Charlie and the Choclate Factory

[CheshireCatNY]

Don't worry I won't give away anything....... (its against my film fanatic ethics)

Being one of the most avid Tim Burton fans you will ever meet, I of course had to see this opening night. My thoughts are mixed at best. As in all of Burtons movies it was visually stunning and surreal and feels other-worldly even though it supposed to be taking place in the real world with a touch of that classic offbeat creepiness he's known for. The way he utilized CGI in this movie (not something he does often) was just breathtaking and somewhat overwhelming at times. The factory itself was like another dimension entirely...

The main aspects of the characters, especially the kids, were far more exaggerated than the Gene Wilder version (except for Veruca Salt, the spoiled girl, who seemed to be a bit more toned down) Charlie Bucket lives in even worse poverty, Augustus Gloop is even more of a pig, Violet Beauregard is a competitive freak and Mike Teevee is a little bastard.....LOL. Plus Grandpa Joe is a lot older and kind of an old coot....a little goofy....

There is still singing, but the only songs in the movie are performed by the Oompa Loompa's and they nixed the whole "doopa-dee doo" thing for something a bit more modernized. I had a mixed reaction to that.....I mean, the original Oompa Loompa songs were irritating...LOL

I actually own an original copy of the Charlie and the Choclate Factory book and I will tell you this was a far better adaptation of the book than the Gene Wilder version. One thing in particular I was impressed by was the way he incorporated the origin of the Oompa Loompas except for one minor detail which was and will be ommited from any other recreation of the story for one reason. In the original book, the Oompa Loompa's were African pygmies! The whole gag was that they were made of choclate. Get it? So essentially they were like slave labor. In the book he tells a story of traveling into darkest Africa in search of new exotic flavors and comes across the tribe known as the Oompa Loompa's living high in the trees. In the Gene Wilder version they came up with "Loompaland" and only touched on the origin briefly (I think its no big deal if I just say they went with the Loompaland concept in the new movie too but just expanded on it a lot more with a whole flashback sequence.) You are not going to believe how they did the Oompa Loompas in this movie, it is so bizarre!

Johnny Depp as Wonka was hilarious, making him out to be much more unhinged and skittish than the original. At certain times he was downright creepy. My only real problem with the movie is a plot point that keeps coming up throughout the movie. I won't give it away but it has to do with Willy Wonka's past, mainly his childhood, kinda like what they did in the live action Grinch movie trying to explain why he is the way he is. I thought it was kind of unnecessary (and a little confusing at times) and just a bad move on Burtons part particularly...

all together I give it 4 out of 5 stars..... :super_hap

 

[nessonite1]

Ha I didnt know it was out already! I'd really like to see it soon rather than waiting for the DVD like I normally do. I'm a huge Roald Dahl fan and, though I'm only slightly familiar with this director, I think that Tim Burton has the ability to capture that creepy feeling that lies just below the surface of Mr Dahl's stories.
I find it unsettling that he felt the need to embelish the story with extra background stories. This may be due to the very very bad taste that the Hitchhiker's remake has left in my mouth that no amount of Listerine has succeeded in removing. However I think keeping Loompaland was a rather safe idea.

The original movie I have no qualms with. I can forgive it's campy, low-budget nature and even the fact that it was a musical (I detest musicals) but I also have no problems with the idea of it being remade. I don't have the "don't fix what isnt broken" thing that I get whenever someone thinks they have to remake something classic.

The ONLY problem I have from the few snippets of ads I've seen is that the chil;dren looked like they were plucked out of a modern shopping mall. I really liked the storybook "who-knows-when, who-knows-where" feeling of the first movie and I would have liked to see the children look less modern. Though, being the age that I am, the children from the original may have looked the same way when it was made. I have no idea as I simply wasn't around.

Thanks for the reminder, CC. I will attempt to go and see the film hopefully soon. btw I drew a piccy of you...I hope you see it in your wanderings.

 

[Goodieluver]

If only burton would direct a music video with ville valo of H.I.M, i dont know if my eyes and heart could withstand the beauty.

 

[Low_Roads]

I attended a weekend screening and was startled at how very much I enjoyed every aspect of the film! Of course, one has come to expect quality (if off-beat quality) from Tim Burton. But he doesn't always handle whimsy well ("Beetlejuice", "Mars Attacks!"). His production machine is firing on all cylinders here, though. The cinematography is sweeping, the design work colorful and magical, the FX comfortably integrated, the script at once sharp and funky, the acting quirky yet solid. Does Burton know how to stage a musical number, or what! I was actually toe-tapping at times! Another triumph for composer Danny Elfman (this is the first soundtrack album of the season I absolutely have to own!) Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka is a bit fey for my taste (I was warned about this in reviews), but I got used to him far sooner than expected and it in no way compromised my appreciation of this wonderful summer treat!

Saw a trailer for Burton's "The Corpse Bride" at the same time. This one looks like another "Nightmare Before Christmas" masterpiece. Can't wait!

 

[nessonite1]

Thanks for the review! I'm hoping to go and see it while it's still in the theater but with volume being so loud in theaters I'll have to find alternate arrangments for my daughter first.

 

[Low_Roads]

It's a shame that theater sound systems are designed to deliver sensory overload these days, as I believe your daughter would really warm to the film's color and energy. But I'm sure she'll like it just fine when it hits DVD. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not built on miniscule details and should play perfectly well on a TV screen.