Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

[magruder]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:53am

I was initially giving it the benefit of the doubt, but with each new trailer, I'm fearing that the upcoming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory looks worse and worse. There's something about it that looks like Tim Burton in "Mars Attacks" mode. Can anyone assuage me? Tell me it will all be OK.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:55am

Can't do it, magruder, sorry. Tim Burton has been off the boil for some time now, and this could be bad. It could also be amazing. But who knows?

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:09pm

I am PRAYING they don't destroy it and sully my love of the original. I do think that Johnny Depp is perfectly cast.

Also v.v. concerned about the film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha.

popcultureboy- I love your icon. Major Tori love here, and she looks gorgeous!

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:11pm

I dunno; Johhy Depp is in it, and he automatically elevates the quality of every movie he's in, plus it looks really friggin' creepy.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:12pm

I am trying to keep an optimistic hope for it, and not compare it to the original movie, since it's NOT a remake of the original movie but a new take on the book.

[magruder]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:22pm

As a kid, I was a huge fan of all of the Roald Dahl books, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda. They are wonderfully macabre, and there's something about them that address the great psychological terror you feel as a child facing the fears you feel as you begin to first become aware of the world around you. Adults are scary and unpredictable, and there are unforseen dangers lurking around every corner. But Dahl's characters like Charlie, James and Matilda are children that face those fears head on, and triumph. I love anything that helps children feel empowered and less vulnerable. That darkness and edge comes through, for me, at any rate, in the screen versions of James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and (even though it is derided by the Widow Dahl), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The frenzy and tone of the trailers for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory may just be disconcerting, and the film may be another story altogether. But I grew increasingly concerned for the Tim Burton remake when I read the following on IMDB.com:

"Screenwriter John August had never even seen Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) when asked by Tim Burton to write the script. After finishing the screenplay, he finally watched the 1971 version, only to be surprised at how much darker the "family" film was to his own."

The darkness in Dahl just seems indispensible to me. (And just look at what Dr. Seuss's widow has done to her late husband's legacy between Seussical, and those ghastly, nearly unwatchable films, The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas). Still, I will continue to hope for the best.

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 12:22 PM

[Craig]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:35pm

Hope springs eternal, Magruder. I am expecting a train wreck.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:37pm

I just watched the latest trailer and while it looks visually stunning, I'm not sure I'll like it. The crude jokes are really out of place and completely unnecessary. It's a good story to begin with, why go for cheap laughs? And Willy Wonka was eccentric in the book, not creepy. In this, he looks like a nightmare. And the Great Glass Elevator is supposed to be HUGE, hence the name and the sequel.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:07pm

Why does Johnny Depp look like Sutton Foster in this movie?

[nmartin]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:17pm

Because they are the same person. You've never seen them together......have you??????

[magruder]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:20pm

Is the rumor true that Willy Wonka will sing "Forget About the Boy" to the parents of Augustus Gloop?

[Craig]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:24pm

I'm not sure. But there's some line about a great green glass elevator love in there I think.

And the oompa loompa's will be singing in chinese with english subtitles.

[Plum]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:33pm

I'm with you, Matt. Willy Wonka is not a smartass- I'm hoping that some of his responses were simply cut together for the purposes of the trailer. The sets look beautiful and kids well-cast, but Depp seems totally off.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:39pm

I have a question about casting. Wasn't the whole purpose of the Golden Ticket contest so that Wonka could eventually turn over the running of the factory to someone else? I think Depp is too young for that to be true.

[Plum]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:41pm

Unless his Willy Wonka is contemplating an early retirement. :)

[Craig]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:43pm

Plum.. maybe Macauley Culkin is playing Slugworth then. (I forget if Slugworth is in the book)

[Plum]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:44pm

I don't remember a Slugworth in the book. Hmm.

[Craig]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:47pm

All one can hope is - despite the success or failure of this version, the original doesn't get overlooked by future generations.

[magruder]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:52pm

Maybe Willy is an adult male, who likes to have sleepovers with pre-teen boys in his magical, mysterious fortress-like enclave.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:54pm

Wonka is described in the book as a little old man with a pointy "goatee" beard - like an elf.

For that matter, the Oompa-Loompas are described as little chocolate-colored men - in other words, African pygmies. Oneof the kids thinks they are made out of chocolate at first.

Political correctness would never alow that in a movie.

[Craig]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:56pm

Magruder - that type of character sounds familiar. If only I could figure out who you were referencing.....

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:57pm

"Wonka is described in the book as a little old man with a pointy "goatee" beard - like an elf."

I would have liked to have seen Joel Grey play the role.

[Broadway_freak]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:57pm

Everytime I see a preview for that movie I get chills...bad chills. It's not from the movie itself, but from Johnny Depp. He plays his character so...creepy. He reminds me of Salad fingers, he's the only reason why I wouldn't want to see the show. I loved the original and it better live up to it's standard.

[OnTheAisle]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 3:54pm

I'm glad to see it wasn't just me - I so wanted to love this movie, but Johnny Depp just gives me the creeps - it's a toss-up between the pageboy and the weird teeth... I think Gene Wilder has nothing to worry about - his supremacy looks to be assured.

[Plum]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 5:13pm

Not if the insane Depp fanatics have anything to say about it. Because if he does anything, it's Oscar-worthy by definition, according to them.