 | Distributor: | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release: | July 15, 2005 |
| Genre: | Musical/Performing Arts and Science Fiction/Fantasy |
| MPAA Rating: | PG
for quirky situations, action and mild language. |
Since appearing in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, Johnny Depp has built a reputation for portraying weird or offbeat characters. In this movie that reunites him (again) with Burton, Depp plays the rich, weird recluse owner of a chocolate factory -
Willy Wonka. The story is based on a children's book written by
Roald Dahl.
I remember seeing an earlier movie in grade school where Willy Wonka is played by Gene Wilder. It was a fun movie, but for someone whose age is below 10 (can't remember how old I was at the time), I found the idea that kids are invited into a place they thought was wonderful, only to have horrible things happen to them, was scary.
Now, I don't know if Tim Burton hires the same crew to create his sets, or whether his style always comes across regardless of what company is hired... but the opening, with the barely standing house, tells you that this is a Tim Burton film.
The Gene Wilder movie's version of the candy factory was awesome, and so is this movie's. With the technology available today, the Wonka factory is even richer. Your eyes would feast at the images presented on screen. Depp, as already mentioned, plays eccentric as he surely knows how. The other members of the cast were excellent as well. The older Buckets were endearing, Charlie is as normal and sweet as any unaffected boy of that age is, the other kids were delightfully bratty, their parents are borderline quirky, and Christopher Lee appears briefly as the misunderstood father of Willy Wonka.
| But in my opinion, the real star of this show is Deep Roy. He is the face of the hundreds of Oompa-Loompas scattered throughout this movie. Imagine the hours he spent filming with the blue screen behind him! Oompa-Loompas are the diminutive workers in Wonka's factory ... but the way the script was made, Deep Roy doing "manual labor" is only secondary to the four - yes, FOUR - song and dance numbers of the Oompa-Loompas which is actually Deep Roy filmed many times over. He does disco, musical, flower child songs, techno, and even hard rock. He also played Wonka's psychiatrist and his women secretaries. In my opinion, he stole the show. |  |
