To be avoided at ALL costs

Rating: 1/10 (8 January 2010)

Appalling ego-induced carelessness from director Wes Anderson, betrayal of the great Roald Dahl, and just sheer stupidity are present in the worst adaptation of Dahl's work since the abominable 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (1971).
Those sensational chapters from the delightful children's story are simply glossed over quickly and emotionlessly.
Instead, the enthusiasm has gone towards the pathetic and most unnecessary additions. It has also idiotically been filled with adult American sit-com-style humour – one can hardly think of anything more inappropriate for a Roald Dahl children's story. Such a sickening amount of time is wasted as numerous failed attempts are made to be sharp, witty and funny.
The results are very lifeless and cynical and share 9's problems with narrative and audience.
Yet despite all this it is somewhat enjoyable, and one cannot hate it entirely.
This is most likely owing to the honest, home-style animation, which is by no means perfect as the work characters' facial expressions are downright awful, but it is definitely the best thing on offer here.
Or perhaps it is the novelty of having a voice cast of well-known and well-loved actors – George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon... – but sadly most of them are underused, miscast, or just simply don't deliver.
Bottom line: avoid this at all costs.