I Like the Movie, I Like It Not; I Like the Movie?

The kids and I watched “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” for the first time tonight. It’s the one starring Johnny Depp; Tim Burton’s 2005 remake of the original 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and, I must say, I’m not really sure how I feel about the movie. Some Tim Burton films I’ve seen were enjoyable: “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” was fun; and “Batman” was really good; but “Beetlejuice” is an all-time favorite. “Nightmare Before Christmas” did nothing for me and I was thoroughly bored with it while Ty loved it and watched it over and over for weeks about a year ago.

I also tried watching Burton’s 2010 remake of “Alice in Wonderland” (also starring Johnny Depp) one night but couldn’t get past the first half hour or so; it was way too freaky and heavy for my good mood at the time. The Mad Hatter, played by Depp, was a total freak and many of the other characters that were happy and peppy in the original, were dark and dismal in the remake. It was just too much that night. I’ll try watching it again another time.

Anyway, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was on Disney Channel so I thought I’d watch it with the kids. Now, I absolutely love Johnny Depp as an actor; he’s fabulous the way he gets so into his characters that you forget it’s him playing a role. I’m also fascinated by his ability to convey any word or emotion with just the slightest changes in his facial expressions. As Willy Wonka he lived up to my expectations; I thought he was wonderful in the role. Depp, however, was the only thing I found wonderful about the movie.

Don’t get me wrong, the movie wasn’t horrible, and it certainly was watchable, but I kept drifting back to the original. Yes, the characters’ names were the same but there were not-so-subtle changes in the characters as a whole. Charlie had both parents when he only had a mom in the original; Mike TeeVee’s dad and Violet Beauregarde’s mom accompanied them to the factory, and in the original it was the reverse; and, of course, Willy Wonka wasn’t the same happy and mysterious character he was 40 years ago; Burton had Depp portray Willy Wonka as a depressed and disturbed individual. He actually appeared mean at some points in the film.

While the storyline of the film was the same, there were lots of odd flashbacks in this film and the only singing done was by the Oompa Loompas who looked nothing like they did in the original film. Their songs were a heckuva lot longer and more up-to-date with today’s music styles, too. I wasn’t impressed, though. I’m also not sure what we missed since the movie was on TV and had commercials. I know there were parts cut out of it; I just don’t know what parts were gone since this film strayed a bit here and there and here and there. I guess I’ll have to watch it again, maybe on Netflix, so I can see it in its entirety and possibly make a better comparison. Something tells me that seeing the missing pieces won’t make much of a difference, though. I’ll give it a shot anyway.

Like I said, the movie wasn’t unwatchable; there were entertaining parts. Veruca got bonked on the head by a bunch of squirrels (there were no golden geese in this version) and tossed down the “Bad Nut” chute. After Mike Tee Vee went through the TV and got smaller, he was stretched and ended up looking like “Flat Stanley” at seven feet tall. Some of the dialogue, and all of Johnny Depp’s facial expressions were actually hilarious. But I think I laughed loudest when Willy Wonka walked face first into the closed glass elevator. Don’t ask me why, that type of stuff just makes me belly laugh; in real life too. As long as the person isn’t hurt, I’m gonna laugh. (Remember that, if you’re ever near me and walk face first into any kind of anything.) Ty was also laughing so we had a good laugh together.

So that’s that. I just thought I’d share. Maybe you saw the movie and loved it. I know the kids did. Why? Because they never saw the original. I take that back; Dolly watched part of it with me and was telling me when the parts she remembered from the original were on the screen in this version. The boys never sat through “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” though and I’m not sure, now, that they ever could. Zach was getting annoyed at the Oompa Loompas singing when one of the kids did something wrong in this movie. Imagine he had to sit through all the songs from the first movie?

I’ve seen remakes before and loved them – “Ocean’s Eleven”, “Angels in the Outfield”, and “City of Angels”, just to name a few – because I hadn’t seen the original first. It’s when I’ve seen them the other way around that I’ve found the remake to be not so good and that sucks. So “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” still sits in my head and I can’t decide whether or not I liked it. I do know that Tim Burton is a genius and Johnny Depp is an extremely gifted actor. If you haven't seen the movie yet - it's six years old - and want to, go ahead, don’t ask for my opinion. I’ll just go back and forth like I did in this blog and I’ll leave you confused and frustrated; kinda like the way “Alice in Wonderland” left me that night.

Until next time…peace to all.