Back To Index Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
 Barnes & Noble There was trepidation in cinema circles when quirky filmmaker Tim Burton announced that he intended to adapt Roald Dahl’s charming children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, especially among fans of Mel Stuart’s 1971 take on the text, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. But that trepidation turned to intense, even feverish anticipation once it was revealed that longtime Burton collaborator Johnny Depp would play the eccentric chocolatier. Happily, the resulting film is an absolute joy from first frame to last. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has its dark moments, just as one would expect in a Burton adaptation of Dahl; yet the movie’s brilliant design and execution grounds it much more in the fantasy realm than within black comedy. Depp’s characterization of Wonka as socially maladjusted and delightfully daft accounts for much of Charlies effectiveness, and he gets solid support from a well-chosen supporting cast. His youthful costar from Finding Neverland, Freddie Highmore, is letter-perfect as Charlie, the impoverished but good-hearted lad who wins a tour of Wonka’s fabled factory after finding one of five golden tickets packaged in candy bars. The boy brings along his aged but excited grandfather (David Kelly) and experiences all the technological marvels Willy Wonka has developed over the years. Burton presents those marvels with the visual flourish we’ve come to expect: He is a gifted artist whose technicians bring his designs to life with uncanny skill and coordination. The factory is a child’s paradise, a cornucopia of confectionary delights manufactured in a manner so complex as to make Rube Goldberg blush. The film’s episodic plot structure allows for frequent musical transitions: Working, as usual, with composer Danny Elfman, Burton stages these in the fashion of Busby Berkeley production numbers peopled by Wonka’s diminutive employees, the Oompa-Loompas (all played by Indian actor Deep Roy, whose countenance and movements are multiplied a hundredfold by computer animation). Although Burton has rarely exhibited much grasp of simple, sincere human emotions, he invests Charlie with genuine feeling and powerfully conveys a pro-family message that makes this movie one that can -- and should -- be enjoyed by parents and children together. Ed Hulse Interested in the song lyrics? - Check out themostlyrics.com! Looking For A DVD? - Check out dvd-a-rama.com! |
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