Before I came a critic (almost have the paper to prove this fact) I watched a lot of movies. Now that I have some extra knowledge about the movie world I have re-watched my favorites. Mostly, I have noticed, I still like them and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is no exception.
The first thing people should know is that this movie is directed by Tim Burton – one of my favorite directors out there. He is different, he is yes a little bit weird but he also has a vivid imagination that brings something extra to his movies. He likes to play with colors and oppositions – you’ll know what I’m talking about when you have seen his movies, he also has done a lot of work with Johnny Depp. Their first collaboration was of course the well known Edward Scissorhands which stole Johnny’s pretty boy image and made him gorky and yes, also a bit weird – which I love about him. There are other movies where they have come together but I’m not gonna get into them because I have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to review.
The story is based on a book which I haven’t read but I imagine to be just as crazy as the movie was. It tells a story about a boy named Charlie (Freddie Highmore) who lives in poverty with his parents and grand-parents. Their house is something out of a horror movie: dark, crooked, broken (doesn’t this sound familiar, remember where Edward Scissorhands grew up?). In the town they live is the biggest chocolate factory owned by Willie Wonka (Johnny Depp). After many other chocolate makers try to steal his recipes he closes the factory down, but years later it re-opens mysteriously while nobody is allowed to enter the factory. Until one day Willie Wonka decides to let five children who find the golden ticket see he makes chocolate and other candy in his factory – outside it looks dark and cold but inside…. you’d have to see it with your own eyes.
What I like about this movie is the interior of the factory inside, the colors, the chocolate river (which is real chocolate!) and the umpa-lumpas – only Tim Burton can bring a children’s book alive like that and only Johnny Depp can play Willie Wonka like that! The thing about this movie is that while its story is for children it seems that the whole production of it is for everybody who enjoys the beauty of visual images that are captured to film. That being the reason why I have no problem watching this movie over and over again in the hopes of discovering something new every time I do – it happens sometimes and when id does, I get a rush of excitement. For that, I give it a solid 4,5 out of 5 – because I’m hoping that Tim Burton will make a movie that is even better than this one.
0