The other thing I did yesterday was go to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I loved it. I remember watching and loving the original, but, as I’ve said, I’m used to Hollywood co-opting and abusing my childhood, so I tried to go in to the film with an open mind. I should say that I have always liked Johnny Depp, so I’m biased there too.
Some folks have said that this movie is darker and weirder than the original, but I don’t really think that’s true. It’s not true only because the original was a very deeply odd movie. It’s true that this is very much a Tim Burton movie, and that is a very good thing, but it also means that the weirdness of the movie is a la
I was a little worried about the Oompa-Loompas, because I thought that would be the most difficult to translate. They set the Oompas’ songs to very modern tunes, which I think is probably a good thing, but sometimes didn’t seem to mesh well. This may be an age thing though, because I liked the hard rockin’ Oompas just fine.
Johnny Depp is a wonderful Wonka. He’s not Gene Wilder at all, but many of the things I liked about Wilder are still there in Depp. Charlie is well-cast and fittingly enthusiastic and empathy inducing. I didn’t know her but for the graces of IMDB, but Missi Pyle, the mother of Violet Beauregarde, was just amazing. She’s the super-pushy mother of the must-be champion child. I can’t tell if she’s a good actress or maybe she just has her shtick down well, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Like a car wreck. Wonderful. (I was also happy that they kept the line "Violet, you're turning violet!" I'm a sucker for that line)
Highly recommended, especially for fans of
Oh, one big negative – the CG was ok in general, except when Violet turned into a violet. That looked bad. Just bad.
Also, you get a new trailer for Corpse Bride, Tim Burton’s next stop-action film. It looks incredible. Can’t wait for that one.
4 comments:
My husband is a huge fan of the original, but this review makes me think that he should give the new one a try. Any very scary moments, scary as in "an anxious four-year-old would be traumatized for life if forced to watch this film in a theater"?
The four-year-old in question may turn out to be a big Tim Burton fan, actually. Last time he accompanied one of us to the local edgy comics/cds store, he refused to leave without a stuffed Nightmare Before Christmas ghost hand puppet.
thanks for the review! i definitely want to see it. Depp and Burton fan.
Well, phantom scribber, I was thinking about that while I was watching - mainly because there were many many many children in the cinema. I don't think it'll be too much trouble, but as with a lot of Burton stuff, it is visually overwhelming at times. There is one scene that I thought might be a bit much for the kiddies. Veruca is tossed into the bad nut chute by squirrels, and they crawl all over her and drag her to the ground. It was very well donr technically, but it might cause a sensitive soul to remember it a bit more. I don't remember anything that was 'jump out of the darkness' scary.
Ooo, thank you. The squirrel thing might be a bit much for him at this stage of the game, especially as his first theater film. Maybe we'll wait for the DVD...
He's able to watch the boat scene in the original film now, but it took a year of fast-forwarding through it, first.
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