Surprisingly I liked it better than the original.

Rating: 8/10 (6 September 2009)

I would say I do not know why, but I do, Johnny Depp does a very good job as Willy Wonka, even better than Gene Wilder who did a good job himself. The plot is actually better and does not take that bizarre dark twist here and there like the boat ride through hell, or the strange man trying to get the secret recipe. In fact, at the end of this one Willy does all he can to try to get Charlie to take over his family. I also like that you did not get left in the dark about what happened to all the other kids that happened to be on the tour. Another thing is Christopher Lee has a short, but very good stint in the film as Willy's dad. Funny how Depp played a movie with not one, but two horror screen legends during his career, Lee in this one and Vincent Price in Edward Scissorhands. The story has some of the same story elements here, but there are enough differences to really keep it fresh and interesting. You actually get to see Willy's time in the strange forest where he first gazed upon the ompa loomps and those guys are not as creepy this time around. So be prepared for a bit the same, but a lot of nice differences.