I've literally spent years bitching about a new movie version of Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. So let me start by apologizing to director Tim Burton. My dumb ass never saw the potential for making a much better movie than the previously well loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
What the hell did I know? I saw the first movie as a kid and took immediately to its trippy visuals and the creepy/lovable Wonka as played by the great Gene Wilder. The book itself remains to this day unread by me and so no shadow of what might be different or missing from Willy Wonka ever hit me. As stated by the filmmakers and countless other critics, Charlie is far more faithful to Dahl's book. I'll take that as truth until I get around to verifying it myself so that I can get right to the point. This movie is a lot darker than the first one. That isn't to say this movie is evil in tone or intention. Far from it actually, as this film emphasizes the value of family and the dangers of overly permissive parenting. But under the candy coated visuals lies a nasty streak that mercifully stomps on bad behavior. The story is of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. The largest in the world, it was shuttered fifteen years earlier, with all employees dismissed. But later it rumbled back to life, despite no one ever entering the factory. Wonka himself was a recluse, unseen by anyone for all that time. Suddenly he announces a contest that will award a tour of the factory to five lucky children. Hidden amongst millions of Wonka chocolate bars are five golden tickets. The first four are gobbled up by a quartet of obnoxious brats. Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) finds the first, despite nearly eating it in his seemingly never ending consumption of chocolate. Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) is possibly the world's most spoiled girl, whose father converts his nut sorting factory into a ticket finding operation to pacify his little terror. Violet Beuaregarde (AnnaSophia Robb) is a vicious little over achiever who turns everything, no matter how mundane, into a must win contest. Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry) is a video game obsessive who sees everything through the filter of technology. The last tickets is found miraculously by the titular Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore). Charlie lives with his parents and grandparents in a house that makes the term ramshackle into a compliment. The house is just one of many masterful designs from production designer Alex McDowell. It leans in countless crazy angles, almost defiantly taunting gravity. The four grandparents seem to live in a giant bed in the middle of the house's one room. Grandpa Joe, played by the delightful David Kelly, once worked for Wonka and would give anything to go back in that factory. The development of the contest, from the Bucket family's viewpoint, is an effective way of establishing Charlie and Grandpa Joe, along with the other four kids, while engaging in a bit of satirizing of the media. It takes its time, not rushing to get to the factory, building suspense while adding depth missing from the first film. The children, each with an adult chaperon, arrive for their tour, only to be greeted by a creepy animatronic display that leaves every jaw hanging open. That barely prepares them for the sight of Wonka himself. Played by Johnny Depp, Wonka is a bizarre figure, decked out like a circus ringmaster with pale skin that would make Michael Jackson envious and a manner that is just plain odd. He is clearly uncomfortable around people, so much so that he carries note cards with him to help keep on topic. At this point, he's just weird but as soon as one of the brats runs afoul of trouble, we see barely contained glee in Wonka's eyes. Depp's performance is another in a growing string of great ones, this one praise worthy for how much of it he can play with his face. Facial tics, grins, sneers, stutters and any number of subtle expressions run wild across his mug. What is builds up to is a character who outwardly seems pleasant and childish but underneath is harboring a lake of malice and resentment. Wonka is a brilliant inventor and his factory is a giant example of his monstrous imagination. The factory itself is a subtle comment on his character, stark on the outside, full of whimsy and danger inside. The original film had squads of little people as the mysterious Oompah Loompahs, the diminutive tribe that mans Wonka's factory. This version has only one, Deep Roy, multiplied countless times to give the illusion of a large Oompah Loompah population. Roy is a delight, providing elaborate song and dance routines to celebrate each child's hideous downfall, and providing countless different angles to the Oompah Loompahs to fit every single scene. I want to see this guy nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award come Oscar time. It's a hell of a job he does, more impressive for the elaborate special effects that sews it all together, rather than diminished by the visual trickery. The Oompah Loompah songs in the first were virulently catchy but lack the variety and sharp wit of the new ones. Composer Danny Elfman took Roald Dahl's original lyrics and embedded them into his funky tunes, even singing them himself. If that sounds odd, check out the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School, where Elfman can be seen fronting his old band Oingo Boingo. The songs may not be as catchy as the first film's but coupled with Deep Roy's performance, they far surpass them in entertainment value.
This may be the first film where Burton finds a story that solidly matches up with his visual prowess. Always one of the great visually creative directors, Burton has often struggled to keep his storytelling on the same level. That is often fairly forgivable considering the wild inventions he drops on the screen but has laid low some of his projects. In recent years Sleepy Hollow and Planet of the Apes stand out for their limp stories and dreary personalities. But Charlie proves a happy match, giving him a story and characters that live up to his wild imagination. Burton makes the most of it, with McDowell's eye popping sets and fairly seamless digital effects. It's the sort of film that rewards an eye for detail. Little jokes can be found all over the place, some blatant, others subtle. Burton even finds ways to improve on the first film without dramatically changing a scene. Most notable is TV room in the factory, a subtle altar to Stanley Kubrick that makes almost the same scene from the first movie look flat and uninspired. Just the Bucket home is enough to get me going on forever. Maybe it's because I've spent parts of this year slowly knocking down an old barn on the back of my property that was rapidly losing a long battle with gravity and decay but that house struck me as pure genius. The way it leans at all angles, the way the front door is almost on its side, the pitiful little ledge that Charlie sleeps on, all these things combine to make for a building with so much personality that it almost becomes a character. It helps us appreciate the depth of love running through the Bucket family that they are more or less happy living in this wreck of a house, if only because they have each other. And it isn't sappy gooey love that makes you want to gag either. Sure, Charlie's parents are almost psychotically cheerful but the grandparents make up for it. Grandpa George's cantankerous comments, Grandma Georgina's demented comments and Grandpa Joe's tales of wonder and loss give the family plenty of edge and humor. I still love Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Despite having the same basic story, it's a much different movie with plenty of its own charm. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is definitely the better film though. Playing with the same ideas it is far richer in design, detail and character than the first film. It is definitely Tim Burton's finest work so far. - John Shea
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