Pure imagination

Review by Vives Anunciacion

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Directed by Tim Burton
Written by John August
Based on the book by Roald Dahl
Starring Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore
G/ 115minutes
Warner Brothers Pictures
Opens August 3


Director Tim Burton cooks up a visually delectable treat for the sweet-toothed that’s halfway between jaw-dropping and criminally insane. Don’t fear – we’ve come to know Burton’s movies to be like that all the time. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a satisfying family tale about wishes coming true.

Based on the 1964 children’s book by Roald Dahl, the film opens with gigantic factory machines busily churning boxes and boxes of chocolate candy bars. The world’s largest factory of candy is opening its gates to the public for the first time in many years. But only five kids and their guardians will be allowed entrance by the factory’s very reclusive and unusual owner, Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp). Five Golden Tickets are to be found under the wrappers of Willy’s wonderful chocolate, and those who find them shall be granted a tour of the mysterious factory. One lucky kid will win a secret extra prize.

Each of the five kids who find the tickets (or four, technically speaking) ordinarily represent an aspect of child behavior. Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), the first kid to find a ticket, never seems to stop eating. Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb) is the achievement addict who intends to include marathon gum-chewing to her treasure of records. Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) is Paris Hilton amplified, spoiled to infinity. Couch potato and gaming freak Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry) is also a technology geek. And the kid who finds the last ticket is poor little Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), who’s so poor all his family eats is cabbage soup.

Together with their like-minded guardians, the kids are toured in the magical factory by Wonka himself. One by one, the true nature of the kids are revealed to Wonka, who seeks a worthy winner of his “surprize.” As each unworthy kid is excluded from the tour, tiny and strange Oompa Loompas (played by one actor, Deep Roy) sing and dance in spectacular fashion to explain why the meddlesome kid is being punished.

In the fourth collaboration between Burton and Depp since Edward Scissorhands in 1990 (the others being Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow), the uncanny pair once again profuse wonders onscreen. It’s the second adaptation of the magical tale of Charlie and Willy Wonka, this time more faithful to Dahl’s captivating children’s tale about a simple kid who not only wins a fantastic trip, but the hearts of everyone around him as well.

What clearly stands out from this version is Alex McDowell’s spellbinding design of Willy Wonka’s amazing factory and Charlie’s creaky home. I bowled over in the TV room scene, laughing my heart out to the Stanley Kubrick reference. Composer Danny Elfman trashes specific musical themes and goes all-out in playing with the Oompa Loompa numbers. This interpretation has an updated, edgier appeal compared to the sugary songs in the 1971 movie.

Freddie Highmore is simply a picture of utter cuteness, there’s no question to his likeability as Charlie. Depp on the other hand, like his character, is an enigma – either his was another great performance, or a misinterpretation of the character. Nevertheless I prefer his version of Wonka than Gene Wilder’s, whose version scared me as a kid.

There’s a sense of the inevitable that takes away some of the magic that should stay until the movie’s end, but it can’t be taken away as it is the structure of the narrative. Overall, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a visual marvel and an absolute fun to watch. But the emotions don’t stay with the story, one forgets to care about Willy’s intentions unless he’s interacting with Charlie. Kinda like a multi-flavored candy that’s unsure of itself, this one intends to be sweet all throughout, but sours in a few places in the middle.