Where's the fun?

Rating: 3/10 (21 October 2006)

Although this movie stays close to the book, it's much darker than the book or the original, despite the original including a scene with a chook getting its head chopped off.
Depp is a strange Wonka. He has no interest in children and only became a chocolatier as revenge to his father's abhorration of sweet things, because he was a dentist. Depp's Wonka is much darker than Wilder's portrayal, and it's one that probably caused nightmares.
The Oompa Loompas are played by one person who is CGI cloned a thousand times. He's not even cute! Having the same Oompa Loompa is repetitive and annoying- some variety would've been nice. The songs they sing take the lyrics directly from the book but aren't as catchy as the original's songs. I do like the different genres of music used though.
The children are just as annoying as you'd expect them to be. Freddie Highmore is wonderful as Charlie, although he doesn't come across as the centre of the movie as one might expect. The demise of each child is the highlight of each segment and really moves the film along nicely.
Where the film strays from the book are the parts that annoy me the most. Violet being overly competitive seems out of place, and the subplot with Wonka and his father is silly. It has no place in the film and delays the inevitable ending, which everyone already knows. Delaying it with an out-of-place subplot is completely pointless and unnecessary.
So why don't I like the movie? It's too dark. Wonka is a happy, loving, hyperactive character. Depp's Wonka meanders through his factory like a robot and the occasional amusing comment (when he's not having flashbacks to his demented childhood).
Give it a miss and see the original. Better still, read the book!