this film which in my opinion was a perfect breeding ground for Burton, Depp and Elfman to cut loose and do what they do best. Cant wait to see what The Corpse Bride will be like!
Rating: 5 out of 5