I'm happy to report that the Charlie in the new version of the film is whiter than white, in both complexion and morals. Burton has stuck to the story in the book for the most part, adding only a bit of back story to help explain Wonka's character, and a slightly different ending to further warm the cockles.

Charlie Bucket lives in a ramshackle house in the middle of a city, with his father, mother, and all four grandparents. They live a meagre existence, living on cabbage soup and little else. Charlie is tormented every day by the smells of delicious candy emanating from the chocolate factory which dominates the town.

I personally don't think you'll find a finer child actor than Freddie Highmore. To be honest, he makes the precocious children in the Harry Potter films look like soap actors. I thought he was amazing in Finding Neverland, and there's no wonder Depp asked for him to be cast as Charlie. He has an innocence and a defiance far beyond his years, and if he continues to get better as he gets older, he's bound to be a national treasure.

David Kelly, who you might recognise from Waking Ned if you're lucky enough to have seen it, is perfect as Charlie's doting Grandpa Joe. His whispered story telling, and his dancing when he gets out of bed really make him look like a Quentin Blake drawing. The other grandparents are okay, but Liz Smith as Grandma Georgina (she's Gran in The Royle Family) was my favourite; her random shouting out of unconnected sentences livens up the story telling scenes which might otherwise drag for younger children.

The most amazing character has to be Deep Roy, who plays all the Ooompa-loompas. Through the miracle of CG, he appears hundreds of time on screen with himself. With a permanently straight face, no matter what ridiculous costumes they have him dressed in at the time (a spandex catsuit is my personal favourite), must have been the hardest thing about acting this role. It's also nice that they kept the original lyrics Dahl wrote for the Oompa-loompa's songs, even if sometimes it's hard to decipher what those lyrics are. As usual, Burton has used Danny Elfman for the soundtrack, and his ability to write well in many different styles stops the musical numbers from being dull.

As a whole, the film plays differently to the original interpretation. Depp's Wonka clearly hates children, yet they are necessary to his plan. There is a feeling that everything that happens to the children is predetermined, something alluded to when one of the children asks how the Oompa-loompas can possibly know Augustus Gloop's name. The scene where Wonka searches for a key in order to help one of the children and keeps using the wrong one is another clue to his real feelings.

It's probably pretty obvious how much I enjoyed this film, possibly more than even I thought I would. It stays true to the original text, whilst branching out in ways I feel Dahl would have approved of. Don't get me wrong, Gene Wilder will always have a special place in my heart as Willy Wonka; it's just that now every time I read the book, I just know I'm going to picture Johnny Depp narrowing his eyes at the children and telling them not to mumble.

(May I just add, this category seems in a bit of a mess. The category is called "CHARLIE and the chocolate factory" and so is obviously about the 2005 film. However, the picture at the top is a cobbled together photo using the old DVD cover (with alternative title) with Depp's face, and most of the reviews are about the Gene Wilder version. In my opinion this is in the correct section, as there is another section entitled "WILLY WONKA and the chocolate factory" for the 1970s version. Anyway, that's enough pedantry for one day…)