Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Okay, lets get something straight. There are a lot of people out there insisting that this isn't a remake of the 1971 Gene Wilder movie, but rather it is a re-adaptation of the original book, and as such should not be compared with the other film.

Hogwash, piffle and phooey to all that. Way more people have seen the other film than have read the book and given that they are both based on the same story with all the same characters, it's just stupid, in my opinion, to assert that you shouldn't compare the two.

So I'm going to feel free to compare the hell out of them, and anyone who doesn't like it can go find some other reviewer, a snooty one who thinks that trivial distinctions like that are legitimate film criticism. That said, this film does apparently go back to the source material as its basis, rather than remaking the 1971 film itself. So the geese with their golden eggs and the fizzy lifting drinks are gone, replaced by the book's original squirrels and the great glass elevator.

Apparently, even the lyrics to the Oompa Loompa songs are taken right from Roald Dahl's original book.

So, anyway, now that I've finished with that little burst of righteous indignation, how is the movie?

Really pretty good.

I have a couple of minor complaints, but on the whole I was enormously entertained.

Both of my complaints stem directly from comparisons with the other movie, thus my vigorous defense of that approach above, and both, frankly, are mixed anyway.

And really both relate to the songs. The slightly cheesy and repetitive oompa loompa songs from the other movie are gone and replaced with elaborately staged, exciting songs. Now, in principle, I like this, and I enjoyed them.

But basically, who ever did the sound mix screwed up royally, because you CAN'T FREAKING HEAR THE WORDS!

Or at least, I couldn't, and I was really trying. The music and the arrangements and the dancing and everything are really appealing, but I really would have liked to be able to tell what they were singing! Seriously, I feel like I got only one line in three. I wish there had been subtitles.

The other also relates to the songs, but is a little harder to put my finger on. Basically, the story is episodic in structure:

Chapter 1: Charlie is poor and the Wonka factory is mysterious.
Chapter 2: Golden Tickets
Chapter 3: Arrival at the factory
Chapter 4: Agustus Gloomp and the river of chocolate.

etc.

Yet, somehow this film doesn't seem to give enough weight to that structure, in particular as each of the horrible kids is dispatched in their respective ways. It always seems to be in a hurry to the next bit, and as such, I didn't feel as much of an emotionally satisfying climax to each episode.

I wanted the various fates of the bad kids to have a moment of acknowledgement from the film, something the previous version definitely had, but in this one, the kids are hardly out the door when it's "On with the tour!"

Okay, so enough with the bad stuff. Is there stuff to like in this version.

Absolutely.

Tim Burton is one of those filmmakers that really has his own distinctive vision. When you watch a Tim Burton film, you know you're watching a Tim Burton film. His films aren't always good exactly, but they are at least always interesting.

This one is good. Just the sheer visual look of the film is quite wonderful. All of the effects, the color, the direction, the sets, the costumes, etc, all just fantastic. (with the single exception of the "eatable" main factory floor, which I didn't find to be any real improvement over the original, which made it a little bit underwhelming, considering how good everything else is.)

All of the kids and their parents are great. Though they don't always have that much to do, there are loads of great facial expressions and interactions with their parents.

And of course, Johnny Depp. I had heard some people say that they didn't like his portrayal of Willy Wonka, and while they are certainly entitled to their opinion, I don't share it. I thought he was hilarious. From the absurdly funny anticlimax of his first appearance when the kids arrive at the factory, to his constant insistence that Mike Teavee is mumbling, to his inability to say the word "parents" without gagging, I just loved him. I've loved him in everything he's in lately, it feels like.

Let me be honest. His Willy Wonka is DEFINITELY weird. Not everyone will like him, but I did, so take that for whatever its worth.

So, final impressions?

I had a really good time with this film. Enormously entertaining.

Compared to the original film? Well, it's a little bit of a toss-up, merely because that version has become so iconic in pop-culture, it's a little hard to let some of that imagery and those original songs go. I would say the new version is more entertaining, but less endearing. Funnier, but not quite as lovable.

So, I heartily recommend it, but I doubt anybody will be tossing out their copies of the Gene Wilder version.

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