Better than expected....but not closer to the book as advertised

Rating: 6/10 (18 July 2005)

First of all, I must admit, I am a huge fan of the original and I saw Roper and Ebert's review prior to seeing the film so this did influence some of my review. When I first heard this film was being done again, I was very excited to see a new interpretation, than I found out it was being re-done by the creep show that is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, I saw the trailer and felt this was nothing but a recipe to butcher one of my favorite movies. Still, I had to go see it. The visuals are very interesting and the acting with the exception of Depp is very good. I would call it an interesting film for the most part, just from the point of view that it allows you to see another interpretation. Tim Burton however is totally out of line by claiming he is all high and mighty for doing a closer version of the book than Mel Stuart had. He did use squirrels instead of Geese, and he included the father working in a toothpaste factory. However, he has in fact deviated more from the book than the original by adding all that unnecessary gar-badge about Wonka's father and childhood, and then totally changing the ending by suggesting, Wonka ever refused Charlie's family into the factory. That's all rubbish. He also kept in Mel Stuart's concept a phony golden ticket....also not in the book, so you can basically file Burton's claims that the original had no influence on him as gar-badge. Johnny Depp is a talented guy, but this performance is brutal. He's Edward Scissorhands meets Michael Jackson. Overall, worth seeing, but just be aware of that Burton's claims of sticking to the book are full of baloney, and you have to accept Depp's unwatchable performance.