![[“Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” poster art]](/images/reviews/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-2005.jpg)
Smashing film.
Very true to the book: including singing Oompa Loompas and a rather callous Willy Wonka… but I really wish they’d produced an English dub of the movie, because all the talk about “candies” and “pants” (for trousers—“you’ve got mud on your pants”—eeeugh) and “vacation” in amongst the English accents (Charlie & family were English, but they seemed to live in America) was jarring.
Brilliant to see the chocolate room and the boat carved out of an enormous boiling sweetie, and the nut sorting room, and the glass elevator. Quite a nice turn in humour.
Willy Wonka was a bit to shy and weird for my liking, and his ‘issues’ with his ‘father’ were just plain, downright unnecessary, I thought. I’d have preferred a more assertive Wonka, and I’d have preferred if he’d seemed less intentionally complicit in the disposal of the bad children… and the parents could have had a bit more oomph. They were all pretty insipid. Only Charlie and Grandpa Joe had much life about them.
And Charlie’s mum (Helena Bonham Carter) ‘s teeth were pretty manky for the wife of a man who works at a toothpaste factory. (What is it that these Americans have about teeth and English people?)
But amazing to look at, and really a very enjoyable film.
And apparently they trained real squirrels for the film, instead of just using CG ones, which you’ve got to give them credit for.
Andrew, I’m from the United States, and you have to realize that this is an American film. Though filmed in locations like United Kingdom and Germany, this is still a Hollywood film sense its producers and actors/actresses are from Hollywood. I thought it was a great movie, though I found some things in the movie not so ‘American’ I found myself adapting to American culture and not so ‘jarring’. Adapting to other nations culture brings character. The issues with Willy and his father brought more of a story-line (which I don’t totally agree with myself, that ‘sweets’ or ‘candies’ don’t necessarily lead to cavities-because it definitely can-and makes it sounds like every body should eat more candy/sweets) and therefore puts a timid stance in Willy towards parents and the parent/children relationship. We have to remember, its a film directed toward children. The complicit attitude toward bad children was a bit disturbing. But overall, this is a film (embraced by Americans from a British author) that deserves reruns.