Movie: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

ok.... so, i'm probably not alone in thinking 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' was one of my all time favorite movies, either as a kid or as an adult. Gene Wilder had that delicate mix of fatherly kindness and slight, temporary madness, he was Willy Wonka.... well, i suppose, especially to those who had only seen the movie and hadn't read Roald Dahl's masterpiece. from what i have heard from people (especially when i was over in London) who had read the book before anything else, the original movie was a far cry from the book, seemingly leaving out whole characters, namely Charlie's father. with all that said, i was quite excited when i heard they were going to remake it, and to be directed by Tim Burton (that'll give it just the right amount of madness) and starring Johnny Depp, and was going to follow the book a whole lot closer than the original... wow, i couldn't wait.

well, the waiting was over, i saw it last night and all i have to say is... man, it was so friggin good. now, i still haven't read the book, so any comparing will have to be done between the two films. so, having said that, i am a bit surprised to say that i thought 'Charlie' is, by far, as a whole, a much better than 'Willy Wonka' (why, even as i type those words i feel like i am betraying a good friend, but its true). as a story, 'Charlie' is incredibly more developed and multi-dimentional than 'Willy Wonka'. you even get a few glimpses into Willy's past and get a brief idea of how he got to be where he is today and why he is the way he is. even though i would say i know the story pretty well, i felt myself being drawn into it and being surprised/delighted by it. 'Charlie' has a much more connected feel to it, like you are being taken on a journey and you know why you are on that journey and how you got there. 'Willy Wonka' plopped you down into the middle of this mythology, without giving any sort of back-story, and just sort of takes you somewhere without you ever knowing why. also, i really liked how the film dealt with the idea of family and how both good and bad experiences can alter the way you look at life and society; Charlie had a good/loving family, Willy had a stern/regimented father. overall, i guess i would say that 'Charlie' is more realized than 'Willy Wonka'... and i suppose that is thanks to Burton's adherence to the original text/story. this movie was incredibly fun to watch and even made me feel a bit like a i was a kid again. the adventure is daring, the humor is truly funny, the candy is plentiful, and the wonder and imagination of it all is true. i highly recommend that everyone see this movie, at least once; its certainly going to be a classic.