I liked this better than the reviews led me to believe. Apparently it's more faithful to the book but since I've never read it, I don't know. The first half hour was well done as we see the golden tickets given out and meet Charlie and his family. They live in a very poor house that's tilted in a Dr. Seuss way that only Tim Burton could do. The movie changes once they get into the factory. Again as you'd expect from Burton, the factory is fantastical. A chocolate river and candy garden, a few crazy machines, a great glass elevator and an odd white room that's an homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey. My favorite was how Wonka used a room full of real squirels to shell nuts.
There are some good performances. Freddie Highmore as Charlie is very good. David Kelly of Waking Ned Devine does a more memorable job in the Grandpa Joe role than Jack Albertson did in the original. The various kids are are all fine as kids spoiled in various ways. The Oompa Loompa's in this film are digital clones of one person (Deep Roy) and I found that a little creepy. The songs aren't as fun as in the original film though I've read the lyrics come from the book and Danny Elfman did the music. It also bother me that they speak their own language but sing in English.
But the film really does rest on Willy Wonka and Johnny Depp does an odd job at that. I think he does a cross between Michael Jackson's looks and Dana Carvey's Church Lady's mannerisms. Now this review says he modeled his performance on "Howard Hughes and Edward Scissorhands" and this one says he modeled it on "Vogue editor Anna Wintour" so who knows. Regardless it's creepy and annoying and detracts from the film. They also fill in Wonka's background with various flashbacks that try to explain things. Turns out his father (Christopher Lee) was a dentist and kept him from having candy. And I'm sure having Saruman or a Sith Lord as your father would screw up anyone. But the overall effect is to push the character from an excentric inventor to a crazy Batman villian. It might work for you but it didn't for me as much as I really liked the rest of the film.
Oh and it's narrated by the awesome Geoffrey Holder who's voice you'll recognize from Doctor Dolittle, Live and Let Die and 7-Up commercials.
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