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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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by Warner Bros. Pictures
Sales Rank: 93038
Price: $5.56
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Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of <I>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</I> would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's <I>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</I> (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in <I>Finding Neverland</I>), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I><p> <b>DVD features</b>
The second disc is filled with a number of distinctive featurettes. The likely crowd-pleaser in most households is "Attack of the Squirrels," which recounts how those fuzzy little creatures (a combination of hard-to-train live animals, animatronics, and computer graphics) can be ornery in their own right. "The Fantastic Mr. Dahl" is a 17-minute look at author Roald Dahl through vintage footage and new interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. "Becoming Oompa-Loompa" follows Deep Roy as he is filmed over and over again through his dance steps and music performances.<p> Roy is a constant throughout the kids' activities as well. You can follow him to learn two different dance steps "Augustus Gloop" and "Violet Beauregarde," and make him taste weird candy inventions in a simple game. "Search for the Golden Ticket" is a five-part challenge that tests your remote-control fingers, your deductive abilities, or your luck. Finally, if you just want basic behind-the-scenes information, "Making the Mix" is a collection of featurettes (around 40 minutes total) covering the film's casting, music, production design, and special effects. <I>--David Horiuchi</I>
Viewer Reviews
Inevitably it's going to be compared to the 1971 musical which while a classic on its own, was indeed very little like the book.
I only read the book as a child and I can't remember much except the scritchy little drawings and the fact that Squirrels attacked Veruca Salt instead of Geese (though they didn't attack her, she just fell down the chute).
If this movie is close to the book, then I must have read a wrong version of the book, or else the 1971 musical is an improvement on what must have been a kiddie-snuff tale, like Dahl's "The Twits" only with innocent people instead of evil spouses.
What we have here is yet another film for Tim Burton to delve into his cliche's (or perhaps fetishes) of people so insanely pale, pasty, and white they're either the living dead or a racist caricature of British people. Absolutely no one looks remotely human save for Christopher Lee and Freddie Highmore. Everyone else has been made-up, airbrushed, and photoshopped worse than a Vogue or Playboy photoshoot.
While some may have hated them, I thought the Oompa Loompa's performances were the best part of the movie. Although they were apparently supposed to be based on the songs in the book with moral messages, I couldn't hear the lyrics clearly enough so whatever messages contained were wasted, even more so by the insanely escalating displays of CGI frilly-ness and confetti and effects. All substance was lost behind effects and music.
While the story is indeed more about Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket, the 1971 musical (again with this) managed to make the other kids and their parents interesting characters in themselves who were memorable enough to become fodder for many spoofs by entertainers over the years. Here, they're just cannon fodder.
Indeed like other reviewers say, the kids aren't taught anything except "YOU DIE NOW!" and then put into situations like a cartoonish parody of Jigsaw's traps ("Saw"), be it Violet Beauregard not only inflating with juice, but doing so so that she becomes large as a building, which would/should kill any normal person, and brings back fond (ie, horrifying) memories of the trailers for "Slither" featuring a woman being blown up so large, she pops and explodes in a huge wave of blood and gore. You pretty much know the rest. None of the kids do anything to warrant these attempted murders beyond doing what kids normally do. Example: whereas in the 1971 musical (AGAIN), Wonka tells Violet not to chew the gum, first seriously, then groaning and nonchalantly, in this version he doesn't say anything to stop her except to look like a famous pop singer. Veruca runs off to look at the pretty squirrels, and Wonka intentionally stalls in opening up the gate to let her father out to free her.
Then there's Willy Wonka, or as everyone who saw the movie calls him, Michael Jackson: the Parody Spoof. Burton's fetish for the pasty and pale runs roughshod on Johnny Depp to a point where he is completely white as the background of the text I am writing this review on now. Add his high-pitched voice and childish (rather than childlike) behavior and his complete and painfully awkward behavior around children and it seems like he's been court-ordered not to get too close to children or else...
His reactions/behavior to the children as well is highly childish, rather than like a father-figure as in the 1971 musical ( ). Example: in the musical, whenever Mike Teevee asks too many questions or annoys Wonka with his talking, Wonka has some clever little thing to say, such as "I'm a bit deaf in this ear, please speak up next time" or "I'm sorry, all questions must be submitted later in writing". Here, Wonka only stares at him awkwardly, occasionally tells him he's mumbling (when he's not), and at the pinnacle of it, just freaks out going "MUMBLIIIIING!!! MUMBLING!" like he's a sociopath.
An entirely Burton-made subplot involves Wonka having issues with his father, a dentist, which causes not only flashbacks to very painfully executed scenes, but a demonization of his father played to odd and scary perfection by Christopher Lee, to a point where you wonder if perhaps Dr. Wonka abused his child. These flashbacks bring the movie's momentum to horrendous stops as Wonka suddenly freezes up and goes catatonic to have them, then emerges frozen-stiff and twitching, until someone wakes him up.
Then the entire thing comes apart at the end where Charlie wins the factory, and asks the crucial question of Wonka; can his family come with him.
In the 1971 musical (HAHA AGAIN), Wonka says of course they can. Here, Wonka says of course they can....'t.
And with that, Wonka goes from odd mentor, confused and befuddled father figure, to an orphan [...] child who sprouted into wealth yet does not know love.
In the end, Charlie proves to be the bigger man by rejecting Wonka's proposal because he would rather stay in the loving embraces of his poor family than live a cold, heartless life of decadence with Wonka in his factory. And Wonka cannot even begin to understand why.
And that is where the movie comes off its hinges and dies broke and alone in a gutter, as the pivotal mastermind of the film becomes nothing more than a befuddled, spoiled, loveless little brat who tries to kill off four children just to make a new permanent playmate.
At the end, Wonka still learns nothing, but finally cedes to Charlie's request by moving the entire family into his factory, and culminates in a dinner scene so dismally awkward and painfully executed that just one viewing makes me feel like less of a person for having viewed it. No one learned anything here; Charlie proved to be the true adult here, smart and mature enough to put his family above riches and wealth.
And still, Willy Wonka the Michael Jackson Impersonator cannot even begin to understand why.
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