Not as colorful as one might wish, but still an imaginary movie

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2020)

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl was one of my - and many others - favorite books during the childhood. The story of poor Charlie Bucket who gets invited to Willy Wonka's mysterious but wonderful chocolate factory must be every kid's dream. The book has been made into a film before in the 1970s, with Gene Wilder starring as the chocolatier, a movie that has survived to this day partly with help of internet memes. When Tim Burton decided to adapt Dahl's classic, he teamed up with longtime collaborator Johnny Depp who got to play Willy Wonka alongside a young Freddie Highmore. They both play their parts splendidly and there is nothing negative to say about the rest of the cast that also includes famous names such as David Kelly, Christopher Lee, and Helena Bonham Carter. Burton's archetypical design is present throughout the film, resulting in marvelous settings and surroundings, ranging from chocolate rivers, mountains, and forests. However, with the Burtonesque environments comes a form of bare, cold, emptiness. Not that the chocolate factory's many rooms lack colors, but because that is what we can expect from Burton; always a darkness attached. In terms of storyline, it is most obviously represented through the flashbacks of Wonka's estranged relationship to his father, more so than the sometimes brutal fates the spoiled children faces in the factory. The youngest viewer will most certainly feel the lack of warmth in this version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", but there are enjoyable moments for them to. Deep Roy's portrayal of the thousands of Oompa-Loompas are incredibly funny and the performances of the musical, nicely written by Danny Elfman, are show stopping. Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is an interesting adaption of the beloved children's book, though the longer you watch the film, the departure from the original story becomes clearer and the lack of warmth is missed out on. Johnny Depp's awkwardly take of Wonka is however something to hail.