Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Originally Written: July 2005
I’m not going to try to compare this film to the 1971 cult classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” starring the incomperable Gene Wilder. That would be unfair, because this is its’ own movie. Reportedly more faithful to the Roald Dahl novel that inspired both films, this new family fantasy from director Tim Burton starring his favorite leading man Johnny Depp (it’s the pair’s fourth collaboration after “Edward Scissorhands,” “Ed Wood,” and “Sleepy Hollow”; a fifth is on the way in this Fall’s stop-motion fantasy “Corpse Bride”) has a vibe and look all its’ own, not surprising since Burton is one of the great directorial imaginators of all-time (he also did “Batman,” “Batman Returns,” and “Big Fish”). And though it’s been many a year since I’ve seen the Wilder film, I hold fond memories of it, even if I didn’t take them into the theater with me when I watched “Charlie.” What movie memories did I take with me into the theater? Not only those of the earlier Burton-Depp collaborations, but also those of their most recent work (Burton’s “Big Fish,” Depp’s “Finding Neverland”), which signaled an emotional maturity not necessarily identifiable with either person in their earlier work. “How would they bring that to this film?” was my biggest question going in…and my biggest concern after the trailers.
The answer is, they didn’t bring that to this film. Sometimes I feel like on some movies I have to be the one to say that the emperor has no clothes, even though I’ve highly praised many a film in the past that have had other people saying likewise. It kills me to do it on some movies, though. These are the movies with the most promise, but don’t deliver. Folks, this is one of those times. Some people- notably, Ain’t It Cool News’ Harry Knowles- can look past what I’m about to criticize about the movie; this time, I just can’t. I have movies like that as well (Spielberg’s “A.I.” and the “Star Wars” prequels are great examples), so I get where he’s coming from. But I can’t ignore it on this one.
Look, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is good entertainment (in fact, it was more entertaining the second time around). For fans of the director, star, and composer Danny Elfman (more on him later), it’s a must-see just to see and hear what they’ve come up with. It’s also visually imaginative, well-acted, and deviously clever, which is the most I would ever ask from any other Burton movie. But this film is- in the end- supposed to be an uplifting and touching family story, despite all the dark mischievous surprises on display for most of the film’s 2 hours. I didn’t feel a thing at the end of this movie. Well, I did, but it wasn’t the warmth of an ultimately moving story about the importance of family or the awe of being shown wonderful sights (and that’s a big part of the problem). It was disappointment, not only for what the movie was, but what it could have been. Burton and screenwriter John August (more on “Charlie’s Angels” autopilot than “Big Fish” high-wire act) went to lengths to flesh out Willy Wonka’s past with his father (played by the delightful Christopher Lee) to give his story poignancy. But when Charlie (wonderfully played by Depp’s “Finding Neverland” costar Freddie Highmore) inspires Wonka to reconcile with his father at the end, I didn’t feel anything even though everything onscreen tells me I should.
Sadly, a lot of that rests on the gifted shoulders of Johnny Depp as Wonka. His Wonka is a singularly odd creation- condescendingly sarcastic and dementedly witty- that is deviously entertaining (whenever he goes to a flashback and comes back is a highpoint)…which is a lot of the problem. Depp’s Wonka is too one-note in his weirdness. He’s like what Michael Jackson- who Depp denies being inspired by, but use your eyes and decide for yourself- has become over the years. Yeah, his Wonka is that creepy. Don’t get me wrong, Jackson’s sick creepy, whereas Depp is simply devious creepy. But despite Wonka’s reclusiveness, Wilder’s Wonka was warm and inviting whereas Depp’s Wonka is standoffish and kind of crazy. Wilder’s maliciousness as Wonka was tempered with good-natured fun; Depp’s is almost sadistic, and it’s a problem at the end when we should be caring for this misfit- as we did with Depp’s Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood- when in fact we don’t feel much for him at all. Charlie’s lesson about family being a source of true happiness at the end should resonate right when he makes it clear to Wonka; instead, Wonka just sort of ignores it until it’s time for the big happy ending, and when he does, it doesn’t feel natural. For Depp, moments of inspired lunacy are tempered with moments of unsettling oddness instead of genuine glee, even if you see it in his eyes at times. It’s the most disappointing performance of 2005 (though I am dying to hear him in “Corpse Bride”).
(Author’s Note: I’ve now seen the film a second time, and while I still feel like Depp’s performance lacks the proper emotional resonance, it is not as creepy as I felt it was the first time around. I mean, it’s still weird, but I felt more of the glee you see in his eyes the second time around. It’s still emotionally disappointing after “Finding Neverland,” but it feels closer to his previous Burton characters- Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, “Sleepy Hollow’s” Icabod Crane- than it did originally.)
Depp doesn’t sink the movie, though- he just weighs it down. No one actor can ever do that to a work of entertainment with so many elements in play (and certainly not one as gifted as Depp when he’s risking so much on his own inventiveness), and thankfully, Depp has a talented supporting cast surrounding him. Highmore and Lee are standouts (Highmore in particular is turning into one of the best child actors ever with this and “Neverland”), as is David Kelly (from “Waking Ned Devine”) as Grandpa Joe, full of the same youthful joy, warmth, and wisdom we all like to remember in our own grandparents. Other actors- namely Burton’s wife Helena Bonham Carter and “Shine’s” Noah Taylor as Charlie’s parents- make impressions as well. And the actors playing the other children and parents who find the Golden Ticket are perfect in their characatures of chocolate-hording greed (the German child Augustus & his supportive mother), annoying competitiveness (Atlanta child Violet & her equally-annoying mother), stick-up-the-butt snobbery (British child Veruca & her “make her happy at all costs” father), and techno-speak nerdiness and cynicism (Denver child Mike TeeVee & his hopeless father), whom Wonka always accuses- hilariously- as mumbling when he speaks.
The film’s look is as impressive and visionary as any Burton film has been. The production design by Alex McDowell (“The Crow,” “Minority Report”) currently has my vote for Best Art Direction, filling the screen with sights both extravagantly colorful and monochromatic that are shot by recent Burton cinematographer Phillippe Rousselot with flair and respect for the detail that went into them. The river of chocolate. The flying glass elevator. The inventing room. The cold outdoors in the neighborhood outside of Wonka’s factory. Charlie’s family’s beaten-down house. Burton’s love for the visual is in full force in this film. Sadly, even the second time around, the awe with which Charlie looks at the factory lacks resonance, despite the thrilling imagination and whimsy put into every frame. Still, the wonders abound in this fantasy world, even if you don’t feel the character’s wonder at what they see.
Now, we come to Elfman. Has a composer grown higher in esteem in the past decade than former Oingo Boingo frontman Elfman? His music has gotten better and bolder over the years in its’ emotions without losing the sly whimsy he cultivated in his early work with Burton on films like “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Beetlejuice,” “Batman,” and “Edward Scissorhands.” (Three Oscar nominations- “Men in Black,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Big Fish”- only confirm what those scores- as well as others for “Spider-Man,” “A Simple Plan,” “Mission: Impossible,” and underscore for “Chicago” let listeners in on.) Burton-Elfman is one of the great director-composer collaborations in cinematic history; only above them are Spielberg-Williams, Hitchcock-Herrmann, and Edwards-Mancini. Like the film itself, though, Elfman’s music for “Factory” is uneven, though the soundtrack will find its’ way into my collection. Elfman’s underscore is less than compelling; though it hits all the right emotional notes, it seems more a rehash of previous elements- especially from “Edward Scissorhands”- than it does a reinvention of them (which is what he did in his last three scores for Burton- “Sleepy Hollow,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “Big Fish”). The songs- on the other hand- are among the year’s best. Of course, when you consider there’s only one main competitor for that distinction thus far- the beautifully subversive “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish” from “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”- it’s not really saying much. Working from Roald Dahl’s original lyrics for the Oompa-Loompas (all played by Deep Roy), Elfman writes some of his most inspired and subversive music in years for the songs the Oompa’s sing as each brat child becomes victim of not only Wonka’s imagination but their own ego. These aren’t lush, “Nightmare Before Christmas” orchestral libretto songs, however (not that there’s anything wrong with those in the least); this is a straight up return for Elfman to the campy ’80s rock roots of his days as front-man for Oingo Boingo, and I love it. It fits right in with Burton’s whacked out Dali-on-acid visuals and Depp’s quirky-creepy characterization. That he can make such a return to the “good old days”- as it were- is a testament to his versatility and Burton’s continuing ability to inspire him.
As I said before, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is a “must-see,” especially if you’re a fan of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Danny Elfman (although it will likely be enjoyable even if you aren’t a big fan of any of those three). Regardless of any reservations I might have about how well the movie works as art, it is a success as entertainment, and one that was even better the second time around (I plan on seeing it at least a third on IMAX this week). And when it comes right down to it, that’s all you need it to do when you see it anyway.
