Thursday, August 04, 2005

Charlie falls down

The newest Charlie and the Chocolate factory was a flop. I read the book in grade three, and I saw the 1971 Gene Wilder film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". So I have a tainted view of it. However, my sister and I both agreed that the first movie did a much better job at story telling. So what's missing? I don't just mean scenes that are not there, I mean in the story telling experience. I much prefered the Charlie of the first movie, and how he interacted with his grandfather. They were more real. For example, Charlie wasn't some naive little angel who wouldn't dream of ever doing anything bad. He had a human side; the one that got into trouble with Grampa Joe. Willy Wonka was also more real. He played a character who was a little off his rocker, but then at the end of the movie Wonka dropped the facade and spoke seriously to Charlie from an adult's perspective, and that was a huge part of the reward, I felt. To have an adult treat the child as an equal. Here, Wonka is played as some deranged adult with psychological problems who can't get over the experiences from his equally messed up and very controlling father.

I think Burton's film dumbs down the plot, plays to the director's style, and to Johnny Depp as a character, and focuses entirely too much on scenery and Burton's slightly eerie edges. As a child, this film would be in my face and brain numbing. I don't think I would really be able to relate to anything in it; I would just get a feeling of gloss.

Sorry guys, but I just found that movie disappointing, especially at the end, becuase I was expecting Wonka to drop his facade and grow up, but when he didn't at the end of the factory tour, it just went downhill from there. The scenery, however, was quite like the original movie, and quite good.

1 comment:

dabydeen said...

Plifftt! I liked it!