A Sweet Treat!

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2005)

A Tim Burton movie. Hm... a line like that may automatically make movie-goers stray from ever seeing the movie. It did for me. The trailer and the fact that he was doing a new take on one of my childhood's classics made me very skeptical. However, I went to see it anyway for the wonderful Johnny Depp. I expected him to basically be the only enjoyable part of the movie.
I was completely wrong. Burton did an AMAZING job. The movie is not a remake of the splendid musical as many may expect. It had another take on some elements which added more to the movie. You see young Willy and how his childhood affected him.
The element of family importance is the main theme, I feel. Charlie is not flawed like the old version had which makes the movie slightly saccharine. But if you consider how a child can be severely grounded because of his or her poverty, it seems more real. Johnny did a superb job and I hope he gets an Oscar for his performance. :-)
Overall, it touched me as "Edward Scissorhands" and "Big Fish" did. So if you've got a sweet tooth, see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for a sweet treat!