| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
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STARRING: Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka) [Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of
the Caribbean, J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland, Edward in Edward Scissorhands], Freddie
Highmore (Charlie Bucket) [Peter Davies in Finding Neverland], David Kelly (Grandpa Joe)
[Michael O'Sullivan in Waking Ned Devine, a character named "O'Reilly" in an episode of "Fawlty Towers"],
Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Bucket) [The Witch and Jenny in Big Fish, Ari in Planet of the
Apes, Marla Singer in Fight Club], Deep Roy (Oompa Loompas) [credited as Gorilla kid/Thade's
niece in Planet of the Apes, Mr. Soggybottom in Big Fish, Post Office Clerk in How the Grinch
Stole Christmas], Christopher Lee (Dr. Wonka) [Count Dooku in the latest Star Wars trilogy,
Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy]
SYNOPSIS: Eccentric and reclusive chocolate maker Willy Wonka gives four brats and the impoverished but
good-hearted Charlie an exclusive tour of his zany factory, and the chance to win an even bigger prize at the end.
REVIEW IN BRIEF: Faithful to the Roald Dahl book and to Burton's imaginatively skewed worldview,
Chocolate Factory is an upbeat and absurdly funny new take on the familiar story. Definitely worth the
ticket price.
REVIEW THE LONG: As the screen went black and the credits of Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory began to roll, a mother seated behind me asked her young daughter, "So which did you like best? This
movie or the real one?" The "real one" referred to is, of course, the 1971 Gene Wilder musical called Willy
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that has been beloved by two generations of moviegoers. It's a great family
movie, happy, full of memorable songs like "Candyman" and the Oompa Loompa verses. It's a sweet fantasy (no pun
intended).
Dahl's book is not so sweet and innocent, and neither is Burton's film. The director's highly imaginative and
stylized set designs evoke a quaint, "once upon a time" feel, but at the same time contain enough sharp edges and
dark colors to remind us that fantasy can as easily be scary as pleasant. This is just the right kind of feel for
a story where children invited to a candy factory end up squeezed, pumped, stretched and dumped into the
incinerator. Interestingly enough, many of the rooms and gadgets of Burton's chocolate factory are quite similiar
to the ones in the Wilder Wonka factory, a testament to how well both movie adaptations have followed the book.
The biggest difference is that Burton has the benefit of CGI to make his factory way huger and more fantastic than
was possible in 1971. Little asthetic touches, such as having actor Deep Roy portray each individual Oompa Loompa
and using real squirrels in the nut room add credibility to the surreal environment.
Danny Elfman, Burton's composer and siamese twin, completes the vision with a wildly energetic score including
four Oompa Loompa numbers using Dahl's original lyrics. The music is typical Elfman, but the songs spice things
up with touches of Bollywood and hard rock. Not being a musical, the Oompa Loompa song-and-dance routines
consistently feel out of place in the movie, a problem that is cutely addressed by Mike Teevee, who comments that
the "Augustus Gloop" song "seemed scripted." Ha, ha. Way to cover your butt, guys.
The biggest surprise in this movie is how incredibly funny it is. Johnny Depp, sporting fake white teeth and a
distressing bob haircut, plays Wonka as a mischevious kid who uses his factory as a personal playground and tries
to make small talk with the children by remarking, "You're really short, aren't you?" Almost everything he says is
in some way strange and amusing, and the reactions of his young co-stars are particularly charming. I'll just add
that similarities between Depp's Wonka and Michael Jackson are there if you want to look for them (reclusive
millionaire lives in a fantasy world of his own creation, invites children to share it with him, wears gloves and
dresses strangely, has a very white face, effeminate voice and childlike manner), but they are superficial, and
fixating on them is a sure way to ruin one of the few decent movies that has come out of Hollywood this year.
Story elements like Wonka's domineering dentist father and the caricatures of the other children and their
parents make the supporting cast equally enjoyable. David Kelly makes the most of his small role as Grandpa Joe
and Freddie Highmore embodies Charlie's innocence and compassion. Helena Bonham Carter, however, doesn't seem as
comfortable with her fake teeth as Depp is with his.
Infusing the sugary tale with commentary about parenting and a little epilogue about Wonka's need for a loving
family may seem a little obligatory but it's nice to finally get some answers about why Wonka is the way he is,
and the ending "happily ever after" narration suits the fairy tale structure.
And for the record, the little girl behind me in the theatre answered, "I liked this movie best!"
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