A tribute to Tim Burton's ego

Rating: 1/10 (30 July 2005)

This movie is really terrible. The characters stumble through the chocolate factory from one uninspired scene to the next, with nothing but some insipid dialog to tie it together. Burton tried to compensate with an overbearing, booming orchestra soundtrack and some over-the-top self-regarding Oompa Loompa disco numbers. Depp's Willy Wonka is creepy and effeminate (pink eyeshadow!) as he limps along with the rest of the cast, appearing to be unsure of why he's there. The end of the movie is goofy and contrived, and a complete departure from the book. It's almost as if they got done editing the picture and realized they had ten more minutes to fill so they just tacked on an extra, random chapter.
The movie is a self-regarding, schlocky mess, and watching it, one gets the sense that Burton's main goal is to impress us with his cleverness rather than to entertain children. My kids love the DVD of the '71 version -- this remake will be forgotten in six months.