![]() Yes, Depp was interesting as always but a little too weird, too Michael Jackson-like, for my tastes. This was the only part of the movie, frankly, where I preferred the 1970 version: the role of Willy Wonka. I get the feeling he relates easily to strange characters. Johnny Depp, meanwhile, "did" what he always does - do a good job of playing a weird person. One of the interesting "features" on the DVD details how difficult that was to do and how much time Roy had to put in to do all the things he did. A different feature of this version, as opposed to the 1970 original, was that here the Oompa-Loompas were all played by just one person, a very small Indian man named Deep Roy. ![]() He filled the bill magnificently, as did the "brat" kids. It was inventively fun with those great visuals and another wonderful kid playing "Charlie." I doubted they could ever come up with another child as appealing and nice/wholesome as one in "Willy Wonka" but they found one in Freddie Highmore. I expected a wild, colorful ride with brilliant hues and good special effects.and I was not disappointed. Those expectations were high, at least in the visuals department. I was pleased to have this "Willy Wonka" re-make meet my expectations. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY the movie is not quite as dark as the book. Both of them point out that man, given power, will exploit his fellow human beings. Roald Dahl gets a rap for his cynicism, and this movie softens his message a bit. Depp converts the novel's jaunty, precise Wonka into a quirky one, but it works well, because, as in the novel, Wonka's endearing traits contrast with the fact that he's a tyrant. I'd like to say that Julia Winter, who plays Veruca Salt, has turned in a truly well-observed comedic performance. Even in the resolution, however, Burton maintains sly humor. I think Burton's addition of Wonka's childhood story fits well, although I'll agree that the way this is resolved is not completely in Dahl's spirit. The opening fifteen minutes or so, in which the winners of the golden tickets are announced one by one, really get Roald Dahl's sense of the ridiculous. I imagine the older illustrations are still available, especially in a hardcover, but you'll need to search the net.) I don't know how he did it, but he got the facial expressions of Charlie's family and of Mike Teavea's father down perfectly. ![]() The difference between the older illustrations and the newer ones is the older ones feature a lot of cross-hatching. I'm talking about the illustrations from the 1960s. (Recent editions feature the work of a different illustrator. Charlie himself looks like one of the drawings, and the Bucket house is so much like the illustrations it caused me to realize that Burton is as visual as any movie director can be. He even matched the facial expressions to the drawings, especially in the case of Charlie's family. If Tim Burton's out there I just want to thank him for bringing the spirit of the book's original illustrations to the screen. This is definitely a movie for everyone, especially those of us who hold the original tale in our hearts. Everything that was mentioned, from the chocolate palace to the hair toffee, was taken directly from the book. What I loved most about the movie was how faithful it was to the book. Depp pulls out all of the stops as a new Willy Wonka, though there are times that any audience member will get just a bit freaked out. Gene Wilder portrayed Wonka more like a fatherly-figure, and really was just too nice. He was eccentric and freaky, the way he allowed the rotten children to get what they deserved and protected his factory like it was his child. What people don't really pick up from the first movie is that Wonka was intended to be, well, crazy. ![]() First and foremost, Johnny Depp is perfect as Willy Wonka. Though I never had a problem with the original "Willy Wonka" move with Gene Wilder (despite how unfaithful it was, it was still a cute and heart-warming movie), I was doing back-flips when I heard Tim Burton, quite possibly my all-time favorite director, would helm a new version of the movie. Roald Dahl's magical tale of a young boy's adventure in the strange factory was spell-binding. Growing up, my favorite book was, easily, "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory".
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