Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
... movie reviews , spoiler_low
mon 2005-aug-01 15:32:14 pdt
... permalink
Saturday we went to see Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory. It was great fun! Naturally it
invites comparison to the 1971 film, though unfortunately I don't
really remember that version all that well...
<spoiler detail="low">
I really enjoyed Johnny Depp's performance, perhaps better than Gene
Wilder's (though again, it's hard to compare due to my lack of
memory). I liked the way Depp's Willy Wonka just had no idea how to
relate to people, and kids in particular; as opposed to my vague
recollection of Wilder's Willy Wonka, which was more that he more just
didn't like children. I especially liked that we got to see
back-story of Willy Wonka's life.
The Oompa Loompas were great. I loved that they were all the same
actor. And their musical numbers were fun. Apparently every Oompa
Loompa actually represents a separate performance by Deep Roy, they
didn't just duplicate him in software. And there are a lot of them.
I also liked that theirs were the only musical numbers -- no cheesy
"I've got a golden ticket" song or such.
My two favorite moments were as the glass elevator is quickly flying
through the factory: "I'd rather not talk about that" as they go by a
sheep; and the puppet hospital and burn unit, "a recent addition".
And finally, without giving too much away, I liked the ending better
than what I remember the original film's ending being.
</spoiler>
All in all, a very well done adaptation.
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