Definitely New and Improved

Rating: 9/10 (15 February 2006)

When you think of the magical, the fantastic, the imaginative, one name consistently comes to mind: Tim Burton. The man has made a career out of directing fun-loving fairy tales of many sub-genres, his most famous of course being the surreal "Edward Scissorhands", which, as everyone knows, featured long time collaborator Johnny Depp. In 2005, Depp and Burton team up yet again, this time for an adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's classic "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".
Everybody knows the story: a famous, fictional candy factory, run by mysterious and eccentric "chocolatier" Willy Wonka (Depp) and renown for producing magical confectionery, unexpectedly announces that hidden in ordinary Wonka chocolate bars are exactly five golden tickets, each of which guarantees an all day tour in the long-secluded factory. The five ticket finders are all children, all but one of which harbor some horrible characteristic; Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), the greedy, gluttonous German boy, Violet Beauregarde (AnnaSophia Robb), the aggressive and competitive gum-chewing girl, Veruca Salt (Julia Winter), the obnoxious and spoilt brat, Mike TeaVee (Jordan Fry) a television-obsessed and revoltingly sarcastic little know-it-all, and lastly Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), the little English boy who lives in poverty and is the only decent ticket-holder amongst them. When all five of the children, accompanied by one parent each, actually enter the revered chocolate factory, however, the fantastical and bizarre experiences therein give them much more than they bargained for.
The original film adaptation of Dahl's book, Mel Stuart's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" starring Gene Wilder, has undoubtedly set a precedent by which many fans will judge and perhaps condemn Burton's version, but there's no denying that the original was an infinitely softer interpretation of the story. This remake, while having changed a few things here and there, has what one can't help but call a delightfully sinister undertone, enhanced in no small measure by Danny Elfman's exciting score, and essentially makes it a lot closer to being a traditional Roald Dahl tale than Mel Stuart's version.
The reason for this is that Dahl's style, while never varying from children's stories, would always balance somewhat on the edge of maliciousness; he was prone to premises that somehow involved slightly sadistic, even if inadvertently so, punishment of young children, such as the abusive aunts in "James and the Giant Peach", or the recollection of his school-day beatings in his autobiography "Boy". Nonetheless, his stories were never truly disturbing or horrifying, because they interspersed the darkness with its equally fantastic antithesis and always resolved happily. Luckily "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" remains true to Dahl in this regard as well; even if somewhat perturbing, there is tremendous amounts of fun to be had along the way.
The enjoyment seems to be mutual between viewers and makers; not only has Tim Burton obviously had a ball with making this colorful candy film, but Johnny Depp seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself too. Almost unrecognizable in appearance and voice, Depp's interpretation of Willy Wonka is both very different from Gene Wilder's and unlike anything he's ever done before (if drawing rather obviously on Michael Jackson). He really brings out the eccentricity in the character, accentuating his anti-social genius mentality and throwing in a missing father complex to accompany the film's B-story about Wonka's dentist papa. If for no other reason than he thought it might be fun, Depp's performance is one of the most interesting things about this tasty treat of a film.
The children, its worth noting, also give very sweet performances; Freddie Highmore, having worked with Depp previously on "Finding Neverland", captures a caring innocence that even the original didn't match, although perhaps this has something to do with the omitting of the famous "soda scene". For the other children, what impresses most is their willingness to simply be horrible; an aspect of acting that is second nature to adults but implies a professional maturity when found in actors so young, mainly because in doing so they perpetuate stereotypes at their own expense. Jordan Fry and AnnaSophia Robb, particularly, are very convincing in their respective roles (see if you can spot Robb in her many upcoming projects; the young lady looks very different without her blonde bowl-cut and blue jumpsuit).
Perhaps the idealistic wonder of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" that was present in the 70's version is subdued by the subtle darkness that comes with Burton's vision; but all round this is still a creative, faithful and most importantly enjoyable adaptation of an iconic classic. A colorful film that brims with all-age enjoyment and truly deserves the title of rewarding, family fun.