Equal to the original classic?

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2005)

Johnny Depp is brilliant in this more digital than expected film by Tim Burton. I would say that Depp is the reason that i left the theater feeling good about the movie. His character is nothing like a pirate, a river rat, or opium addict. He changes his voice, and has makeup all over him that wonderfully distort his face, o so slightly.
The movie, as an art piece, is intriguing. It is not as innovative as Citizen Kane or as bizarrely real as the original Batman, but Burton does some wonderfully subtle things. All of the characters who wear glasses are shot in a way so that the glasses make their eyes just a bit bigger. And I think that those subtle things best show Burton's creative, animated side.
But the movie was still lacking in a two areas for me. The sets were too digital for me. I have seen the original Batman so I know that Burton has the ability to distort without using a computer, so I was sad to see all the digital sets. The second issue was the child acting. With the exception of Charlie (Peter from Finding Neverland), the rest of the actors and actresses were just average, and Mike Teevee's character is a disaster.
But all in all this movie is solid, and maybe even excellent when considering that it is a kids movie. The movie is more humorous than the first movie, but it will depend on your devotion to Gene Wilder to decide if you like this one or the original movie. I would sum up the movie by saying that it is as good as a modern day PG movie gets.