A beautifully faithful adaptation... mostly.

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2005)

I will admit first off that I am a HUGE fan of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, but more importantly, Roald Dahl and his wonderful children's story. Thus, I lay in anxious anticipation for this film for over a year, and my biggest fear was that they would completely butcher the story, no matter how much faith I have in these cinematic geniuses.
HOWEVER, Burton and Depp and Dahl are obviously a trio of much creative power. Burton's penchant for fairy-tale stories with a quirky twist, Depp's eagerness to go out on a limb for unique characters, combined with Dahl's ingenious, age-old story make for one FANTASTIC movie.
The visuals in this movie, aside for some futuristic stuff like the television room, were on par with what the book intended, I thought, and inside the factory one is completely immersed in Wonka's wonderland. The only bad thing about the factory tour is that we didn't get to see enough of it - only enough for the story to make sense, although I really wish Burton had included some of the book's highlights such as "Square Candies That Look Round." Depp's acting was exactly the right kind of bizarre mystery that the role of Wonka required. Freddie Highmore, who plays Charlie, lived up to my hoped and is truly an amazing child actor. All of the children, parents, and other characters (most notably Deep Roy for his hilarious turn as the Oompa Loompas) were also highly amusing. The great story was accompanied by a fair bit of humour, humour that was insightful and often caught you off-guard.
The one major criticism I have of this movie is the addition of the Wonka back-story. To me, the fact that one didn't know about Wonka's past simply added to the mystery and excitement of the story. Although it fit in nicely with the film, I felt it took away from Charlie's story, which is after all the essence of the story.
Overall, though, this is a great movie. Mature kids will really enjoy it, and littler ones will like it for its great use of colour and joy.
Three thumbs up!