Charlie and The Chocolate Factory aka Michael Jackson and Young Children
Ok I must admit it: I have NEVER read this book by Roald Dahl during my salad days. I was more into Enid Blyton books then, you see. Nevertheless, prior to the release of this movie, I went to the book store to flip through the story quickly, so I knew what the story was about and also the ending.
So, unless you are like me living in some tribe in Timbuktu, I guess I don’t need to tell you what the story is all about, which is in a nutshell - poor boy realises his dream and visits biggest chocolate factory in town, and won the big prize in the end which is voila! the chocolate factory itself!!!
Before I go any further, let us get the modern day comparisons out of the way. Yes, Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka is creepily like Michael Jackson, except with a flawless nose. I LOVE Depp in the “Pirates of the Carribean”, but he is just SO creepy (as opposed to being just eccentric) that I think he really spoils the movie (an unfortuante thing since he is really actually a very cute actor). Thankfully, Depp did not really look at the little boys (including Charlie) in a pedophilic manner, otherwise I would have screamed and run out of the cinema.
To me, the movie is a story of two halves (very much like a soccer game). The first half, talking about Charlie (Freddie Highmore, such a revelation!) and his dirt poor but oh so close family, really pulls my heartstrings. 5 boos goes out to the cast of grandpas and grandmas stuck in one bed, the loving parents and sensible Charlie. Now this Freddie boy, he has eliminated all the ghosts of all the recent horrendous, overacting children, from Joel Haley (Sixth Sense) to Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds), and I am not including child actor of them all, Macauley Culkin (eewww). That sincere light shining from his blue eyes, the lack of pretense, gosh I wish the whole damn movie was about him, I could look at him act all day (gosh, now I am beginning to sound pedophilic myself!!).
But the minute the movie shifted its focus from Charlie and his family to the tour of the chocolate factory aka Neverland, led by Michael oops, Willy Wonka, the story fell apart, and it is just a series of gags and special effects, including the Oompa-Loompas (which were quite cute at first but lost effect after awhile). Even the ending, which deviated from the original, and talking about Wonka’s estranged relationship with his dentist father, seemed too bloody draggy. And so the movie sputtered out for me.
Rating: 3 boos out of 5 (give me Charlie and stuff the chocolate factory!!)
