A brilliant adaptation that will stand alongside its predecessor as a classic!

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2005)

From the introductory sequence in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it is established that the film you are watching will be completely different from the Willy Wonka you know from your childhood.
The basic story is familiar: poor Charlie Bucket lives with his family in a run-down one-room shack within a stone's throw of the most mythical and mysterious chocolate factory in the world. Against the odds, Charlie wins one of five Golden Tickets to tour Willy Wonka's factory, and we join Charlie and the four other ticket winners in a whirlwind tour hosted by the eccentric candymaker Willy Wonka.
It's difficult to review this film without comparing it to the original, so I'm not even going to try. The original film is a classic; this one will be a classic, as well -- but in an entirely different way. Befitting Tim Burton, this film is much darker (and supposedly, much closer to the original book) than its predecessor. This time around, we get to go inside Willy Wonka's head on occasion; this is a good thing, as this Wonka is a social retard.
The film is well cast: of course, there's the brilliant Johnny Depp, who turns in a delightfully quirky performance as Wonka. Grandpa Joe is wonderfully played by David Kelly (probably best known for the Irish comedy Waking Ned). The four other ticket winners are nearly clones of the actors from the first film: Julia Winter is Veruca Salt, Philip Weigratz is Augustus Gloop, Jordan Fry is Mike TeaVee, and Annasophia Robb is Violet Beauregarde. Each of them plays their characters pretty much identically to the kids from the 1971 film, although this seems to be a deliberate choice by Burton. The characters are updated slightly for modern audiences, but not so much that it takes away from the classic feel of the film. The rest of the cast is rounded out with performances by the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, and Christopher Lee.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is stolen by two casting choices, however: Deep Roy delivers a wryly brilliant performance as the Oompa Loompas (ALL of them!), and more impressively, Freddie Highmore completely owns this film as Charlie Bucket.
Once again, Danny Elfman delivers the music for Burton. This score is rich and mesmerizing, with slight exceptions that I will note below in the spoilers section.
*** SPOILERS FOLLOW ***
Johnny Depp has a way to mine his characters and come up with source material that no other actor seems to be able to find. Depp's Wonka is a tortured genius that owes much of his eccentricity to his estranged relationship with his father (a dentist played by Christopher Lee). Unlike the maniacal command of Gene Wilder's Wonka, Depp's Wonka lacks self- confidence and social grace.
The score by Elfman is rich and inspired, but the songs are weak and unmemorable. Yes, that's right: I said "songs". Despite this movie being billed as "non-musical", the Oompa Loompa songs are still there after each child meets his or her demise. The numbers are busy and overproduced, obscuring the lyrics and the message. They accompanying visuals are also filled with modern cultural references which are sure to date this otherwise timeless film for future generations.
Charlie's dad is present in this film, as well, and he's portrayed capably by Noah Taylor. Helena Bonham Carter is merely set dressing, as are the other three grandparents.
Noticeably absent from this version of Willy Wonka is the legal document subplot, and with it the corporate espionage bribery by Slugworth (the corporate espionage element does make its way into the storyline in this version, albeit in a different manner). On the surface, this doesn't sound like much of an omission, but it does alter the payoff at the end considerably. In the first film, the fact that Charlie returned the Everlasting Gobstopper despite having lost everything due to a contract violation (and a frighteningly disturbing tongue-lashing by Wilder's Wonka) won him the factory, which we discover during a magical ride in Wonka's Great Glass Elevator. This go 'round, the payoff is different and more complicated, but ultimately just as rewarding...and it's not just the characters that get the big payoff: the audience is rewarded with a wonderful variation of a familiar classic.
One of the most memorable scenes from the original film is the introduction to the Chocolate Room, where everyone enters an incredible, edible landscape. While that scene is present in the new version, it's not nearly as magical or awe-inspiring. Instead, Burton chooses to use that scene to establish the characters of the children and their parents. Probably a wise choice, since that scene is already entrenched in popular culture from the first film.
Other negligible differences from the original film include switch-ups in gender for a couple of the kids' parents (Violet Beauregarde brings her mother along, while Mike TeaVee brings his dad) and a change in one of the rooms visited (a squirrel-filled nut sorting room replaces the goose-laden golden chocolate egg room).
*** END OF SPOILERS ***
I enjoyed this film immensely, and I consider it to be a complement to the original, rather than a replacement. Both are sure to remain classics for many years to come. Burton has created an entirely new film that preserves the magic of the first film, but also manages to create some new magic of its own.
As a side note, my five-year-old daughter had been looking forward to seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for months (referring to it as "Willy Wonka 2"), and I saw it with her last night. She was not disappointed. ;)