Genre: Family, Comedy
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee
Released: 28th July 2005.
Running Time: 115 mins
Tagline: The Factory Opens July 2005
Willy Wonka, the eccentric creator of the world famous Wonka Chocolate is opening up his fantastic factory to the five lucky people who find a golden ticket with their chocolate bar. The desperately poor Charlie Bucket is one of the lucky winners who will get a guided tour with Willy Wonka himself. As if that is not enough, one of the winners will also win a prize beyond imagination. But what could it be, who will win it, and what in the world goes on inside the factory? And of course, for those that already know, how does it compare to the book and the original film?
In 1964 Roald Dahl released the book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', following on from the success of 'James and the Giant Peach'. Then, in 1971, it was turned into the classic Mel Stuart directed 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' starring Gene Wilder as Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket. Now, as is consistent with current Hollywood policy for successful old films, it has been remade. Tim Burton directs, with Johnny Depp, taking on the role of Wonka, and Freddie Highmore as Charlie.
The title, for those that haven't read the book or seen the original movie, refers to Charlie Bucket, a polite and kind young boy from as poor a family as you can imagine, and the chocolate factory belonging to a Mr Willy Wonka, the craziest and most famous sweet maker in the world. The factory itself is shrouded in mystery. No-one has ever been seen entering or leaving it, much to everyone's puzzlement. However, Wonka has now decided to open up his factory to five lucky people. Five golden tickets have been hidden in packets of Wonka chocolate, and the finders of these will be given a guided tour of the mysterious factory, and one of the winners will win a prize greater than anything imaginable. Miraculously, Charlie, who normally only gets one bar of chocolate a year, found one of the golden tickets and is rather excited about getting to see all the wonders hidden within, as is his Grandpa who he is taking with him.
The original movie was a tremendous success. Kids and adults alike still take great pleasure in watching the movie today. Almost everyone viewing this latest offering will have seen the original movie, or read the book, even most of the kids. While this does of course guarantee considerable interest, and so likely very good early box office figures, it makes it extremely difficult for the new version to be a truly exciting and enjoyable movie-going experience, given everyone's familiarity with the events about to unfold.
The original movie took Roald Dahl's crazy off the wall plot and produced an equally surreal film, full of objectionable competition winners, crazy sweets and even crazier machines and inventions within the factory. It also added a little in terms of story line, compared with the book. Tim Burton's version keeps the off the wall insanity, but is rather more loyal to the book than the earlier film. Unfortunately, this latter point is to the films detriment. While Dahl is a superb writer of kids books, the first movie was given extra depth. Like the book, Burton's story follows a much more single threaded path, as we first watch Charlie and his family, and then all five winners as the tour the factory. Post tour, the films ending plays a little flat, not least because just about every viewer knows what the amazing prize is going to be anyway, but also because it feels messy as it meanderingly drags on a little too long.
The actual film it self is perfectly satisfactory. I have no doubt that kids who have seen the original will still love it. Those that have read the book will enjoy seeing the story played out before their eyes, but those who haven't even ready the book will probably get the most out of the experience. It is a true fantasy story. In this way, it is loyal to Dahl's story telling style, as it whisks you off into a fantasy world. Even those that have seen the original film will likely enjoy this version. However, the adult viewer will suffer from having seen the original movie, as they simply wait for events to happen, and occasionally finding themselves frustrated when certain events don't occur at all.
Johnny Depp plays up the social maladjustment Wonka suffers, having been locked away in a factory without human interaction for years. While he does a reasonable job, and often funny, he is never gripping to watch. He doesn't have the charisma of Gene Wilder's Wonka. The child actors who play the other competition winners are all good, with Freddie Highmore especially good as Charlie, managing to play the nice young lad without being vomit inducing. The Oompa Loompas are unfortunately a massive disappointment. Their frequent songs are barely understandable and far from laugh out loud funny for the most part. The voice over is also not very successful. It is clearly supposed to instil a story book feeling, but most of the time succeeds in only snapping the viewer out of the viewing experience.
It is important to realise that this is not a bad film. Far from it, it is not an unpleasant way to spend the best part of two hours. Like most remakes, it suffers from the obvious fact that most people know what the film is about and what is going to happen before they enter the cinema, and also suffers from comparisons with a very good book and an excellent original movie.
Taking the film in isolation, ignoring the book and original film, this is a decent enough film for all the family, which could whisk you off to a fantasy world full of mad inventions and insane machines. However, almost every viewer will already know the story and the film will be less enjoyable because of it. Take your kids to see it, they will enjoy it, but don't expect too much yourself.
Mark: 4/10
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