Great interpretation of the book

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2011)

I loved this movie. I don't often give anything 9/10, but I thought it was enchanting, and mostly faithful to the original book. I hated the old movie precisely because it deviated so far from the book. The visual effects were stunning, and Depp's Wonka was suitably eccentric. So much is as Dahl described it - he'd have been proud, I think. I'll admit that it's decades since I read the book, but seeing Burton's interpretation brought it all back to me: I have a good memory for detail, and I think this did really well.
There are some shortcomings: the Willy Wonka back-story doesn't really add very much, and I think the Oompa-Loompa songs will look dated very quickly. Maybe Charlie (and the others) was a little two-dimensional, but I can forgive that.
It's a great piece of escapism, and a suitable morality play if that's what you want, too.