Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Post by **Christian** » December 15th, 2004, 1:53 am

Even if the original movie wasn't exactly like the book I still think Gene Wilder did great as Willy Wonka. This new Burton thing looks a lot more like the first movie than I was expecting it too. Pee Wee's Big Adventure is probably Burton's best in that it has his touch on it without being relentlessly dark. Somehow it worked because maybe he wasn't allowed to express himself too much at that point and we got just the right amount of that Burton atmosphere in it. This is not a blanket writing off of everything else he's done but sometimes he stamps things with his signature a little too much.

Post by **Dajoka86** » February 16th, 2005, 6:16 pm

Many Tim Burton films of late have been awesome visually, and lacking in the story department. The story is pretty much laid out for him here, so hopefully he'll be okay.

I for one, am very excited by this teaser trailer. Tim Burton is going in some interesting directions recently. If I had seen Big Fish without knowing it was one of his films, I wouldn't have guessed it.

He's experimenting. Combine him with the talented Johnny Depp, and it'll be enjoyable (at the very least.)

And I think it's great that he's not trying to re-create Wilder, he's putting his own spin on the character. It's going to be fun.

Post by **ShyViolet** » February 19th, 2005, 5:30 pm

From what I"ve heard this film has SONGS! Can you imagine Johnny Depp singing??

I'm REALLY interested now.

Post by **Josh** » February 19th, 2005, 6:38 pm

I can't wait to see the scene where Depp's Wonka gets angry, especially considering how creepy he seems just when he is being nice.

Post by **ShyViolet** » February 19th, 2005, 9:51 pm

That would be cool but that part where he gets "mad" at the end wasn't in the book, but written especially for the Wilder film. Supposedly this version is more "faithful" to the book, so Burton might have eliminated that part. Or he might have just re-imagined it completely....

Post by **Josh** » February 19th, 2005, 10:37 pm

Oh, I didn't realize that. How about the scene with the tunnel?

Post by **ShyViolet** » February 20th, 2005, 8:45 pm

I'm pretty sure that WAS in the book, but definetely not in the psychedelic-mushroom-swirly-colors way that was in the film.

Post by **ShyViolet** » February 22nd, 2005, 7:08 pm

This is not a blanket writing off of everything else he's done but sometimes he stamps things with his signature a little too much.

Yeah, Sleepy Hollow was kind of like that.

I was re-watching Ed Wood recently, and I have to say that's a GREAT movie. It's HILARIOUS.

Really brings out all the great aspects of Burton-humor.

Post by **Ben** » February 26th, 2005, 5:14 pm

Wouldn't be surprised in the least if the end of the Burton/Depp film wasn't chaged to accommodate any Wonka sequels.

Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator, anyone?

Post by **ShyViolet** » April 15th, 2005, 1:37 pm

When will we get to see a full trailer???

Post by **ShyViolet** » May 19th, 2005, 12:30 pm

Well, I finally did see a new trailer. I'm very impressed. The evilly funny tone of the book seems to be very much on display here.

Danny De Vito did a great job in preserving Dahl's wicked humor in "Matilda." Looks like Burton is doing the same.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » May 22nd, 2005, 12:52 am

Sneak preview audiences are saying a number of the same things about the new Wonka film ---

A) a lot, and I mean A LOT, of the set design is identical to the Wilder movie... Takes Burton down 3 pegs as far as I'm concerned considering how much he's belittled the older movie and acted like a jerk in general about that film's quality.

Frankly, I didn't have to read that fact from sneak previewers -- I could see it in the very first trailer released for this movie!

B) the songs' lyrics are supposedly taken from the original Wonka book but the music just DOESN'T work; don't expect to get a "Candy Man" or "Pure Imagination" out of Danny Elfman... The preview audiences are all saying the same thing -- the music STINKS;

C) people seem to like Depp but his Wonka is more sadistic and sociopathic that Wilder's evidently; although Wilder's Wonka appeared obliviously unconcerned about the fate of The Brats in his movie, but his sense of humor was more double entende and slightly dark... There's a difference in tone and it sounds to me like the Wilder character is more likeable. This could be just a case of fanboys and fangirls liking Depp for being different and weird.

So, we just all have to wait and see if this film turns out to be decent like "Big Fish" or a colossal waste of time and money like the "Planet of the Apes" remake and "Sleepy Hollow."

Post by **Ben** » May 23rd, 2005, 9:39 am

Well, I wasn't a big fan of Big Fish in the slightest (compared to Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and what we know Burton is capable of), and I totally agree with you on the set design (and seeing that in the first trailer).

Where has TB been dismissive of the original film? I would have thought he'd been a huge fan, since most of his squirly motifs are directly lifted from that film's design!

Wasn't expecting a "Pure Imagination" from Elfman, but the trailer song was overly simple and annoying - sounds like he's trying to have "fun" with it, but mistaken that for being childlike and "plinky-plonky" rather than the true, brilliant whimsy of an "What's This?", "Kidnap The Santi Claws" or "Oogie Boogie".

Depp seems interesting, though I was hoping, hoping, hoping that Walken would have gotten this - now THAT would have been a wonky Wonka, and made a very unique film and possibly one of his last great performances (let's face it - great as he is - he hasn't lit up the screen recently the way he used to). The Depp version does sound more like the book though. Dahl was a "sadistic kids writer" (don't forget he came from writing horror stories) and liked to pepper his creations with scary adults. Wilder provided a lurking menace, but this new one seems to be weird and wear it on his sleeve.

Can the new trail be found online yet? We only got that old teaser again with Episode III...

Post by **ShyViolet** » May 25th, 2005, 12:45 pm

Where has TB been dismissive of the original film? I would have thought he'd been a huge fan, since most of his squirly motifs are directly lifted from that film's design!

In interviews (when he was first starting to make the film two years ago) he was all like, oh, I didn't really like the Wilder version, it was too corny, sugary, etc....He said that he expected it to be dark like the book and was disappointed when it wasn't. I sort of agree with him to tell the truth, althought the Wilder film has grown on me a lot over the years. It's just very different in tone from the book and you have to accpet that.

Now that the film is coming out and Burton is getting more press, he has to say stuff like: Oh, the original was great of course, but we're doing someting different, etc., etc....

Can the new trail be found online yet? We only got that old teaser again with Episode III...

I'm really surprised that the new trailer is not on-line--I've seen it on TV quite a few times. That's odd....

One interesting thing about the film is that instead of calling it "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" it's titled "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"--like the book. Maybe this means that more of the film will focus more on Charlie and his life. The first film really glossed over all the suffering that Charlie goes through--there are vivid descriptions of his family's extreme poverty and starvation. In the film it's just like: "Oh, they're poor, but they're happy and they get by." In the book they were all pretty much starving to death, and Charlie was like, emaciated. That's why he becomes obsessed with the Wonka bar--he barely has anything to eat at all. The fact that the other four children were total brats and didn't deserve their good fortune is even clearer in the book because of their contrast to Charlie, who has a terrible life but maintains his kindness/generosity nonetheless.
(Plus his dad was alive in the book, he made money as the guy who puts the caps on tubes of toothpaste).

Post by **Ben** » May 26th, 2005, 6:57 am

I think the name of the film is just that - the name of the film.

The original renamed it to Williy Wonka and... because it was part funded by the Quaker Oats company who used the Wonka name as a trademark on their candy bars.

This new one needs to separate itself from that, so the title keeping to the book opens up two possibilities: something more akin to the book, and a film that's NOT Willy Wonka (though to all intents and purposes...)...

The original did have Roald Dahl as a screenwriter, but it seemed he was never really happy with it (!?!), but for me its part of my childhood and as perfect a film as anyone could want (of this particular story). Sure, it's of its time, and people may moan about some of the songs, but those performances are spot on, and even Wilder is just the right side of "insanity" and you sure as heck can't say he's "good natured". He's ready to boil over at any minute!

The new one looks like a retread - I'm very interested in seeing it, but also very scared that TB has messed it up. The more I see of the Oompa Lumpas and I think...well? What's so special about THEM?

This one, as with all of TB's recent films post Mars Attacks, is sure to surprise, though not always in the right way. I hope this one does, as its perfect material for him, and Depp looks like he's got the "weirder" edge over Wilder, but we'll see...

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka

Charlie/book