Northern Lad who transfered to Sarf East London and has stayed there ever since.
Northern Lad who transfered to Sarf East London and has stayed there ever since.
Member since:17.02.2005
Reviews:9
Members who trust:3
Well the summer is upon us so that can mean only one thing - yes you've guessed it more remakes at the Box Office.
How many must we suffer through? The Dukes of Hazzard, Bewitched… luckily, there is at least one rehashing that is worth the audience's time and attention.
But how could they remake an all time classic in the shape of Charlie!
Thankfully the plot of the remake very much mirrors the original. The makers behind this film would, I'm sure, prefer to call it another adaptation of the classic children's book, but that's a hard sell. Everybody has heard of the film that was helmed by Gene Wilder - the one that made him the iconic Willy Wonka. It's unlikely this film will bury that one, but it does somethings better: It tells the story, so differently, the second helping feels fresh.
The story in both films is basically the same. Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) is an impoverished Little Lord Fauntleroy. He's what Oliver Twist would be if, instead of being an orphan, he came from a family so busted and broke.
His father (Noah Taylor) is a factory worker who has just been sacked. His mother (Helena Bonham Carter) is the maternal optimist who dutifully cooks and cleans - while trying to protect Charlie from an awfully cold world. Their one-room dive also houses Charlie's grandparents - all four of them - who never get out of bed. That includes Grandpa Joe (David Kelly), the eternal optimist - as well as Grandpa George (David Morris) - his pessimistic counterpart.
But then you all know that!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens with an eye-catching demonstration of the process by which Wonka
bars are made and delivered to stores around the world. It's a preview of the brilliant land we will enter once Willy opens his factory to five lucky ticket holders. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Our first glimpse of the protagonist is in considerably more drab surroundings: a precariously leaning shack in the middle of town, where seven family members huddle over bowls of cabbage soup. I confess here that while I have seen the previous film many times, one of them this year, I have read the book only once, many years ago. So I remember the film much more clearly and found myself making comparisons to that instead of the book, to which this movie sticks more closely
In both films, the story gets moving when the mysterious Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) announces a big contest. Five golden tickets have been packaged in Wonka Bars. The five holders of those tickets will be invited to tour the mysterious Wonka factory - and one of them will get a little something extra.
This film takes us along the same tours, the same boat rides, up-down-and-across the same glass elevator - but goes out of its way to deliver as different an experience as possible. It succeeds for two reasons: First, Tim Burton has a vision that is so definitive as to take material from the first film and cast it into an altogether light. Second, the script by John August (Go, Big Fish) looks for ways to give Tim Burton something fresh to say - and simply an opportunity to reshoot the same story with new toys.
This version is at a tremendous disadvantage. The '71 film has already imprinted an iconic vision of the book by Roald Dahl. This version has to doubly creative if it wants to distinguish itself from the old '71. It has to find a yin to its yang and zig where it zags. For the most part, it does just that.
I don't want to spoil anything - and I won't. In addition to giving us a rich, saturated, ultra-modern reshoot of the Wonka factory - this film uses the power of creepy to, in some ways, beat the '71 film at its own game. Gene Wilder's Wonka was totally bipolar - a loud, moody showman who was a little scary because he could get caught up in the drama of his own imagination. He was a prima donna off his meds.
Depp's Wonka is much more private. Some have compared him to Michael Jackson - because of the hair and dress - but that's a superficial comparison. If anything, Michael Jackson's Achilles heel is his "love" for children. In Depp's world, Wonka is almost frightened of them. Behind his smiles and giggles, this Wonka isn't just dangerously offbeat; he's misanthropic. He's more like W.C. Fields. His version of the Wonka factory more like the gingerbread house in Hanzel and Gretal. It's a venus flytrap for bad kids, making him a cross between Santa and the Bogeyman.
Maybe that's why Danny Elfman scored this film with a reworking of the theme from Red Dragon. This Willy Wonka is no Dr. Frahn-ken-steen. He's a cross between Barney and Hannibal Lecter, between Mr. Rogers and the Gary Oldman character from The Fifth Element.
The least creative part of this film is the quartet of updated brats who contrast with Charlie's lovable qualities: Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb), Veruca Salt (Julia Winter), Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), and Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry). Each kid represents something gone sour in childhood: Violet is too competitive. Veruca gets whatever she wants. Augustus is a glutton. Mike Teavee spends too much time in front of the tube.
Their performances meet the mark. It's just that their roles are essentially the same. In my opinion, the film's greatest weakness is the familiar territory it trods as its grinds out plotlines we remember for the old '71. Their parents, particularly Mrs. Beauregard (the hilariously zombie-eyed Missi Pyle) are much more interesting.
But don't we all love seeing that girl explode ha!
Another interesting plot twist is the remaking of the Oompa Loompas. They looked like mini Ronald McDonald's in the '71 classic. Here, they look more like hobbit-sized characters from Dr. Seuss. In that respect, they're more faithful to the book - whose vision couldn't be contained within the state of the art, as it existed in '71. Here, the Oompa Loompas are all one guy - Deep Roy (Big Fish, The Haunted Mansion). Reflecting the mood of our time, the Oompa Loompas are like undocumented stockers at Walmart - low-cost replacements for local workers who give outsourcing a whole new meaning.
I'm not going to get into plot spoilers - which is why I've tried to convey the spirit of the film (which is wickedly satirical) without giving away the store. To do that, I want to say something about the film's ending - or at least its third act - without telling you anything specific.
Here's what I want to say: If you remember how the first film ended, and are expecting more of the same, you'll be surprised. That's because this film is willing to take the story into a slightly different direction. You may feel, as I did, that the first ending was the better choice - but this one has the benefit of being fresh.
This is a film that stands well next to the '71 classic, because it's so different. Every chance it gets, it flips elements or strikes out into a new direction - enough to give it the feel of a totally different movie. The two films are more like brothers - with so much in common, but so different in so many deliciously entertaining ways.
I thought the trailers for this movie made it look kind of silly, especially Willy Wonka's Dumb & Dumber hairdo, and I didn't really want to see this it. Don't let the ads fool you, though. This turned out to be a great movie with a wonderful story and not a slow moment despite running nearly two hours. It has the right balance of light and dark humor to keep both kids and adults entertained. In short, I loved it.
In fact, unlike most remakes, this is one where you could see either film first, then see the other film, and continue back and forth - without losing anything - because each version makes the other feel fresh and different. It's what deja vu was intended to convey - not a repeat of the past but a totally different plane of existence. Neither is better. They're just different. And that, in itself, is indisputably better
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THanks for your review. Not having seen the 1971 adaptation but having read the book as a child I'm wondering and derbating with myself whether to risk ruining the image I have of the characters with Tim Burton's vision. He is so inconsistent as a filmmaker --- brilliant with films like Edwards Scissorshands one moment and then... Batman... how annoying! S
daddyslittleprincess 27.01.2006 21:34
loved the film good review thanks
craigwatkinson 12.12.2005 21:04
Great Review- Anyone think Willy Wonka looked like Michael Jackson!!!!!
This is a new edition of the famous Dahl story of Charlie Bucket and his Golden Ticket ... more
and Willy Wonka and his amazing chocolate factory. It features a great new Quentin Blake cover as well as a whole new exciting end section about Roald Dahl and his ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Who better to bring Roald Dahl's adored children's story to life than the mastermind ... more
behind inventive films like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE? From Tim Burton's opening shot against Danny Elfman's eerie score this CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTO...
A mysterious chocolate factory has been closed for 15 years, yet it continues to produce ... more
and ship candy all over the world. When a contest promises a tour of the plant to the lucky finders of five golden tickets hidden inside wrappers, no one is more e...
Advantages: Brilliant and imaginative special effects, talented cast and gallons of chocolate Disadvantages: A little too long, quite scary in places and irratating oompa loompas!
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