Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Film Review

While alot of people are aware of the 1971 film version of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory not alot of people are aware of the fact that that book that's it's based off of firstly not only got a sequel book of it's own but also got another film adaptation. With it being that very adaptation that i'm going to be talking to you all about today as believe it or not this version of the book turned twenty years old this year and so then join me as I review the film that is more true to the book then the Gene Wilder adaptation was with the film in question being called simply just "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when five lucky kids each win the chance to tour a chocolate factory they meet it's reclusive owner Willy Wonka. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good which is something that does make alot of sense as it's the exact same plot of not only the book but also the Gene Wilder film version as well and so of course this films plot will be good as it's just copying what came before it with it not really adding anything new to the films plot with the only new things that are added to the film being pointless things like the backstory of how Willy Wonka found the Oompa Loompas and backstory on why Willy hates his father all of which are pointless things as they add nothing to this films version of the plot with the plot of this film being just as wonderfully creative and wonderfully silly and strong as it was in the original film and yet even so it feels like that the makers of this film were just stuck trying to think of things that would make there adaptation stand out from what came before it and yet in doing so they rob the film of a reason of existing in the first place as while yes this films plot is more true to the book it's also lacking that extra special something that made the Gene Wilder version become the timeless classic that it is today with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Starring in this film is Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka , Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket and David Kelly as Grandpa Joe. Also starring in this film is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket , Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket , Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde , James Fox as Mr. Salt , Deep Roy as The Oompa-Loompas , Adam Godley as Mr. Teavee , Franziska Troegner as Mrs. Gloop , AnnaSophia Robb as Violet Beauregarde , Julia Winter as Veruca Salt , Jordan Fry as Mike Teavee , Philip Wiegratz as Augustus Gloop , Liz Smith as Grandma Georgina , Eileen Essell as Grandma Josephine , David Morris as Grandpa George , Nitin Ganatra as Prince Pondicherry , Shelley Conn as Princess Pondicherry , Geoffrey Holder as The Narrator and Sir Christopher Lee as Dr. Wonka.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors both kid and adult turning in some really good performances in this film and while this films director Tim Burton did cast both of his then regulars they are perfectly cast in this film with Helena Bonham Carter making for a really good version of Mrs. Bucket and while no one will be able to top what Gene Wilder did in the role of Willy Wonka Johnny Deep does give it his best efforts with even the films kid actors turning in some really good performances as well which is something that really could have gone either way as it would have been very easy for this films kid actors to have turned in really bad performances at best and just straight up be annoying and wooden at worst and yet they all manage to turn in some really good performances in this film with this really mainly due to the fact that Tim Burton really does really know how to get a really good performance out of his actors a skill that he has shown in several other projects and really shows us again in this film with all of the films actors being really good in this film with the actors that are in this very film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the CGI for this film is Moving Picture Company , Framestore CFC , Cinesite and Digital Domain. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as the film does have lots of really good looking effects in it the issue is tho is that this film is filled with so many effects that it makes the film look more like a cartoon then a live action and yet when you compare this to the original film it's night and day as the original film made do with little to no effects in it and yet the exact same things that had no effects in the original film are now suddenly filled with them in this film with this film being alot more effects heavy then what it really should have been as this is a film that could have been done with little to know effects and while yes this films effects are indeed really good and have aged really well it makes you wonder why the makers of this film gave this film alot of effects in the first place as scenes like that in the imagination room for example could be done practically and yet for one reason or another there are alot of effects cramped into it but given just who is working on this film from an effects standpoint it's no wonder that the film had as many good effects in it as it had with even all of the films effects blending in really well with the films live action elements this is despite the fact that it would have been really easy for this films effects to have aged badly due to the passage of time and due to the fact that the technology that we have now they just simply didn't have back in 2005 but even with that in mind all of this films effects do look really good. 

For whatever reason the makers of this film chose to make Willy Wonka come across as being more creepy then what he was in either the original book or film. So much so that that aspect of the character was parodied in the film Epic Movie and yet it's something that whilst it does make this version of the character standout from the Gene Wilder version it's also something that really doesn't work for the character as a whole as this is a character that is meant to be kind of welcoming and not someone who is off putting and who you want to run away from and while yes granted the Gene Wilder take on the character did also have a bit of a dark side and bit of a mysterious side to him as well it wasn't something that made up his entire character whereas here that is his entire character and because of that what should have been a really fun character instead comes across as being someone that if he had one bad day could become a serial killer with this being something that is very easily fixed as all it would take is just going to back to the book and going to back how Roald Dahl originally wanted the character to be like but instead he comes across as being like someone that Tim Burton wanted to be like as he has all of those things that make up for a good Tim Burton character and while those are things that usually work as they can speak to who people really are when there right and when there with the right character here tho it's not something that works really well and when it the pointless backstory and epilog which add nothing to the character it adds to something that does feel like a waste of a good character as on paper this version of Willy Wonka could have worked it just needed the right creative team to bring him to live and sadly this films creative team just aren't the right people.

To give this film some credit it does retain the fact that this story is basically a morality tale with all of the kids who misbehave during the tour getting rightfully punished. This was something that did work really well with the film as we get to see all of the characters get there just desserts in some really creative ways with nearly all of them fitting there characters the only thing that doesn't really work tho is the fact that it seems like none of those characters learn not to misbehave and will instead carry on as they were which granted might be the point as you could argue that the film is saying that not all people will change but at the same time tho for what is a kids films it would have been nice for those characters to at least give of the impression that they've learnt a life lesson during the tour with the only one who gives of that impressions being oddly enough Veruca Salt who after being told no for what might the first time in her life and the fact that the only thing that she'll be getting a is bath she just shuts up and doesn't say a word where as all of the characters act as if nothing has happened and while her shutting up might be a small thing that's all that it really needed to be as we don't need a scene with her father scolding her for acting like the brat she is as truth be told he's equally to blame as are alot of the parents as well and him telling her that the only thing that she's getting is a bath is also a sign that he's willing to change as well and while it would have been nice to see the parents of the other kids show some kind of remorse for there actions as there equally to blame for how there kids behaved as well the fact that they didn't does add proof to the fact that there kids aren't going to change as characters and will go right back to how they were at the start of the film.

Much like with the original film there are songs in this film with all of the films being done by Danny Elfman. Which is both a good and bad thing it's a good thing in the way that it gives the songs more of a unique voice to them with Elfman even singing all of the songs himself but at the same time tho it does also mean that all of the films songs sound exactly the same due to the fact that he does have this sound that is great for a song or two but as he doesn't mix it up a whole lot in this film it means that alot of the films songs do start to the sound the same and while this film isn't a musical in a way that the previous film was it does still have songs in it with all of the songs being performed by the Oompa Loompas with the best song being the one that they sing when Veruca gets disposed of by the squirrels as it has this very early sixties rock and roll sound to it that just works really well with the film but at the same time the song that's used when Mike is sent to through the television does also work due to the fact that we get to have some really creative and unique imagery to it with the Oompa Loompas now appearing to be giants when compared to Mike who is usually a giant when compared to them which is something that does make this film fun to watch but when push does come to shove it has to be the Veruca Salt song that is the best song in the film just due to the fact that you can hear the influences in the song and while the original film does indeed have some really good songs in it that doesn't mean that the songs in this film are bad as there really not it's just that this is a film that could have used with one or two different songs writers and not just Danny Elfman to help to make alot of the songs standout from one another and not start to blend into one.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fifty five minuets and twenty five seconds. Which even for this film is a bit of a long running time as while the film does have more then enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time the film adds alot of pointless filler just with all of the scenes that are meant to be backstory for the Willy Wonka character with those not being needed as they take away any kind of mystery that a character like this one should have with the film not even using it's running time all that wisely either as the plot of the film can't be that well developed as it has to include all of these pointless backstory segments which in turn eats up screen time that would have been better spent in developing the films plot with this even having the effect of not allowing the films characters to be that well developed as while Willy Wonka himself gets character development none of the films other characters about from Charlie himself do with us knowing as much abut the rest of the films characters coming out of the film as we did coming into the film heck even Christopher Lee doesn't get any kind of character development as the only scenes he appears in are in the Willy Wonka flashback scenes and in the films pointless epilog scene and that's it with the only way to fix this would be to do a page one rewrite to cut out ALL of the flashback scenes as that would then allow for the character of Willy Wonka to have some mystery about him and his chocolate factory as well and it would mean that the film can also spend some of it's screen time in giving the characters some much more needed character development but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I gave to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With the film having some decent jokes and heck it could even be argued how the film gets rid of Veruca is a bit of joke due to how long it plays out with the film even making somewhat of a running joke out of the fact that Willy can't see the great glass elevator due to the fact that it's made out of glass which is a decent running joke and one that does feel true to his character how tho the film doesn't really have that many good jokes in it whatsoever so much so that the film really doesn't have a joke that anyone could say is the best joke of the film as the film is more focused on trying to be whimsical and having the Oompa Loompas singing songs then it is in trying to create a good joke with even the films other running joke of Willy saying to Mike that he's mumbling every single time that Mike points out that one of his inventions is impossible is a joke that does get old after a while as all it does is make Willy look a bad character and while it is clear as day that Johnny Deep is trying his darndest to make this films jokes work he just can't do it as he's very rarely given funny things to say or do which does mean that the film can't be as funny as everyone is trying to make it be in the first place and yet this is a film that could have been really funny if the makers of this film took alot more time in making the jokes that they do have actually funny and no jokes that you just groan at due to them being pretty bad in the first place in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall out of the two main adaptations this one is easily the weaker of the two as Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory has that whimsy that this film is sorely lacking that makes you want to be a kid again but in saying that this film does also have a few positive aspects to it as well which are things that shouldn't be ignored when talking about this film as they are things that do make the film stand out in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now the i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images really from this very film being the really great Google Images this is really because of the fact that really all of the images that I really indeed got and really used from Google Images are all really high quality really with all of the images that really are all and of course really currently up and on the really great and the really solid Google Images really are all being really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being fairly high in definition.