Chawee an da Chocwit Fakwee

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the latest offering from Tim Burton and frequent collaborator Johnny Depp. This film is based on the novel by Roald Dahl and should not be regarded as a remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In fact, Dahl was so upset by how the story was changed from the first movie adaptation that he never allowed a sequel to be made. I think you should put the first Willy Wonka movie out of your mind before going to see this film, because they are as different as they are similar.

The movie begins by telling the story of a simple little boy named Charlie (Freddie Highmore). His family is very poor and lives in a worn-out little house not far from Willy Wonka’s factory. Once a year, his parents buy him a chocolate bar for his birthday. The rest of the time they all eat cabbage stew. The whole family is very interested in the mysterious Wonka factory and wonder what goes on inside there. All the employees were let go many years ago after Wonka got tired of corporate spies stealing his recipes. The factory is still in business, but they have no idea who or what is making the candy.

When Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) announces that he is holding a contest to give five children a guided tour of the factory, the whole world goes crazy. Wonka put five golden tickets inside five random chocolate bars and sent them all over the globe. The lucky winners will get to bring one parent or family member along and one of the kids will also receive a prize beyond their wildest dreams. Of course, Charlie finds the last ticket. If he didn’t, there wouldn’t be a story, would there?

When all the other golden ticket winners are found, it may seem like Wonka made a mistake. Charlie is the only decent kid among them. The other four include a gluttonous German boy, a spoiled little rich girl, a violent little tough guy, and a highly competitive backstabber. These five kids are there to represent the different personalities you often find in children. You have the fat slob who can’t take care of himself, the kid ruined by spoiling parents, the violent kid, and the one who wants to win all the trophies. Then there is Charlie – the good kid who actually thinks of others instead of himself.

As the kids tour the factory with Wonka, they are removed from the group, one by one. Each kid gets picked off in a way befitting their personalities. After each child is removed, the dwarf Oompa Loompa workers do a song and dance number to celebrate the loss. The songs are great and if you listen to the lyrics, really dark and humorous. This is typical Tim Burton with the always wonderful Danny Elfman doing the music. Elfman is without a doubt my most favorite film composer and he’s done almost all of Burton’s movies.

A movie like this is so packed full of color and creativity that it is difficult to explain the story without giving too much away. This film goes into the background and childhood of Willy Wonka to explain why he was so obsessed with candy. Whoever said there is a Michael Jackson connection is completely out of their mind. In the end, this is not a movie about bad kids getting their due. It’s about the importance of family and love. I thought this had a wonderful ending and the overall story was excellent.

Tim Burton was the perfect choice to direct this and Johnny Depp was perfect as Wonka. On the surface, Wonka just seems like some weird candyman, but he clearly has some deep emotional issues. Depp proved his ability to communicate with childlike facial expressions in Edward Scissorhands and he uses them again here. Freddie Highmore was wonderful as Charlie and it was Depp who requested him for the role after the two worked together on Finding Neverland. Screenwriter John August adapted Dahl’s novel and did a wonderful job of bringing the dark humor and childhood moral lessons to the screen. August previously adapted the novel Big Fish for Tim Burton.

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.