Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Tim Burton 2005

Poor, put upon Charlie Bucket gets lucky and finds one of the five golden tickets, winning a chance to tour the factory of the mysterious maestro of confectionary, Willy Wonka. Soon he, and four other children are transported into a strange world of Oommpa Loompas and rivers of chocolate.

Based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl and the 1971 original film musical, this is a vibrant reworking by Tim Burton. Johnny Depp is a rather creepy Willy Wonka with more than a few issues left unresolved from his childhood. Burton gives us a few glimpses into Wonka’s early life in an effort to help us understand his idiosyncrasies. A lot has been said about Depp's appearance in this film but despite the strange haircut, odd teeth and high-pitched voice Depp still manages to make Wonka a likable character.

The children’s performances are all wonderful and cannot be faulted. Freddie Highmore’s Charlie is polite and moral in direct contrast to the other four who seem like poster children for population control.
While not being a musical we are still treated to a few musical numbers from the Oommpa Loompas, played by Deep Roy, and digitally multiplied. These brief melodious interludes are incredibly funny and work well within the scheme of the film.

Visually Burton is flawless. The inner-workings of the factory are absolutely stunning, while the surrounding city and Charlie’s home are suitably drab.

Overall I did enjoy this film, but I guess deep down I feel its just another pointless remake. Thankfully it is nowhere near as bad as Burton’s other remake, “Planet of the Apes”. This film will definitely be a hit purely because it will drag people to the cinema out of curiosity. A well made film for children who haven’t seen the earlier film.