Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 2005 Review

Willy Wonka has decided to give five random youngsters a special treat. The reclusive candy maker has decided to give these five a tour of his chocolate factory, a place that has been off limits to everyone except Willy and his staff for years. In addition, Willy (Johnny Depp) will give one of these youngsters a special prize. All these children have to do is find one of the five golden tickets that Mr. Wonka has placed in packages of his products to be eligible.

"Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" tells the story of the pursuit and the trip the children get to take. A boy named Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) watches televised coverage of the golden ticket pursuit as each ticket is found. Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) doesn't stop eating his chocolate, even as he shows his ticket to the world. Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) gets hers because her father (James Fox) has purchased a massive amount of candy to get a ticket. Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb) secures her visit by switching from gum to candy, and gets encouragement from her mother (Missi Pyle) to be the best at anything she does. Video game addict Mike Teevee (Jordan Fry) gets his ticket by default. His chocoholic parents have to give their prize to their son, who doesn't like chocolate at all.

Chocolate is a treat for Charlie, for his parents (Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor) devote much time and energy to caring for their bedridden parents. Further, Mr. Bucket has been laid off from his job at the toothpaste factory. Still, they find the money to give their son his birthday Wonka chocolate bar. After he eats it, his Grandpa Joe (David Kelly) goes to his stash of cash so Charlie have another. Still, Charlie does not get the elusive fifth ticket. A chance find of money in the snow gives Charlie a big break. He gets the final golden ticket, and hurries home to tell his family. The news causes so much excitement in the Bucket household, Grandpa Joe springs from his bed and starts dancing.

Each child gets to bring one adult with them, and Grandpa Joe gets the nod, for he had once worked for Wonka. Joe lost his job, though, because spies had infiltrated Wonka's factory and stolen secret recipes that gave Wonka sweets their distinctive touch. He had replaced his old workforce with a tribe of Oompa Loompas (all played by Deep Roy), who are paid with lodging and cocoa beans. Wonka greets his guests at the gate, and commences with the tour. Curiosity, though, gets the better of some children, and that brings this special day to an abrupt end for them. In time, Charlie is the last child remaining, Wonka awards the prize, but it comes with a condition.

"Charlie And The Chocolate Factory," a 2005 release, is the second big screen adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl. The first came with the 1971 film "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory." Both "Charlie" and "Willy Wonka" fail to bring the essence of Dahl's work to film. In "Willy Wonka," Charlie gave into selfishness, yet he was still rewarded. The fault with the remake is the way Wonka is portrayed by Depp. In the first movie, Gene Wilder was a strict, eccentric, but pleasant candy maker. Depp's Wonka also has strict rules, but I don't understand a portrayal of Wonka which involves some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. He also looks as though who gets cosmetic inspiration from the woman who has spent seven figures to make herself look like a Barbie doll. His behavior is, at least, as pathetic as some of the golden ticket winners. Some parts of Wonka's factory might be inviting to children, but others would seem more in place in Dr. Frankenstein's lab. Those parts should make any guest beg for the exit. In a couple of cases, director Tim Burton makes it seem like Wonka could save the children from themselves, but Willy takes his time taking any action. In one scene, he takes his time trying to find the right key, and is too late to avoid an incident as a result. Parts of Danny Elfman's score don't help matters. Even though the arrangements include Dahl's poems from the book, Elfman makes the songs he creates sound like he's planning an Oingo Boingo reunion. Elfman provides the Oompa Loompa singing voices as well.

The screen treatment fashioned by John August, whose writing credits also include "Big Fish" and the "Charlie's Angels" movies, provides too much unnecessary information. The infiltration of spies is sufficient to explain Wonka's desire for privacy. Firing everyone for the actions of a few is as mean as the teacher who punishes an entire class for the actions of a person of persons. A back story involves Willy's strict upbringing by his dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka (Christopher Lee). This portion of the movie is not only unnecessary, but it also fails to make sense. The doctor doesn't trust his son with the care of his own teeth, yet he allows young Willy (Blair Dunlop) to go trick-or-treating. When the boy comes home, Dr. Wonka throws all of the candy into the fireplace because of the potential tooth damage. The adult Willy deserves as much of a comeuppance as his guests, for he is as vain as the film's self-centered children. He gets it when he makes certain demands of Charlie. Too much of the film is heavy-handed, disturbing, and virtually joyless.

I like Depp as an actor, but his Willy Wonka is a cold man. Dahl's book showed Wonka to be both strict and benevolent, but Depp's Wonka is strict and aloof. Some of the tour focused on the children, but most of it was about Willy and an inane decision he made about his future. The one thing this Wonka is missing is a mirror so he can kiss his reflection. The children are convincing, especially Highmore, who had previously worked with Depp in the much better "Finding Neverland." As Charlie, Highmore is ever the optimist, thanks to his parents and Grandpa Joe. They don't have much to give him, but they teach him to make the most of what he has. For example, Charlie has turned the defective toothpaste caps his father has given him into art. Carter, Kelly, and Taylor do fine in support. Lee is also good as Dr. Wonka, but his inclusion in the film is both thankless and pointless.

"Charlie And The Chocolate Factory," like the film version that preceded it, sends mixed messages to audiences. The first film condoned disobedience. The remake condoned the atrocious behavior of a troubled man. Neither film was a sweet treat for me. "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory," in confection parlance, is as enjoyable as trying to eat a chocolate bar that has spent a hot summer day melting in the sun. The film is a complete mess in any sense of the word.

This review first appeared in slightly different form on Epinions in 2005. This update also appears on Associated Content.