Review

Review Date: 17-July-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

It has been a long time since I read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (one of my childhood favorites) and a good stretch since my viewing, during college, of the Gene Wilder film version (during which I was probably drunk), so I approached Tim Burton's adaptation with a moderately fresh eye. His movie reacquainted me with the semi-familiar players: sweet, destitute Charlie Bucket (the adorable Freddie Highmore), spoiled heiress Veruca Salt (Julia Winter), fat pig Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), excessive go-getter Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb), and vicious nerd Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry). Here, once again, is the stage of their destiny: the world's most fabulous candyworks, closed to the public for years and opened, just once, for these five lucky children who have found a Golden Ticket. Venturing inside with Charlie and his ancient Grandpa Joe (David Kelly), we find the chocolate waterfall, the labyrinthine rooms, the amazing confections, the regiment of squirrels, and the colony of Oompa-Loompas, pygmies with insight into the human soul (all played by Deep Roy). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" has all this stuff, plus singing, dancing, and thinly veiled morals that kids would do well to learn. Of course, it also has the man behind the mystery tour, Willy Wonka, and that, alas, is its weakness.

My respect for Johnny Depp prevents me from supposing that he failed to produce the Wonka he and Burton (his longtime collaborator) were after, so I can only say that I dislike their interpretation of the character. The opening scenes may be visually drab compared with the peppermint swirliness of what follows, but the story resonates only then, when the focus is on Charlie instead of the confectioner. As soon as Depp appears with his shellacked pageboy and slightly-too-large teeth, the movie stops asking "Shouldn't this poor boy make good?" and starts shouting "This Wonka guy is nutty!" And he is nutty, sure, but in a "What the fudge?" kind of way instead of a jelly-belly laugh kind of way. He's really more distracting than amusing.

Which is probably why the movie includes flashbacks to Wonka's early days as the beleaguered son of a militant dentist (Christopher Lee), who forces the boy to run away from home and replace family with candy in the recesses of his heart. These fleeting moments when Wonka is shown to be human only go so far in mitigating his bizarreness; they explain why he's an emotionally disturbed freak who needs to learn a lesson from a child, but not why he's simultaneously a genius with the power to administer lessons-cum-divine justice to four other children and their families. (The movie — like the book? — makes him seem a little too aware of the weaknesses of his prey, er, visitors.) Unfortunately, these dips into Wonka's past also set up a sirupy ending that left a bad taste in my mouth. Isn't Charlie's advancement enough? With Depp in the role his prominence could only be expected, but his Wonka seems better served as a snack than a main course. Because of him, the new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" didn't leave this old admirer of the tale wanting s'more.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.