Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The rest of this post shall be smattered with spoilers, so anyone who hasn't seen this movie should go out and do so...right now.

I should start by saying that I haven't read the book; a crime, I know. I've always been a huge fan of the previous translation to the tv screen, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, so that's mostly what I'm basing my opinions on. I found this new version to be more than a match for the 1971 version. The basic storyboard is the same, but they've used a lot of computer generated effects and sets to make the whole thing bigger and with more grandeur. The chocolate factory has been transformed into something that you can *believe* is the size of a small city.

They also did a rather nice job with the characters, who I think managed to be much more interesting and animated than in the old movie. Grandpa Joe was particularly good and perfect for the part. The one bit that I wasn't really on board with were the Umpa Lumpas. They had a single small spanish man Umpa Lumpa which they then cloned dozens of times using cg. It was a bit odd.

I'd heard that this version was going to be darker than the original, but overall I found it to be lighter and more based in (semi) reality. The background provided about Wonka's life was excellent, and of course Depp did an excellent job.

And now of course I have to provide a completely misleading rating of of 5, which probably means nothing unless you have the exact same taste in movies. Here goes:

3.5/5

Hmm, I don't think I'll rate things in stars...maybe I can do a rating in some kind of tasty dessert. 3.5/5 pies?