Perhaps by now you’ve seen the biggest childrens film of the ’05 summer season which by the way was written some 45 years ago. I shouldn’t have to tell you it is the much the
anticipated Burton-Depp collaberation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory;the whopping eye-candy extravaganza film fantasy that could just be the next best-loved Wizard of Oz.
Maybe you’ve skimmed a Charlie review or two or written one of your own on one of the many online blogs. One thing is for sure, if reviews were a dime a dozen, I’d have a pot of gold by now – there are literally dozens of reviews online; just take a peek at Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews or do a quick search on Yahoo – the engine returns with more reviews than you can squeeze into your little head in one sitting. So with that in mind I decided to pull out the highlights and give your itty-bitty head a rest.
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote “Success requires a perfect balance of flavor, richness, depth and a yummy yumminess that’s hard to pinpoint but you know it when you taste it. So when it comes to candy – and to film fantasy – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the real deal. This morality tale disguised as a whimsical, magical mystery tour of the world’s greatest chocolate factory has all the gorgeousness of hard dark chocolate that melts ever-so-slowly in your mouth.”
“A big studio film that really works. A remake that improves on the original,” writes David Germain for the Canadian Press. “This is the sort of visual feast Burton was born to make. It’s a film packed with chaste delights for
young children and plenty of sophisticated, cryptic edge to entertain and puzzle their parents.”
(4 stars out of 4) Michael Wilmington, Tribune movie critic writes “In a summer of movie discontent, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” stands out like a gourmet truffle in a box of stale caramels and curdled creams.” And about Johnny he says, “No one tops Depp. He plays Wonka like a daffy man-child, brilliant and petulant, always in control but only because he owns everything in sight. Depp’s line readings, as in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” are disarmingly twisted and unexpected; he bends phrases, just as Wonka springs traps and double meanings.
Derrick Bang/Enterprise entertainment editor wrote Four stars. “Wow. I mean, really, wow.” And that folks is a direct quote!!! “Burton’s genius”in balancing outlandish satire with old-fashioned sentiment”…results are even better when the director is teamed with Depp…” Adds Bang, “Depp is simply amazing.”
“Sustaining the correct balance of whimsy for a story as light as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is no mean task. Go too easy on the production values and the show looks cheap. Too heavy with sets and props, and the end product can turn out heavy and ponderous,” writes Glenn Erickson, for the website DVD Savant. He adds,”What puts Charlie and the Chocolate Factory over the top are the same qualities that make any fantasy a winner. Superior design keeps us constantly interested…Entering Willy Wonka’s sugary domain is truly awe-inspiring … the little idealized landscapes of edible plants and chocolate rivers are storybook-perfect.”
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times writes “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory succeeds in spite of Johnny Depp’s performance, which should have been the high point of the movie. Depp, an actor of considerable gifts, has never been afraid to take a chance, but this time he takes the wrong one.” Ebert also added that ” The problem is not simply that Willy Wonka looks like Michael Jackson; it’s that in a creepy way we’re not sure of his motives.”
“Depp’s off-kilter line readings bring an air of unpredictability to the proceedings, and he singlehandedly draws laughs with dialogue that would have passed without notice otherwise,” wrote Andy Gray from the Tribune Chronicle.
Bob Strauss film critic over at Press Telegram.com wrote “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is just plain sick. Twisted and mean-spirited, too. I had a great time.” He added, “The best weirdo tag-team working in Hollywood, director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, squeeze every bit of perverse aroma out of Roald Dahl’s disturbing tale about hermit confectioner Willy Wonka; their main agenda is rummaging around in psychological closets whose doors probably should have been kept locked tight.
