Johnny Depp is Wonderfully Kooky in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I have seen many movies that Johnny Depp has been in and I’ve liked him in all of them. After loving Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, I realized just how many movies he’s been in that I’ve enjoyed. Since then I’ve made a bigger effort to go see all of his movies. Growing up, I never saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and only in the last year or two have seen parts of the movie on television. When I heard that Johnny Depp was going to play Wonka in a new version, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that was all I needed to know to decide I wanted to see the movie.

Willy Wonka owned the largest chocolate factory in the world. No one had been inside the factory in years. Willy decided to put a golden ticket in five of the Wonka chocolate bars. The tickets would allow five children to tour the factory with one relative. Augustus Gloop, an overweight boy from Germany found the first ticket. Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl from England, got the second ticket after her father bought cases and cases of bars. Violet Beauregarde, a chewing gum champion found the third bar. Mike Teavee, a boy that was addicted to video games, used some kind of scientific method to find the fourth ticket. Charlie Bucket lived in a very small house in London with his parents and four grandparents. Charlie managed to find the last ticket and he took his grandfather Joe with him for the tour. They saw many unique things on the tour and some strange things happened.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. A movie version of the story, called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, was released in 1971. I heard that this version was supposed to be closer to the book, but I haven’t read it so I don’t know about that. I’ve only seen some of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. What I remember from that version isn’t much different from the new version. The major difference that I did notice was that there was information about Willy’s past included. The information from Willy’s past was shared through some flashbacks. That did interrupt the flow slightly, but it didn’t bother me. I thought that the flashbacks provided some interesting information that helped to explain why Willy acted certain ways. The Oompa Loompas were in both movies, but they looked different and the songs they sang were different. The lyrics for the songs in the new version were credited to Dahl, so I’m thinking the songs were in the book and got left out of the other version of the movie. I thought that the new songs worked because they were connected to what was going on. One of the flashbacks explained how the Oompa Loompas came to work at the factory.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a family movie, though younger children may not enjoy it. It could be a little long for them and maybe even a little scary in a few spots. I didn’t think anything that happened was scary, but some children may feel differently. I didn’t think that the movie was too long and I was never bored by what was going on. Several things that happened in the movie made me laugh, especially once some things went wrong during the tour. Some of the kids ended up in some humorous situations. The Oompa Loompas provided some laughs as well. Willy’s reactions and expressions, like when he responded to the children introducing themselves, was very funny. There was some moralizing in a few scenes that may seem a bit fake to some viewers. I wasn’t bothered by it.


Tim Burton has established a reputation for creating amazing visuals in his movies. That was no different in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The house where Charlie lived with his family was very unique looking. That area of London did look bleak and dreary, even during the day. It looked the same way outside of Wonka’s factory as well. It did look brighter and not as dreary when the children went to the factory for the tour. The factory wasn’t a normal factory. There was a river and waterfall of chocolate in one area. Everything in that room was some type of candy that was edible. Other rooms featured equipment that Wonka used to make different types of candy. Special effects were used in some scenes. All of the Oompa Loompa’s were actually played by one man and CGI was used to create the rest of the Oompa Loompas. I think that the effects were well done and worked for the movie.

Some people have criticized this movie, saying that Willy Wonka was too much like Michael Jackson so the entire movie was too creepy. I didn’t feel that way at all. Willy was eccentric and dressed a bit strange. It was clear from his reactions to four of the children that he really didn’t like kids. He was very pale, but he had stayed inside his factory for years. Nothing about Willy reminded me of Michael Jackson. I didn’t think that the movie or Willy was creepy. It was a little dark and not really a typical movie for children, but I didn’t think it was too dark for kids. I didn’t notice anything that was scary, though I suppose some children may feel differently about a few things. Johnny Depp was amazing in the part. He has created a kooky character that was believable. He used a unique voice for Willy and never slipped out of it. Depp was so expressive throughout the movie that you could tell what Willy was thinking just by the expression on his face. Johnny Depp gave another brilliant performance in this movie.

I thought that the rest of the cast in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was great. Helena Bonham Carter played Charlie’s mother. This was probably the most normal part I’ve seen her play. It was nothing like the characters she played in Fight Club or Novocaine. Noah Taylor didn’t have a lot to do as Charlie’s dad, but he was fine in the part. I’ve also seen him in the Tomb Raider movies. David Kelly was in a few more scenes as Grandpa Joe. Freddie Highmore was perfect as Charlie. His life wasn’t very good, but Charlie kept a good attitude and was happy with what he had. The other children that found tickets acted horribly. The kids that played the parts all did well with them. Missi Pyle, who I last saw in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, had a small part as Violet’s mother. Pyle looked very different in this movie. Christopher Lee had a small part, but I think he may have been in just a little more of this movie than he was in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

CAST

Helena Bonham Carter - Mrs. Bucket
Johnny Depp - Willie Wonka
James Fox - Mr. Salt
Jordan Fry - Mike Teavee
Adam Godley - Mr. Teavee
Freddie Highmore - Charlie Bucket
David Kelly - Grandpa Joe
Christopher Lee - Dr. Wonka
Missi Pyle - Mrs. Beauregarde
Annasophia Robb - Violet Beauregarde
Deep Roy - Oompa Loompa
Noah Taylor - Mr. Bucket
Franziska Troegner - Mrs. Gloop
Philip Wiegratz - Augustus Gloop
Julie Winter - Veruca Salt

Tim Burton - Director

I loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is a good family movie that is worth seeing, especially for fans of Johnny Depp. I am already planning to add the DVD to my collection once it is released.

Johnny Depp Movie Reviews
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ~ Once Upon a Time in Mexico ~ Secret Window ~ Sleepy Hollow ~