Release Date:
07/15/2005
Ordinarily, tinkering with a classic film would effect disastrous results. But Tim Burtons tart re-think of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is pure inspiration that oozes with eye-popping visual treats. Burton darkens the tone, ups the ante, and pushes Factory to surreal new levels, creating a movie that will thrill the kiddies and creep out their parentsthis is one family film that isnt afraid to be subversive.
Burton's vision is actually far more faithful to the twisted Roald Dahl book than 1971s Gene Wilderfronted musical, although the basic premise still has four miserable little tykes and dream-child Charlie (Finding Neverland's Freddie Highmore) winning Golden Tickets to tour the factory. Much is the sameobnoxious children are squeezed up tubes, flattened like gingerbread men, turned into giant blueberries, and attacked by an assembly line of workaholic squirrels shelling nuts for chocolate bars. But the vibe is different due in part to the incredible staging and Johnny Depp's otherworldly performance as Wonka, which plays like a cross between Edward Scissorhands, Michael Jackson, and Howard Hughes. The film also makes some serious additions by subtracting all the Candy Manstyle sing-a-long show tunes from the 1971 version and replacing them with foreboding Danny Elfman song-and-dance numbers performed by a Greek chorus of 30-inch-tall Oompa Loompas (which were actually 165 digitally cloned images of the same remarkable 4'4" actor, Deep Roy). Factory may have lost some of its candy coating, but no sugar high can compete with this instant classic.
Burton's vision is actually far more faithful to the twisted Roald Dahl book than 1971s Gene Wilderfronted musical, although the basic premise still has four miserable little tykes and dream-child Charlie (Finding Neverland's Freddie Highmore) winning Golden Tickets to tour the factory. Much is the sameobnoxious children are squeezed up tubes, flattened like gingerbread men, turned into giant blueberries, and attacked by an assembly line of workaholic squirrels shelling nuts for chocolate bars. But the vibe is different due in part to the incredible staging and Johnny Depp's otherworldly performance as Wonka, which plays like a cross between Edward Scissorhands, Michael Jackson, and Howard Hughes. The film also makes some serious additions by subtracting all the Candy Manstyle sing-a-long show tunes from the 1971 version and replacing them with foreboding Danny Elfman song-and-dance numbers performed by a Greek chorus of 30-inch-tall Oompa Loompas (which were actually 165 digitally cloned images of the same remarkable 4'4" actor, Deep Roy). Factory may have lost some of its candy coating, but no sugar high can compete with this instant classic.