CHARLIE and the CHOCOLATE FACTORY

martok2112 · July 15th, 2005, 02:35 PM

CHARLIE and the CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Well, I do have to say this was a pretty good movie. Tim Burton seems to be back in his element with this quirky adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's story. He seemed to do better with this than his remake of PotA.

Johnny Depp plays a very convincing Willy Wonka. I still have to say I prefer Gene Wilder's take, but Johnny does an admirable job.

The special effects in this film were good. I wouldn't say extraordinary by any stretch, but they were good. Some of the sets are even very reminiscent of the 1971 version.

Having seen this, and the 1971 version, I shall now need to read the book to see which version was closest to it.

The young actor who portrayed little Charlie Bucket was great. Reminded me of the quality of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, which is to say, awesome. This kid was a very facially expressive actor, and could usually say volumes just by silent countenance alone.

There is even the faintest hint of Tim Burton's humility regarding his remake of one certain sci-fi film. Nice, if subliminal touch. Hats off to TB for that.

The voice of the narrator I tried to place...and I ultimately had to stick around for the end credits...turns out it was the old 7UP guy himself, the basso voiced Geoffery Holder . (You know, "7UP.....never had it. Never will. HA HA HA HA HA !!!!")

This movie had a few laughs, and they weren't cheap laughs either.

It was rated PG for quirky situations (which it had in spades), and mild language (of which I think I only heard one instance of throughout the entire film...and at that, it was barely noticable)

I was pleased with the overall experience, this round at the movies. There were TONS of kids there, and I was amazed at how well behaved they were. I only heard one baby crying...and the child was pacified quickly.

Despite its PG rating, I would say that this movie is very family (and kid) friendly...and recommend seeing at least once on the big screen.

Respectfully,
Martok2112

jewels · July 15th, 2005, 02:42 PM

Martok: our children's museum here had a brief version of the play. I had forgotten about the dire references to the children's fates and the play didn't cover them. My kid was a little too little but she's still begging to see this. Did anything seem to scare the kids too bad??

Jewels (the one with the kid who either dances through the movie or cowers on mommy's lap

martok2112 · July 15th, 2005, 03:21 PM

There were lots of little children at the film, and I didn't notice any instances were they were scared or disturbed by any scene in the film.

Respectfully,
Martok2112 (who thankfully has no kids

)

Gemini1999 · July 15th, 2005, 03:35 PM

I didn't see the original Gene Wilder film until about 10 to 15 years after it came out. I kind of expected something light, fantastical and fun and it was for the most part. I was kind of surprised at the "fates" some of the children suffered. Not that they didn't deserve what they got (and it was a fantasy film), but I was thinking that Willie Wonka was a cruel bastard....in an entertaining way.

I don't know if I'm gonna see this remake until it hits DVD. I'm sure that it's darker and a bit more twisted than the original (with Tim Burton, what else?). But it's the lead casting that's got me backing off.

I've just never been a big fan of Johnny Depp - the last major film I saw him in was Chocolat (kind of ironic, eh?) with Juliette Binoche and Dame Judi Dench and I didn't even know he was in it at the time. There's just something about Depp that rubs me in the wrong way - that and the pictures of him in this particular film make me think of recent pics of Michael Jackson.

I'm sure it's good, but I will wait until the DVD on this one...

Best,
Bryan

amberstar · July 20th, 2005, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jewels

Martok: our children's museum here had a brief version of the play. I had forgotten about the dire references to the children's fates and the play didn't cover them. My kid was a little too little but she's still begging to see this. Did anything seem to scare the kids too bad??

Jewels (the one with the kid who either dances through the movie or cowers on mommy's lap

I took my son (10), and two nephews (3 & 5) to see it on opening day. The seats were packed with children, but nothing scarry......

Darrell Lawrence · July 20th, 2005, 10:08 PM

I'll probably wait til DVD as well.

I loved Gene Wilder in the original, but the kid that played Charlie irritated me even back then.

Bryan, Wonka is cruel... as he doesn't like kids to start with