How Bizarre (Even for a Tim Burton Movie!)

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2005)

I usually enjoy the partnership Tim Burton + Johnny Depp ("Edward Scissorhands" is one of my favourite films). This remake of the lovely "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (directed by Mel Stuart in 1971, based on Roald Dahl's delightful book), however, was disappointing.
Burton's dark style and adult jokes don't work here. The cynicism he put in almost every scene let the movie with a bitter taste: it's too twisted for children, and too childish for adults.
Freddie Highmore did a fine job as Charlie Bucket (he also worked with Johnny Depp in "Finding Neverland"). Depp, on the other hand, was extremely mannered as Willy Wonka, light-years away from Gene Wilder's terrific performance in the original (Depp is too much alike Michael Jackson for us to bear - the comparison is inevitable, though Burton says the similarity between them was unintentional). As a friend of mine said, Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka had a golden heart behind all the eccentricity, but Depp's Wonka is just mean and weird. I agree. The new Oompa-Loompas (all of them played by Deep Roy) are boring (their songs suck!) and obnoxious, by the way.
Remakes are definitely not for Burton. "Planet of the Apes" and this one are his worst movies that I've seen so far. Skip this: if you want to watch a good Tim Burton movie with your kids, rent "Big Fish", "Beetlejuice" or "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (Henry Selick directed it, by it IS a Tim Burton movie! One of the best examples of "Producer's movie" - just like David O. Selznick and "Gone With The Wind").
My vote: 6 out of 10.