Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Sweet and SOUR

Rating: 5/10 (17 July 2005)

When I was growing up I watched the original Chocolate Factory everyday which led to the VCR breaking down. Fast forward 22 years and you can imagine how much I've been looking forward to this remake by the consistent Burton and excellent Depp.
I watched the 2005 version last night and I've got to admit I was very disappointed. The plot remains mostly the same and for the majority of the movie it was like visiting an old friend.
Firstly I'll give credit where credit is due. The sets where amazing and the musical scenes where excellent. There was no way Depp would be able to live up to the original performance of Gene Wilder but he doesn't try to. Depp breathes a different life into Wonka portraying him as a vulnerable idiot instead of unhinged genius that Wilder managed to capture.
To justify my 5 out of 10 there will be an element of SPOILING so if you want to ruin the movie now and be disappointed instead of going to the cinema and being disappointed then please read on.
They always do it with the remakes so why not this? The film didn't need it but they have added a whole new back story for the Oompaloompas and Wonka that does nothing more that slow the movie down and take away from the magic. Do we really need to know how and where he found these little guys? During the movie I found myself feeling more and more frustrated that some of the classic moments that made the original memorable where either missing or tampered with. Gone is the classic fall come forward roll, when we first meet Wonka, along with the memorable freaky boat trip in the tunnel. Also the Oompaloompas are all played by the same guy and aren't as mystical as they should be. Other changes are Charlie now has a father, the children are no longer given everlasting gobs toppers and Charlie and his Grandfather no longer steal a sip of the Lemonade. All of this plus more has been changed to accommodate Willy Wonkas new back-story which ultimately gives the film a completely different ending which centres around him.
Yet again credit where credit is due the kids will love it but I feel this remake is tough to swallow. Beautifully made but can't compete with nostalgia.