Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
(please excuse my typos and grammar mistakes. Ive got to get my nephew to bed)
To begin with, I'd like to say
THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS AND LIKELY ALOT OF THEM.,
That said, if you don't know the stroy of Willy Wonka by now, you likely won't be seeing the new version either.
MAJOR FILM EVENTS
Opening Credits - I really like the factory intro to the movie.
Introduction to Charlie and his Family - To begin with, the depiction of Charlie's house was nothing short of amazing. The walls inside looked like the Gene Wilder version and the bed where the two sets of grandparents slept could have been from the original film as well. A stunning disply of Dahl's literal povery. The casting here was a bit weak. The two main characters, Grandpa Joe and Charlie, displayed little chemistry together, but each filled out the role they were to play sufficiently. Burton took quite a bit of artistic license, filling in backstory for some of the characters, some of which was rather pointless. Grandpa Joe used to work for Willy Wonka? Who knew?
The Golden Ticket Search - Rather than rely on the post, a small army of Oompa Loompas (though vaguely filmed, so as not to reveal their apperance) was unleashed upon the world, putting up banners to announce the contest.
--Agustus Gloop - The fat little kid from Germany was an ok casting call considering he isn't part of the film for very long. His parents were golden choices for casting; the (silent) father was a particularly brilliant choice. Augustus was a bit less coherent then Wilder's version, and thusly talked less, ate more.
--Violet Beauregarde. A decent casting choice made brilliant through the casting of her mother; these two were made to look amazingly similar. Violet is a karate champion in this one, as well as a champion gum chewer.
--Veruca Salt - Perfect casting for Veruca, down to the crooked teeth. She played the spoiled brat role well, had a great pouting look, and her british-tinged 'Daddy!' was immaculate. The father, on the other hand, looked the part, but played it horribly. It's not a huge role, but the character needs to be played like a top business owner; he didn't have the confidence or charisma for the role.
--Mike Teavee - The introduction to Mike Teavee is nothing short of brilliant as well. Hes converted from a TV monster to an FPS monster who doesn't even like chocolate. He was bratty, demanding, and a know it all; wonderfully done. His mother, who only makes an apperance was forgettable, his dad was the same, only because of his role. He was the perfect spineless father who has already given in to his demanding son.
--The Counterfiet Russian Ticket - Comparatively little time was spent on this plot element. This was a good suspense builder from the book (I think?) and Wilder version that received about 30 seconds of attention. In that time, we learned the ticket was found, to the fact that it was counterfeit.
--Charlie Bucket - As soon as Charlie learns the ticket is fake, he opens his bar of chocolate and finds the ticket. People offer him money for the ticket, but no Slugworth is to be seen. Charlie runs home to tell his family and Grandpa Joe gets out of bed to dance. The character acting as Grandpa Joe did not convincingly pull this part off; he looked stiff and out of character.
The Factory Gates - Gone was the fairy palace factory of the Mel Stuart version. Tim Burton's factory was immense, industrial, and very impressive visually. The five winners waited at the gate until 10AM. But Willy Wonka did not emerge from his factory. Instead, Depp's voice eminated from loudspeakers, instructing the winners to enter and approach the front door. The gates closed, and the front doors opened, revealing the dancing puppet show a 'Will Wonka!' theme which apparently showed in ever TV commercial. This bit is a little funny, and Wonka appears nexxt to the winners, rather than on a throne beyond the puppets. Wonka looked ok, but Depp wasn't eccentric at all with the character; he played it somewhgat mellow and depressed; shades of Gilbert Grape maybe? He could have done MUCH more with the character, as he was barely convincing.
Enter the factory - No contract. No coat grabbing hooks. No ever increasingly small hallway leading to a tiny door (not exactly anyways). Wonka is revealed to have some family problems, solely with his father. This is a minor part anyways.
The Chocolate Lake Room - Pretty good visually. The chocolate lake was a bit nicer looking than Stuart's version, and the fields, flowers, etc looked real; at least until the camera got close. The Oompa Loompas make their first apperance, and a small aside takes place to explain why the Oompa Loompas are working for Wonka. This part is ok but seemed rather unecessary.
Augustus Falls in the Lake - Thankfully, this little ****** goes first; he was the worst of the child actors. This part is similar to the original film, only the Oompa Loompas sing while he is stuck in the pipe (Aside: The machinery of the pipe was a nice touch). The song was the first terrible Oompa Loompa number. Though a modern touch was added to the song, I think it took away from the overall effect. Agustus shoots up the pipe, and his mother is remarkable calm. She was a shit actress anyways.
The Boat Ride into the Depths of the Factory - I expected this to be the best part of the movie. Instead, it was a major let down. Though visually pretty stunning, it was over to quick and felt slowed down, despite the rushing pace. A few bits from the book made it in here (not included in Stuart's version) but were jammed in the middle, further slowing the pace of the scene. Theres also a small vignette about Wonka, his father, and his first piece of candy which sets up some later plot elements.
The Inventing Room - Yet another chance for Wonka to be eccentric, but he was dull and overly complacent. Very little machinery was shown, and even less was explained. Everlasting Gobstoppers made their apperance, but without Slugworth's apperance, this was little more than a small nod to the original. The machinery was impressive, unfortunately little else was including,
Violet turns into a Blueberry - The machinery which churned out the gum was awesome. Violet's acting on the other hand was shameful. There was little to no wonder as she chewed the magical gum, little wihimpering or shrieking as she changed into a blueberry (not badd effect work here!) Her mother was a bit more anxious than Mrs. Gloomp, but not incredibly impressive. The Oompa Loompas make it two for two with a terrible disco-era song.
Veruca wants a Trained Squirrel - This scene is why many critics say this movie is truer to the book than Stuart' version (Stuart used geese who laid Golden eggs in place of squirrels). Unfortunately, this part is somewhat bad. Veruca was easily the best of the five child act(resse)ors plays the part pretty convincingly, but let's face it, shes a one dimensional character. The squirrels attack her, which is another well done piece, but her 'I want it Now' song is totally bypassed in favor of another terrible Oompa Loompa song. When I heard it start, I made a break for the bathroom and missed her dad being tossed down the garbage shute as well.
The Great Glass Elevator - Amazingly done by Burton and the designers. Great scene leading to the TV room. This is one of the better scenes (visually) in the movie until
Mike Teavee, Television, and teleportation - The room where this is done is immaculatly white and well done. This whole scene is actually quite well done, though Mike ramapages through the room and controls the machinery himself. The Oompa Loompas are still batting 1.000 with yet another final bad song as they switch Mike through the TV channels in a convention that has been around for some time.
Charlie is the Only One Left - We immediately leave the factory since there was no contract or Slugworth scene. One scene I always felt was missing form the original is included here: The other children leaving the factory in their new states. The break into Charlie's house and Wonka offers the factory to Charlie, but he must leave his family behind. Charlie refuses in the most unbelievable part of the movie ever. Wonka leaves, and Charlie stays in the house, having turned down the greatest gift a poor child could ask for.
Wonka shows up Later - Things (economically) get a little better for Charlie's family. Meanwhile, Wonka is making terrible candy; he has no family, and he has no heir, since Charlie has refused his offer. Charlie is shining shoes and Wonka goes to his stand. Charlie explains why family is so important and offers to accompany Wonka to see his father.
Wonka's Father - Is a dentist, which was explained earlier, but not mentioned by me until now. They take Willy into his dads office and the dad inspects his teeth (which are immaculate, though Wonka doesn't floss). It turns out that Wonka's dad has been quite the follower of his son, collecting newspaper stories and pictures which are everywhere. The scenery surrounding Wonka's father's home/office is odd, but a credit to Tim Burton.
Conclusion - Charlie gets the factory. The house is literally moved into the field of candy (where Agustus met his demise) where candy snow falls all year round. The End.
Overall this is not a bad interpretation of the book, but Id rank it below Wilder and Stuart's original effort. The film felt rushed in many parts, like Burton did know what to do, and slow in others. Some of the actors/actresses didn't show up, beyond to collect their paycheck, some great elemts (listed below) are missing, and theres some odd additions to the story which Dahl didn't include. These additions helped explain Wonka's character a bit, but seemed more included to push a message. The script was poorly adapted from it's two potential sources. Depp was a poor choice for Wonka, or was stifled creatively. The Oompa Loompas were homogenous, and their (re-written) songs were shoddy.
On the plus side, some of the characters did excellently with their roles. Most of the children started off great, and only plummeted when their characters hit the factory. Alot of the scenery was impeccable. The addition of forgotten scenes from Stuart's version were a nice touch.
Ranking : 6/10
Parts not Included from the Stuart Version and Book
-No Slugworth (minus a small montage at the beginning)
- The Fizzy Lifting Drinks Sequence (including the famous: 'A Shnozzberry tastes like a shnozzberry!')
- The sequence with the candy machine where the remaining contestants are sprayed with whipped cream and other goodies, then magically cleaned is gone.
-Veruca's 'I want it now' song
Last edited by on Jul-16-2005 at 03:06
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