Movie Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) 

Directed by Tim Burton

Written by John August

Starring Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Christopher Lee

Release Date July 15th, 2005 

Published July 15th, 2005 

Streaming on HBO Max

The first time Roald Dahl's childhood dreamscape Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was brought to the big screen, under the title Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the film became a beloved children's classic based on the gentle whimsy of Gene Wilder's cyanide-laced wit as Willy. However, writer Roald Dahl was never a fan of this adaptation.

The legendary writer passed on before another adaptation could be taken up. According to his wife Liccy, the latest adaptation, with the original book title, by director Tim Burton, is a version that Mr. Dahl himself would have embraced. We will never know for sure. What we do know is that Mr. Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a visionary and astonishing work of art from the set design to the music and the amazing work of one of our finest actors, Johnny Depp.

Willy Wonka's (Johnny Depp) chocolate factory in the center of London has been a source of mystery and wonder ever since Wonka fired all of his employees some years ago and shuttered the factory. When one day it reopened without hiring any new employees the mystery deepened. Now finally after years of being a shut in, Wonka has decided to allow five children to visit his factory. By finding a golden ticket inside a Wonka chocolate bar, five kids will have the adventure of a lifetime inside the legendary candy factory.

One of the children who prays for the opportunity to go to the factory is one Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore). Charlie lives in a ramshackle flat with an unintentional skylight above his bed. His bedridden grandparents (David Kelly, Liz Smith, David Morris, and Eileen Essell) take up most of the living room and we are never quite sure where Charlie's mom and dad (Helena Bonham Carter and Noah Taylor) sleep. Still the family is quite chipper given the circumstances.

Charlie, however, seems the least likely child to get the chance to capture a golden ticket. Charlie gets one chocolate bar a year on his birthday, essentially a one in a million chance. Things look especially hopeless after the first four tickets are discovered across the globe by over-privileged little brats who buy in bulk or crack the system for the chance at a ticket.

There is Veruca Salt (Julia Winter), a terribly spoiled little girl whose father (James Fox) gets her whatever she demands no matter what the price. Violet Beauregard (Annasophia Robb) is a vainglorious little brat whose mother also buys in bulk to get her daughter a ticket, despite the fact that neither actually eats chocolate. Augustus Gloop (Philip Weirgatz) is a plump little German boy who stumbled on his ticket only after taking a bite out of it. Finally we have a venal, little twit named Mike Teavee who discovers his ticket via the internet and his hacking abilities, one of many subtle updates of the source material.

Well of course Charlie Bucket does get his golden ticket and he and his Grandpa Joe (Kelly) are off to the mysterious factory where Joe once worked when it had employees. Inside is a magical world of wondrous candied delights. Mr. Wonka is a bit of a nutball-- an effete dilettante who, despite his child friendly products and his invitation to children to visit, doesn't seem to like children at all.

As the tour commences, the strange surroundings evolve into even stranger situations as one child after another falls victim to their excesses, each child disappearing with a Greek chorus of Wonka's new employees playing them off. These oddball new workers who have helped Willy restore the factory are Oompa Loompas, a tribe of identical individuals all played by the astonishingly deadpan actor Deep Roy.

The child actors are very well cast, especially young Freddie Highmore as Charlie. Highmore caught Mr. Depp's eye as one of the child cast of his Finding Neverland. Highmore was Oscar-worthy as the youngest of the children that inspired the writing of the children's classic Peter Pan in Finding Neverland. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, his bright, crooked smile and boundless enthusiasm is the perfect complement to Depp's weirdness and the loving and beautiful performance of David Kelly as Grandpa Joe.

Then there is the ethereal Deep Roy as all of the Oompa Loompas. A wonderful change from the creepy looking green elves of the 1971 film, Roy has a detached air that seems perfectly at home in the weird universe of Willy Wonka. The curious little song and dance routines of the Oompa Loompas that somehow match perfectly with the actions of what just occurred to their child subjects in the story are wildly entertaining and yet just a little creepy. Oscar nominated composer Danny Elfman wrote and sings each of the songs but it is Roy's dry, deadpan dance numbers that raise the music to hilarious comic levels.

Director Tim Burton disappointed slightly with his melodramatic fantasy Big Fish, but returns to artistic form with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a visual masterpiece like nothing Burton has ever created. It seems that having a good story to start with allowed Burton to focus all of his energies on creating a brand new universe for this well known story. His accomplishment is breathtaking in every detail and production designer Alex McDowell can begin prepping his acceptance speech.

Never having read Mr. Dahl's book I cannot speak to the faithfulness of Mr. Burton's film, though as I said earlier, Mr. Dahl's wife, Liccy, who is credited as producer on the film, claims he would have been pleased. We do know that Mr. Burton and screenwriter John August (Big Fish, Go) did add one subplot that may become an essential part of the Wonka lore.

Burton and August create a backstory for Willy Wonka, a glimpse of his childhood and what led a seemingly normal kid to build a strange and very unique candy paradise. The backstory includes a stellar cameo by the legendary Christopher Lee and deepens the character of Willy Wonka, taking us beyond his simple weirdness.

The essential element of making the character of Willy Wonka work is not on the page. Johnny Depp, in a performance that is as winning as his Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean, creates a Willy Wonka that is earnest, deeply sincere and a little disturbed, but also quite savvy. His reasons for finally opening the factory to visitors are reasonable and intelligent with just a hint of overreaction. He has a sharp wit combined with the defensiveness of a small child. It is a multi-layered and wonderfully crafted performance.

While many critics lazily point out things they believe are inspired by the weirdness of Michael Jackson, a more active viewer will sense something far more original and brilliant. Completely at odds with the glib wittiness of Gene Wilder's take on the character, Mr. Depp takes the character in a direction that has more connection to his own Edward Scissorhands than with MJ or Mr. Wilder.

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is a joy for children of all ages. Even diehard fans of 1971's Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory will not be able to deny the wonderful artistry of this re-imagining. There is talk of Burton adapting the Charlie sequel Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator. I'm normally not one to encourage a sequel but if it can be promised to be as brilliant as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I will line up for my golden ticket right now.