A decent film, entirely dominated by Depp

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2005)

When I was growing up, I didn't much care for children's stories (I know....stunted childhood...sound of tiny violins playing etc.) and so missed out on any number of classic tales. As an adult, of course, I preferred more mature stories. And so most traditional kids stories are pretty much new territory for me. In some ways this is good - I come to these film versions without any preconceptions - and in other ways bad - I have no idea if the film captures the spirit of the book. All I can do is judge them on how well they entertain me as they are.
This version of CATCF is a remake of the Wilder version. I haven't seen this "original" either, so I can't even compare it to that.
All I can say is this:
1. It's pretty entertaining.
2. The sets are exceptional.
3. Johnny Depp absolutely steals every scene he's in.
4. It's all good fun! There's not really anything here that you need worry about letting your little 'uns see. It's all harmless entertainment of a sort that you don't see much of anymore.
As I mentioned, I haven't read the book so I can't comment on how faithful a version it is. But I'm guessing it's not that far off the original.
Anyway, worth a watch for Depp's scene-stealing, if nothing else.
PS: Is there no "weird" movie he won't do?