Review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) by Theelusivepossom — 01 Sep 2005

It's no secret that Roald Dahl despised the original book-to-film adaptation of his classic children's novel of the same name, but this rehash of that popular classic would surely make him turn in his grave.

Johnny Depp certainly makes the character of Wonka his own, which turns out to be a bizarre and often irritating abomination lacking any of Gene Wilder's aimiable charm. Helena Bonham Carter, however, plays a very lovely mum, and the majority of the film's laughs are gained from Violet Beauregarde's mum's face - every expression is comedy gold! The film's plot seems stunted and wayward, with classic scenes from the original (the bubble room) omitted in favour of visiting a room full of killer CGI squirrels.

The film is also littered with unnecessary insights into Wonka's childhood, all of which failing to draw the wacky chocolateer out of being 1-dimensional. On top of all this, the conclusion is extremely poor and overly sugar-sweet.

See it if you love Mr Depp; otherwise buy a box of Milk Tray and stay at home.