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 lthough
comparisons are inevitable, Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory" really shouldn't be put up against the 1971 Gene Wilder children's
classic "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." While based on the
same source material, the two films are quite different in tone and target. As
with the fairy tales penned by the brothers Grimm, Roald Dahl's story of a wacky
confectioner and his even wackier factory brilliantly weaves elements of fantasy
with a dark, and at times gruesome, cautionary edge. The original film
downplayed the darker elements of Dahl's story, while Burton's version is much
more sinister, choosing to revel in twisted elements rather than gloss over
them. As a result, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a children's
film where the adults will get more out of it than the kids.
"Charlie" stars Johnny Depp ("Pirates
of the Caribbean") as Willy Wonka, a famous but reclusive
confectioner who announces that he has hidden five golden tickets inside
his chocolate bars for the public to find. The lucky few who find these
tickets will be given a guided tour of Wonka's factory, and one lucky
winner will get a mystery prize. Global pandemonium ensues, with four of
the tickets found by a rotten assortment of brats. Hope dwindles for
poor Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore, "Finding Neverland"),
who is very much not a brat, but is instead a scruffy lad who lives with
his bed-ridden extended family in a hysterically slanted house. Then
fate intervenes, and Charlie spots some money in the snow with which he
buys a Wonka bar containing the fifth golden ticket.
Accompanied by his giddy Grandpa Joe (David Kelly,
"Waking Ned Devine"), Charlie joins the other winners for the
tour of the factory, envisioned here by director Tim Burton as housing
chocolate rivers that through a sugary wonderland, complete with a
chocolate waterfall that makes the chocolate 'lighter and more frothy,'
and big rock candy mountains. Wonka and his guests traverse the
chocolate river in a pink, candy Viking longship, and along the way we
are treated to various rooms where Wonka makes his outlandish candies,
everything from the Everlasting Gobstopper to the 3-course meal chewing
gum. Sadly, the Fizzy Lifting Drink doesn't make an appearance this time
around.
Any rendition of this story would be incomplete
without the Oompa Loompas. The stuff of many a child's nightmare, these
strange pygmies are the lifeblood of Wonka's factory, serving as both
workers as well as experimental test subjects. While no less weird,
Burton's version of these mischievous little people dispenses with the
Napoleonic clothes and purple face paint in exchange for Technicolor
HAZMAT suits and coiffed hair. Their musical numbers are also more
modern, foregoing the familiar 'doopity-do' in favor of Dahl's original
lyrics scored to Jazz and rock beats. They work, for the most part
because Burton keeps them short.
And how is Depp's performance as Wonka? Odd would be an
accurate description, but creepy could be another. Depp publicly
proclaimed that he channeled the spirit of Keith Richards for his role
as Cap'n Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean," but he's
been curiously quiet about the source of his inspiration for Willy
Wonka. It shouldn't be hard for anyone who's been exposed to any form of
news media over the past year to figure it out. A certain white gloved,
SARS mask wearing, baby dangling former pop star immediately springs to
mind. Everything about Depp's Wonka, from his effeminate voice,
flamboyant outfits, and fantasyland fortress points to Jacko.
Depp is spot-on in the role.
He's just creepy enough to make you squirm in your seat, but bubbly
enough to make you giggle and forgive him an instant later. He's the
kind of guy you'd let your kids sleep over with, only to regret it the
next day. After a while, I was half expecting Depp to burst out,
"You're ignorant! You're all just ignorant!" in response to
the questions of the bratty kids. Burton may as well have titled the
film, "Michael Jackson And The Neverland Ranch." The rest of
the cast, featuring Helena Bonham Carter ("Fight
Club") as Charlie's mom and a digitally multiplied Deep Roy as
the Oompa Loompas are solid, but they are firmly in the background.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" isn't all
sugar and sweetness, though. Burton doesn't quite maintain the sense of
wonder and mystery that overwhelms the first two-thirds of the film, and
the last act feels like Burton is fishing for ideas. Also, the
exploration of Willy's family problems isn't really handled with much
success, leading to a somewhat weak ending. Still, the film is chock
full of eye candy and the script has plenty of twisted humor to satisfy
even the most salty viewer. Burton does a very good job of balancing the
macabre with the jaunty to create a curious confection that's sweet, yet
just sour enough to make you give it a second taste.
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