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Ah, so THIS is how parents feel like when there is a re-make on the horizon! You know how it is, you can hear the screams of 'Why would you do that?' 'How can you tinker with a classic?' And it goes on, and on, and on. And we usually look at them and go 'Um... but it was CRAP then.' Ah, nostalgia plays with the mind. But now... it's our turn as Gen-Xers to scream 'Nooooooooo!' 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' is one of those films like 'The Princess Bride' that never did much in the box-office, but when it was out on VHS and HBO... oh boy! Suddenly EVERYONE quotes lines from it and sings with it.
Flash forward and the bean counters in Hollywood desperately search for the 'Sure Thing'. Naturally remakes are rampant. If it's not 'Charlie's Angels' or 'The Dukes of Hazard' it's 'Ocean's 11' or 'The Italian Job'. And I imagine most of us went 'Oh whatever... yeah, didn't miss anything in the original so re-making couldn't hurt...' But then word of the 'Willy Wonka' re-make came out and the screams rang everywhere! 'How could you!' 'But that was a classic!' Et al. Ah... but the good news is the nightmare-team of Depp and Burton were getting in on it, with a script by John August who did 'Big Fish'. Still the cries of dissension were everywhere. 'But he's not as good as Wilder'. 'But it won't be as good without all of the music'. Well, the biggest problem, at least as far as Roald Dahl was concerned was the movie wasn't the book. Doh! Unfortunately I haven't read the book, but those who have said the book was MUCH darker! Oh dear... darker?
In that case, hurray for Depp and Burton! So what can this combination of odd talents do with this child's story that's been made into a classic? Go back to the source material and make Mr. Wonka a bit wackier. The result? Like 'Big Fish' this is visually a heck of a trip. And like most Depp films, you get to see the best character actor on the planet. So there.
The first thing that captures you is the wonderful story John August has created. He and Burton worked together on 'Big Fish' which was another story about whimsy colliding with harsh reality. In this case the hard reality of Charlie Bucket clashes with the fanciful world of Mr. Wonka in more ways then one. Like the first film, it all comes down to a modified version of 'Survivor'. If you're the last one not swept away by your mistakes, you control this wonderful dreamland. But, unlike the Wilder classic, Charlie realizes there is MUCH more to life then simply controlling a giant candy factory.
Another huge plus from the script is the addition of an 'origin' for Willy Wonka. It's not very long, and Christopher Lee is wonderful as Dr. Wonka, anal-retentive dentist. These scenes go a long way to explain why Willy is a crackpot who is repulsed by families. Ah, but more on that later.
Next is the amazing world Tim Burton visualized. I know, no surprise there, but it still warrants mentioning. Once again, comparisons are VERY easy to do between the old film and this one. The additional touches make this a Burton classic. For instance the Bucket's home isn't just a shack, it's a twisted and gnarled little shack. This is a huge contrast to the warm and relatively stable home within. And the Oompa-Loompas are even SCARIER then the original. This time, just one man, Deep Roy, is the model for all of them. He is duplicated either digitally or through basic SFX to become the army of Oompa-Loompas. Whether he's re-creating a '60s synchronized swimming routine or doing an outrageous parody of an '80s hair-band, Roy and Burton create something very funny, something very thoughtful... and something pretty creepy.
Cont on p. 2