charliechoco

I loved the original version of this film with Gene Wilder. But when I saw that Tim Burton was going
to direct the remake I became really excited. As much as I loved the original, it didn't capture the
dark and sinister world that Roald Dahl created. The play keeps true to this world, but the first
movie...trying to stay in the conservative children's film genre, failed to establish the basic rules of
lunacy that exist in the world in which Charlie lives. Burton dives right in and relishes the excuse to
make this world come alive.

The first thing you will notice as you watch the film is that it is visually stunning. Not a blade of
grass was overlooked in the construction of these elaborate sets. The world of London is very grey
and dismal with the little shanty house where Charlie lives with his mother and father and two sets
of grandparents. Inside the factory, everything is beyond colorful. The costumes of the children
and their parents are to the extremes, but pale in comparison to the zany outfits Depp wears as the
more that a little disturbed factory owner, Willy Wonka. His face is pale with exceedingly black hair
and outlandish suits with a long dark coat over it all. The oompaloompas are digitally morphed, but
you forgive it because of the ridiculous dances and costumes that generally accompany them.

Johnny Depp does a fantastic job. As opposed to Gene Wilder's portrayal that maintained a
certain amount of charm and love of people, Depp's performance shows Wonka as a deeply
disturbed adult who refuses to grow up because his father rejected him. He continually shows a
depth of character hiding directly below the surface of the eccentric recluse he's become. He
wears squeaky tight gloves that seem awfully uncomfortable, but in one of the last scenes, you see
that his father (a dentist) wears very similar latex gloves and the shot of them squeaking their
uncomfortable gloves with each other is kind of touching.

All five of the children are well cast and do their parts well. The parents are secondary, but they do
fine. Each one is horrible in their own way, but the girls are particularly devious. Where the boys
are content to be themselves and see what happens, the girls plot against each other, smile
broadly while secretly looking for a place to sink their teeth, and prove that they understand and
mean to apply the concept of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer".

What is always disturbing and wonderful to me about Dahl's work is the blatant sinister quality of
the dialog. It's not that he covers up the meaning behind what is happening in an are of naivete.
It's that he moves on quickly so that while you're in shock over what just happened, something else
even more outrageous is beginning. His characters know exactly what they are doing be it good or
evil. In this way, Dahl and Burton demand a smarter audience than the typical children's audience.

Everyone knows the story so I'm not going into the plot. If you don't know the plot, read the book...
then see the movie. But... don't even attempt to bring anything to eat. I'm a proud, card-carrying
chocoholic and about twenty minutes into the movie the thought of putting anything into my mouth
even remotely sweet made me want to run to the ladies room.