Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, the amazing chocolateer, Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, everybody give a cheer!

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2005)

I saw this movie just yesterday, and I was very impressed. Tim Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a feast for the eyes and the imagination.
As I watched the movie, I did not find myself comparing it to the 1971 version at all. This adaptation is not so much a remake as an entirely different interpretation of the story, and it is fascinating in its own right and for its own reasons. It is also remarkably faithful to Roald Dahl's book, and because I had read the book just before the movie came out, I found myself thinking, 'oh, that part's just like the book' or 'I remember that from the book' numerous times. In fact, many lines were taken directly from the book.
I will admit that when I saw the trailers I thought, 'Hm. . .Johnny Depp seems awfully weird in this movie. . .' and I was a little worried, but leave it to Johnny to think outside the box and come up with a brilliant performance as Wonka himself. Little Charlie Bucket was just perfect- I liked him a lot more than the Charlie in the other film. The rest of the Bucket family was much more likable than in the other film too. And the other four children, Augustus, Veruca, Violet and Mike, were all wonderfully portrayed. They represented perfectly all the bratty children that exist in this world. A unique approach was taken towards creating the Oompa-Loompas, them being just one person, digitally copied. The fact that they were all completely identical did not bother me at all (although this could be because the actor who played them was in The Neverending Story, my favourite movie), and did not make them any less interesting. However, I will admit that their songs were a bit bizarre, but the lyrics were taken straight from the book.
Every single second of the movie seems to have been thought out with great care and therefore the overall look of the film is very polished, as though no expense was spared to make the film look perfect. The only two things that bothered me were the fact that the setting of Charlie's home-town was not clear. I think it was supposed to be England, but I was not always sure. The other thing is the including of Willy Wonka's father and flashbacks of Willy's past. That was definitely not in the book and I was at a loss to understand why it was put in. Oh well, at least it didn't take away from the fun of the movie. Speaking of fun, I was laughing out loud in the theater. It was all just so amusing and clever and wonderful. Please, do see it. Don't let the weirdness bother you. There will be something to laugh over, I assure you.