Bigger, Not Better

Rating: 7/10 (27 June 2007)

The biggest problem with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" occurs when you compare it to the Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse musical version, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." And there are a lot of comparisons to be made between these two films.
Of course, this version has the Burton touch of bizarre whimsy. And Freddie Highmore is charming enough as Charlie Bucket, but he doesn't have much to do. In fact, all of the golden ticket holders perform well with what they get. But the fact is, there isn't any way even a talented director like Burton could tell this tale any better, so he did the only thing he could do: he told it bigger.
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of charm to this "oversized" edition, and even the opening titles, which mimics the original candy factory production sequence, seems more sinister, not inviting as the original was. The point was this candy factory is where people wanted to go, and that attraction is missing here. And without that attraction, why would anyone want to buy the candy bars to win the chance to visit it?
The use of Deep Roy as every oompa-loompa was a somewhat amusing trick and those production numbers featuring him/them were good. Generally speaking, the special effects overall are staggering, which is where this version excels beyond the first.
But Johnny Depp cannot equal Gene Wilder's brilliant portrayal, and that's where the film lacks the most. Despite the constant denials, Depp seems to be channeling a latter day Michael Jackson in his performance. How could such a freak have created such a massive factory? Where Wilder's Wonka could convincingly be thought of as a well planned businessman, Depp's Wonka is just a glorified ten year old or Pee-Wee Herman. Who would believe that such an innocent could make everything in that factory happen?
Even with this criticism, I can say this is not a horrible film in the least, it's just not as good as the first. When there is a moment in the film that is similar to the original (and there are many such moments), it is clear where it fails. And the irony is the original film, which had Willy Wonka's name in the title, probably should have been the name of this film, with several looks into the past of the chocolatier.
Despite this, if we could only keep either "Willy Wonka" or "Charlie," this would not be the one to survive.