Burton didn't like the first one? Well, I hated his.

Rating: 1/10 (27 July 2006)

I was highly disappointed! When I think Tim Burton, I at least expect creepy or something. There were more noticeable effects than the first one! The entire story was rushed. In the first ten minutes of the movie, everyone had a ticket. I didn't even hear the two guys with the dogs talking about the Russian guy who won a ticket because the focus was on how ridiculous their dogs were in size. The rush of people trying to get the ticket from Charlie in the original were maybe two people trying to buy it in this version. Please. AND I didn't like seeing what happened to the other kids at the end. That just takes away from it all. When Willy Wonka says "They're unharmed" in the original, that's all we needed.
The girl who played Veruca couldn't hold a match to the original girl! She wasn't intimidating at all! And what was with Johnny's Stepford Wives smile? Was that supposed to be eerie? And don't get me started on the songs! They were obnoxious and so poppy. The Oompa Loompa song was repetitive, but I never dreaded when they started singing it. It was classic! Don't modernize everything.
And the magic was gone. Like I said, it was rushed, so when Wonka opened the doors to the candy world, it was just like "Here it is." The crescendo of music didn't even make it magical! In the original, it's always awe-inspiring, no matter how many times you watch it.
I'll give him this: the storyline between Wonka and his father, that was sweet how they reunited in the end. And Charlie looked very pitiful when he chose the factory over his family. I liked those twists with him at first saying, "I'm not going. Someone offered me 500 dollars for the ticket...We need the money," and the one at the end. I liked how they put the house in Wonkaland. That was nice. The only parts I found really funny was when Mr. Salt gave Wonka the business card, and he threw it away as quickly as he handed it to him, and when Wonka crashed into the Wonkavator the first time. The second was not as funny, but I chuckled. Those were the only good things about the movie.
Come on, now. If you didn't like the original, Mr. Burton, you could have at least created a BETTER version. That's usually what directors strive for. Seriously.