Tim Burton and Roald Dahl: A Movie Marriage Made in Candyland

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 2005)

When my husband and I heard that Tim Burton was making a new film version of Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY starring his favorite leading man Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, the world's quirkiest candy maker, we knew it would be a perfect match of filmmaker and source material, and indeed it is! Burton's inventive imagination and dark, twisted sense of humor suits Dahl's gleeful misogyny perfectly, yet still results in a family-friendly film simply because, like Depp's Willy Wonka, it doesn't pander to the young'uns. Indeed, Wonka doesn't even seem to like the golden-ticket-winning kids he invites to his weird and wonderful confection factory, though in his own oddball way Wonka eventually warms up to our hero Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore). Who wouldn't like the selfless, poor-but-thankful-for-his-blessings Charlie, especially compared to the four spoiled brats competing against him for the "special prize" Wonka dangles before them? The kids' acting styles work well, with young Highmore's un-actorish down-to-earth quality playing off well against the appropriately flamboyant brattiness of AnnaSophia Robb (as super-competitive Violet Beauregarde), Julia Winter (Veruca Salt, the overindulged rich kid), Jordan Fry (Mike Teevee, now an aggressive video game freak as well as a television addict) and Philip Wiegratz (Augustus Gloop, a sweet-faced but selfish glutton). Wonka is also given a back story of funny yet poignant strife with dad Christopher Lee, a dentist (!) who takes his work just a little too seriously. This angle could have been as overly sweet as a bad piece of candy, but the cast, Burton, and screenwriter John August work it gracefully into the family theme. Unlike Wonka, Charlie has a loving relationship with his eccentric family (all played with warmth and wit by a cast of fascinating faces, especially David Kelly as Grandpa Joe, Noah Taylor as Charlie's dad, and Helena Bonham Carter as Charlie's cabbage-soup-making mom). It helps that Depp and Highmore have good chemistry. (Fun Fact: Depp recommended Highmore to Burton after working with the lad in FINDING NEVERLAND. Another FN veteran in the cast: Eileen Essell of DUPLEX fame, playing Charlie's Grandma Josephine.) With Alex McDowell's production design, Philippe Rousselot's lush photography, and Gabriella Pescucci's costume design, the movie is deliriously gorgeous to look at, like a collaboration between Edward Gory and Peter Max. Thanks to the deadpan performance (or should I say performances? :-) of a CGI-multiplied Deep Roy, along with Danny Elfman's fabulously fun score -- with songs based on lyrics from Roald Dahl himself, yet reminiscent of Elfman's work with Oingo Boingo -- the Oompa-Loompas' production numbers are a delight to watch and listen to (no cover version of "The Candy Man," sorry! :-). Our whole family had a blast -- CHARLIE... is the tastiest sweet-and-sour sugar rush of the summer!