Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

[That Announcer]

Kelly had some okay moments, but he looked like he was just on acid the whole time. He reminded me of Dobby in the Harry Potter movie.

"Dobby had to iron his hands..."

Yep, you're right. In Mel Stuart's book "Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", he says that Jack Albertson (the original Grandpa Joe) entertained the children (and the adults too) by telling them jokes and doing old vaudeville routines, as he was a veteran vaudeville player. I cannot imagine David Kelly jumping around and doing crazy stuff like Jack did; I imagine him sitting in a chair with a cup of coffee reading a John Grisham book. He does well capture the essence of a grandparent like you or I may have; he doesn't capture the essence of Grandpa Joe. Jack Albertson was perfect; in fact, Grandpa Joe may have been the biggest disappointment of this film.

I've noticed something: most of the complaints regarding this film surround the acting. Johnny Depp is under constant fire for his Wonka; the children are often criticized and Grandpa Joe is given a thumbs-down by many people as well. This truly is a film in which the crew, composers, effects men and designers are given their chance to shine. Given, they had that chance with the original, and that one had GREAT acting. But anyway...

 

[BEAR]

"Dobby had to iron his hands..."

Yep, you're right. In Mel Stuart's book "Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", he says that Jack Albertson (the original Grandpa Joe) entertained the children (and the adults too) by telling them jokes and doing old vaudeville routines, as he was a veteran vaudeville player. I cannot imagine David Kelly jumping around and doing crazy stuff like Jack did; I imagine him sitting in a chair with a cup of coffee reading a John Grisham book. He does well capture the essence of a grandparent like you or I may have; he doesn't capture the essence of Grandpa Joe. Jack Albertson was perfect; in fact, Grandpa Joe may have been the biggest disappointment of this film.

I've noticed something: most of the complaints regarding this film surround the acting. Johnny Depp is under constant fire for his Wonka; the children are often criticized and Grandpa Joe is given a thumbs-down by many people as well. This truly is a film in which the crew, composers, effects men and designers are given their chance to shine. Given, they had that chance with the original, and that one had GREAT acting. But anyway...

And I believe it is true that they cast Johnny Depp because of his name, not his acting. I think he is far over rated and it sickens me when all the girls say he is amazing and should have won an Oscar, when in reality they just think he looks good. Annoying. lol. He was flat in this movie. He had nothing behind his eyes and with the exception of a few funny lines he had, I didn't care about him or his character.

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

I'm really surprised by the reactions to the acting in this movie. Of course, we're each entitled to a personal opinion/reaction, but I found the acting to be terrific throughout. I really loved Depp's Wonka, and I thought all of the performances worked as they were supposed to. To me, the characters were played almost as caricatures, not as fully-developed people. That's not a criticism--it seemed intentional. They all seemed to represent character-types rather than distinct people. Mostly I mean the other children here. Charlie, Wonka, and Grandpa Joe seemed the exception to this. There was a gleeful sense of satire in many of the performances, though, and I thought it fit the tone of the movie. Moreover I was particularly impressed with the subtlety of Depp's portrayal of Wonka's more sinister side. Those little moments in the factory when he watches as the kids' fates unfold are so creepy and devious in many ways because of the over-the-top weirdness of the rest of his performance. Overall, I thought this was a terrific movie, both times I've seen it. That's just how I reacted to it, though. For some reason it all seemed to click for me, so that the movie could really do no wrong while I was watching it. I know other people have had different experiences with it, but I thought it was close to perfect.

 

[That Announcer]

Moreover I was particularly impressed with the subtlety of Depp's portrayal of Wonka's more sinister side. Those little moments in the factory when he watches as the kids' fates unfold are so creepy and devious in many ways because of the over-the-top weirdness of the rest of his performance.

Actually, the way he portrayed those moments was a bit of a downside. In the original, my absolute favorite moment was in Violet's scene. Sam Beauregard yells at Wonka when Violet is transforming, "Hey, Wonka, do something!" Willy replies in a deadpan, disinterested tone: "Stop. Don't." This aspect of the performance was lost in Depp's version. In the original, it was hard to tell if Wonka enjoyed the children's demise or not; in the new one, all the mystery to the character was removed and you knew exactly what he was thinking. Just my opinion, though.

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

This aspect of the performance was lost in Depp's version. In the original, it was hard to tell if Wonka enjoyed the children's demise or not; in the new one, all the mystery to the character was removed and you knew exactly what he was thinking. Just my opinion, though.

Well, except that it was all unspoken. Just little silent moments of deviousness. I loved that. The whole thing felt like "Chocolate Survivor" much more than the original film. It was as though this tour was designed to weed out the unworthy. And I disliked most of the kids so much that I found myself cackling with glee when they were about to meet their fates. I'm generally a pretty nice guy, so I was surprised at myself for that...

 

[Censored]

I saw the new version and I liked it well enough, but the original was definitely the better of the two. One major difference was that the new version was not as much of a musical. Sure, they had the Oompa Lompas doing the musical numbers after each lesson, but the original had music throughout the entire movie. Charlie's mother singing "Cheer up, Charlie" and Charlie and Grandpa singing "I've got a golden ticket", along with the many other songs, added a lot to the mood of the movie.

I also think the relationship between Charlie and Grandpa Joe was much better in the original one. In the first movie, they both seemed to be on the same page, worked as a team, and the original Grandpa Joe had a very reassuring way about him. In this newer version, Grandpa Joe pouts because Charlie says that he wants to sell the golden ticket instead of going to the factory. The new Grandpa Joe appeared frightened and unsure about many of the things that went on in the factory instead of the light-hearted way that the original one took it all in. I really don't think this is through any fault of the actors, but rather the writing. And of course, Willie Wonka himself was not as endearing nor was the ending as heartwarming.

Having said all of that, I think it was good enough as a remake and worth my time and money. I'm glad that it was called "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" instead of "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" so the two movies will never be confused.

 

[BEAR]

Actually, the way he portrayed those moments was a bit of a downside. In the original, my absolute favorite moment was in Violet's scene. Sam Beauregard yells at Wonka when Violet is transforming, "Hey, Wonka, do something!" Willy replies in a deadpan, disinterested tone: "Stop. Don't." This aspect of the performance was lost in Depp's version. In the original, it was hard to tell if Wonka enjoyed the children's demise or not; in the new one, all the mystery to the character was removed and you knew exactly what he was thinking. Just my opinion, though.

That all came from Gene Wilder's character choices though. He wanted to play Wonka in a way where you couldn't exactly tell whether he was lying or telling the truth. Such as the first time we see him limping with the cane and then he does a full sommer sault. He said he wouldn't do the movie unless that was there. So in defense to Depp, he was not asked to do what Wilder created. That would be copying. However, Depp didn't even have anything like that to add depth. It is hard to not compare the two and we shouldn't, but Depp just didn't deserve any sympathy that I think they were trying to get. I didn't care about him and his factory in this version and I think we were meant to. I liked the ending with the kids and they had good archs. Something became of them in the end. They changed in the end of this new film unlike the original. WOnka did not in my opinion. Did i miss something?

 

[BEAR]

For the record, I didn't hate the movie. I will probably get the dvd and watch it again, but it isn't a feel good in any sense like the first one was and that is what i like better. Also, Johnny Depp does nothing for this movie. The reasons I would watch it again are as follows:

1. The Grandparents (even Grandpa Joe at times).
2. I really liked Charlie in this film and I feel for him.
3. It is visually pleasing. The special effects are really neat.
4. I liked some of the darker aspects of it including the end scene when we see the other kids and their parents leave the factory. The darker elements were chilling, but exciting. The kids were a lot more disturbing which was interesting to see. (still liked the first Veruca better)
5. Oompa Loompas were awesome!
6. Anyone else recognize Geoffrey Holder's voice narrating the movie? (Remember him as Punjab in the film Annie, and he was also in the original Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison)
7. Some of the writing was very funny and fresh.

 

[Censored]

SPOILER ALERT FOR NEW MOVIE:









nother curious aspect of this film is the fate of the four "bad" children at the end. Violent and Mike seemed like they might have been permanently changed, but the other two looked like they'd be back to normal after a good bath. Was watching too much TV and excessive gum chewing supposed to be worthy of harsher punsihments than overeating and being spoiled?

 

[BEAR]

SPOILER ALERT FOR NEW MOVIE:









nother curious aspect of this film is the fate of the four "bad" children at the end. Violent and Mike seemed like they might have been permanently changed, but the other two looked like they'd be back to normal after a good bath. Was watching too much TV and excessive gum chewing supposed to be worthy of harsher punsihments than overeating and being spoiled?

If you go see the movie again, observe the scene when they all leave the factory. You can see that Veruca's father isn't going to be spoiling her anymore, as it was mainly his fault in the way he raised his child.