Starring: - Johnny Depp
- Freddie Highmore
- David Kelly
Description:
Charismatic and visually stunning, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an off-beat, comedic, and sometimes psychedelic take on the well-known and well-loved morality tale. It may be an adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl, but it remains difficult not to compare it first to the 1971 film by Mel Stuart, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This more recent adaptation was not meant to be connected to the earlier film, though, and owes its inspiration mainly to the book, to the imagination of Tim Burton, and to the interpretation of Johnny Depp. Fans of the first film adaptation, however, may still be looking for thematic elements from Gene Wilder's interpretation of the eccentric candy man that are simply not there. This Willy Wonka is not merely a brilliant eccentric but a true-to-life shut-in: a man with more than just a good-natured plan to teach a lesson to naughty children, he is someone who is genuinely shocked and disgusted by the behavior of greedy youngsters and their maligned parents. Johnny Depp plays this role with fantastic characterization and charm. This film's Charlie (Freddie Highmore), however, remains good-hearted, resilient, and sweet in a way that remains admirable and relatable, rather than saccharine. The result is a compelling story that balances the viewer's need both for dry, unforgiving humor and for childish wonder and hope. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not nearly as suitable for children as its predecessor; for instance, Veruca Salt's attack by trained squirrels who pin her down and eventually toss her down an old incinerator shaft, having found that she is a "bad nut," is brilliant and funny but would probably be terrifying to children under seven. This level of content renders the film not so much a children's movie that is enjoyable to adults, as the Mel Stuart film could be described, but rather an adult film that could be loved by many children. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in many ways achieves the bizarre, otherworldly quality of Roald Dahl's book better than it does anything else: through seemingly alien people and ideas, the most heartwarming and sweet tropes of storytelling can hit home with the self-parody to make them believable even to jaded and corrupt grown-ups.
1. Wonka's Welcome Song
2. Augustus Gloop
3. Violet Beauregarde
4. Veruca Salt
5. Mike Teavee
6. Main Titles
7. Wonka's First Shop
8. Indian Palace, The
9. Wheels In Motion
10. Charlie's Birthday Bar
11. Golden Ticket/Factory, The
12. Chocolate Explorers
13. Loompa Land
14. Boat Arrives, The
15. River Cruise, The
16. First Candy
17. Up And Out
18. River Cruise Part 2, The
19. Charlie Declines
20. Finale
21. End Credit Suite
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
