Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 musical fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by John August, based on the 1964 British novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket.
Plot[]
Based on the beloved Roald Dahl tale, this comedic and fantastical film follows young Charlie Bucket and his Grandpa Joe as they join a small group of contest winners who get to tour the magical and mysterious factory of eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka. Aided by his diminutive Oompa Loompa workers, Wonka has a hidden motivation for the tour, one that he will reveal only after the children in the group show their true colors.
Why It's Great[]
- It's more faithful to the Roald Dahl book than the original film, but with a few changes from both the book and the 1971 film.
- This version fills in a major plot hole that both the original novel and 70s film had. In the previous works it was simply stated that whoever found Wonka's golden tickets would get to go to his factory, and the five winners just happened to be kids. Here, Wonka specifically stated he wanted kids to find those tickets, which clears up a major confusion for newcomers.
- The acting is amazing. Johnny Depp does a decent performance as Willy Wonka.
- Incredible musical score by Danny Elfman.
- Excellent supporting cast.
- Catchy and rocking songs from the Oompa-Loompas as the four kids get into a predicament.
- Outstanding production designing. The sets of the chocolate factory are amazing. From the chocolate room to the television room, they all look incredible.
- The film fixes up an error from the original film by showing the children leaving the factory, thus confirming contrary to popular belief that they weren't killed.
- The film has some great narration.
- The scene where Wonka reunites with his father is one of the film's most heartwarming moments.
- It was interesting to find out that Deep Roy played many Oompa-Loompas in one film.
- The CGI effects are brilliant for 2005 standards.
Bad Qualities[]
- Despite Charlie being the main titular protagonist, he doesn't get a lot of character development as the movie focuses more on Willy Wonka than Charlie, resulting in Charlie coming off as underdeveloped and difficult to relate to. Freddie Highmore's bland performance doesn't help either.
- Johnny Depp's portrayal as Wonka gets very awkward and lost at times, as he's depicted as a lost child in a grown man's body due to his past.
- Some fans find giving Willy Wonka a backstory takes out his description as a mysterious character, and his backstory of having issues with his father very cliché.
- It's overly dark in tone.
Reception[]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 83% based on 231 reviews, with an average rating of 7.18/10.
Box Office[]
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory earned $56,178,450 in its opening weekend, the fifth-highest opening-weekend gross for 2005, and stayed at No. 1 for two weeks. The film eventually grossed $206,459,076 in US totals and $268,509,687 in foreign countries, coming to a worldwide total of $474,968,763.