Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Jul. 18th, 2005 01:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oneirophreniaWhat an AWESOME film! I was never all that thrilled with the older Gene Wilder version, even though I thought ol' Gene was pretty cool as Willy--but this version is THE definitive take on the Roald Dahl classic. Period. Only Tim Burton could've made this film properly, and, goddamnit, he sure did--with Johnny Depp's help, of course. Herr Depp is THE best Willy Wonka ever. I've heard a lot of people comparing Willy to Michael Jackson and, yes, there's a certain small overlap in character (lack of decent family life, recluse, pasty white complexion, almost childlike silliness)...but Depp's Mister Wonka is not a disturbed child trapped in a grown man's body, but a grown man who just happens to maintain a childlike attitude appropriate for the reclusive king of a candycoated kingdom populated by singing Samoan midgets!
Speaking of the Oompa-loompas....Man, the guy who played them--ALL of them--really made the movie. Especially during the dance numbers. I was howling through most of them, and rockin' it out in my seat because, honestly, those numbers are the closest thing we're going to get to new Oingo Boingo material for a while yet. :) Danny Elfman's music really made this film, though, of course, Burton's visual style was perfect at capturing the aesthetic spirit of the novel as well.
One scene from the film absolutely killed me, though: Burton's little tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey when dealing with Mike Teavey. I was whoopin' and hollerin' like a madman, and I'm sure all the highschool kids and other dingdongs in the theatre hadn't a fucking clue what I was going on about, but...trust me, it's awesomer than hell.
Some folks have been complaining about the addition of Willy Wonka's "back story" concerning his father (beautifully played by the always-excellent Christopher Lee), but I found it to be perfectly apropos and almost, in many ways, necessary to the family-friendly vibe that Burton (and Dahl) made such a big party of the story. This really is an excellent family film, which adults can enjoy just as much--if not more so--than their children...so you G's and G-ettes with kids Out There in Internetland, quit whining about work and take the kids to see this.
All in all--I give it three thumbs-up! WAY up, actually. I haven't enjoyed a film this much since...well, War of the Worlds--but War was a much different film: its aesthetic appeal was the pleasure my jaded, human-hating takes in watching large amounts of people and big chunks of human civilization get vap-o-rized. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory speaks volumes to the sugar-obsessed, happy, trusting child buried in the dark way at the center of me.
Speaking of the Oompa-loompas....Man, the guy who played them--ALL of them--really made the movie. Especially during the dance numbers. I was howling through most of them, and rockin' it out in my seat because, honestly, those numbers are the closest thing we're going to get to new Oingo Boingo material for a while yet. :) Danny Elfman's music really made this film, though, of course, Burton's visual style was perfect at capturing the aesthetic spirit of the novel as well.
One scene from the film absolutely killed me, though: Burton's little tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey when dealing with Mike Teavey. I was whoopin' and hollerin' like a madman, and I'm sure all the highschool kids and other dingdongs in the theatre hadn't a fucking clue what I was going on about, but...trust me, it's awesomer than hell.
Some folks have been complaining about the addition of Willy Wonka's "back story" concerning his father (beautifully played by the always-excellent Christopher Lee), but I found it to be perfectly apropos and almost, in many ways, necessary to the family-friendly vibe that Burton (and Dahl) made such a big party of the story. This really is an excellent family film, which adults can enjoy just as much--if not more so--than their children...so you G's and G-ettes with kids Out There in Internetland, quit whining about work and take the kids to see this.
All in all--I give it three thumbs-up! WAY up, actually. I haven't enjoyed a film this much since...well, War of the Worlds--but War was a much different film: its aesthetic appeal was the pleasure my jaded, human-hating takes in watching large amounts of people and big chunks of human civilization get vap-o-rized. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory speaks volumes to the sugar-obsessed, happy, trusting child buried in the dark way at the center of me.
