Instant Classic

Rating: 5/10 (20 July 2005)

First off, Gene Wilder IS Willy Wonka. Anyone who has seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory knows this. No one could ever do a better job than Wilder.
Obviously Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have some big shoes to fill. In my opinion, they nailed it! Rather than copy Wilder, Burton and Depp re-imagined the Wonka character to be even more quirky, socially awkward, and even a little sympathetic than the original. Depp was amazingly terrific as Willy Wonka, I can't even begin to put it into words. It would have been too easy for Tim Burton to cast Jim Carrey or Mike Myers as Wonka (which would have been a mistake) but the frequent combination of Burton and Depp turn this into an instant classic. Its like Burton reached into my brain and pulled out exactly what I imagined the Chocolate Factory to be when I read the books all those years ago. The one thing I did not like were the new Oopma Loompas. They looked cool and did what they were supposed to do, but the new songs don't hold a candle to the originals. And the kids! Where did Burton find these kids?!? They are perfect! With the exception of Charlie, all of the new kids are just as good if not better than the originals. The new Charlie just wasn't pathetic enough, in my opinion. I missed the line "I bet the gold makes the chocolate taste terrible."
Awesome cast. Again, especially Depp. Although, part of me kind of wonders what Christopher Walken would have been like as Wonka. I can just imagine: "Shut up your face... little girl... before I drown... your no good father... in the chocolate river over there... OK... a sweetheart?" Sorry to get off topic. 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' will always be near and dear to my heart, but I gotta big heart and there is plenty of room for Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' See it on the big screen and then buy it when it comes out on DVD.
10 out of 10