Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Starring: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Missi Pule, James Fox, Deep Roy, Christopher Lee, Adam Godley, AnnaSophia Robb, Julia Winter, Jordan Fry, Philip Wiegratz
Directed by: Tim Burton
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Five children find five Golden Tickets in Wonka bars and win an exclusive look at the reclusive Willy Wonka's (Johnny Depp) fantastical chocolate factory.

Review:

Tim: I avoided watching Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for years. Perhaps not actively, but I always had something else to watch. The movie just looked weird. After almost two decades, though, I was on a bit of a Roald Dahl kick with my kids. We read the book and watched the amazing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. So, I decided to give this movie a try. And, I was predictably disappointed. It's weird to watch a movie that adheres fairly close to the actual book, yet is worse than the previous movie in every single way. This isn't quite a bad movie, but it's close to bad. It's okay, yet a disappointment.

I felt like Burton's tone was all off on this film. The first film balanced awe and malice in all the right ways. This one felt darkly weird for no reason other than its own weirdness. I never really cared about any of the characters (except Charlie) and the movie adds a bit of unnecessary backstory for Willy, which adds very little. Burton is a director with a unique visual flair and approach, but it simply doesn't work for this story. The film has a ton of flaws, but I believe it all starts with Burton's approach.

Perhaps the most visible flaw, though, is the performance of Johnny Depp. I sympathize with him a bit- Gene Wilder gave the definitive Willy Wonka performance decades ago. His warmth, his eagerness, his flirting with total insanity, his dry remarks- everything about what Wilder did is fantastic. It's one of the all-time great performances in any children's film. How would Depp follow up? Well, he certainly doesn't aim to ape Wilder's performance. He interprets the character in his own way. Whereas his doing this with Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean was a franchise-making turn, his interpretation of this character dooms this film from the outset. Honestly, I'm not sure what he was thinking. I hated nearly everything about his performance here. Wonka seems like a moron, a weirdo, an oddball in the worst, creepiest ways. His interpretation of this character hits all the wrong notes. There's no warmth, no intellect to the character. He comes across as the kind of person you'd shield from your kids. It's honestly full of so many bizarre decisions, I can't believe anyone signed off on this. His voice, his look, it all feels wrong. I admit Wilder's performance sets an impossibly high bar, but Depp sets an almost impossibly low bar. His Willy Wonka is terrible. I don't think I enjoyed one thing he did in this film.

Freddie Highmore, on the other hand, was a perfect Charlie. Highmore is a talented young actor, and this might be the one aspect of this film that rivals the 1971 version. Highmore's Charlie feels authentic and interesting. We care about him, become invested in him. Highmore is the clear highlight in this otherwise dismal film. With that, I also hated David Kelly's version of Grandpa Joe. I... just don't have words for this. His performance feels disconnected, lacking real warmth. His version feels like a fool lost in the past. He translates none of the best aspects of this character to the screen. I'm a bit baffled by it. Helena Bonham Carter is solid in a small role as Charlie's mom, and Noah Taylor works well as Charlie's dad (an importance change from the previous film, that aligns with the book). It as great seeing Christopher Lee show up here, although his whole subplot felt unnecessary. It's an interesting interpretation of Wonka's origin, but it's eminently stupid. AnnaSophia Robb and Julia Winter worked well as two of the kids. I simply didn't get Deep Roy as the Oompa Loompas. I can't really explain anything here- I think his casting was bizarre and did not work in the least. It's yet another weird decision that doesn't pay off in the least. The cast as a whole is hit-or-miss- a few bright spots and several terrible decisions.

The story is fine- Dahl wrote a heck of a narrative and this film is determined to follow more closely than the previous film. The issue with this is that the 1971 film excised much of the worst parts of Dahl's book. This film inexplicably decides to include them. For example, if you've read the book, the Oompa Loompa's songs are a bit brutal to get through. They're not especially well written and it's a pain to read. The 1971 film came up with the catchiest tune ever for their abridged but unforgettable songs. This movie pulls the text from the book for the songs- and they are universally crap. The music here was awful, but faithful to the book. Some of the other things- like showing the stretched-out kid at the end just felt dumb and unbelievable. This is an interesting case of a film purposely adhering closer to the book and the film being worse for it.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't good. I disliked it a lot. My kids (9 and 6) read the book and watched the other film and neither of them liked this movie either. Burton is absolutely a director with a unique vision and approach. It clashes with the heart of this story, though. This movie is okay, but horribly disappointing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda