This isn't a terrible piece by any means, but I don't agree with the majority that this is a classic that should be revered above all others. Perhaps this is mostly because I often prefer faithful adaptations, and I don't think this film was made at the right time or by the right people.
Let's start with Wonka. I think he's definitely aiming for the book, but at the same time, I find Depp's to feel much more consistent and in-tone. While I don't like the 2005 Wonka's lack of warmth, neither do I like this one's bizarre collision of saccharine whimsy and nightmarish psychosis. They seemed to be trying a bit too hard to make Wonka's presence unsettling and questionable while retaining a sense of magic, and, seeing the result, I honestly can't fault the newer one for focusing just on the creepiness behind his secondary plan for the children but doing it subtly. In the book, I never thought Wonka was so intensely creepy in some of his more off-putting moments, I just got the idea that he was a weirdo that nobody was able to understand. Depp's Wonka is certainly creepy and awkward, but he doesn't seem as malicious in his strangest moments.
The sets don't quite work for me. It's obvious that they were held back by budget and special effects, and while there are indeed some interesting work-arounds and sets (the Nut Room's changes and the half room), some of them just don't need to be there or don't live up to their description. The Chocolate Room is a cramped soundstage in a warehouse with diluted paint running through it, not a beautiful edible meadow with luscious chocolate.
The real problems come with the plot, which they didn't seem to hold up as high. The key problems with both films come with the Not His Sled of Charlie's victory, and here, testing him secretly due to his poverty sort of works, but Charlie is just a goodhearted bystander, the one who was always supposed to be the winner. Wonka's plan for him is much more elaborate and it misses the point of the story, which, for better or worse, says that kids are the products of their guardians and only their behavior can change the child.
The music isn't right here. Sure, a couple of the songs are okay, but they wasted the effort on them when they could have tried, like the 2005 film, to adapt the actual Dahl-penned Oompa-Loompa songs. These are trite and all the same here.
A nice film that got way too popular.
This isn't a terrible piece by any means, but I don't agree with the majority that this is a classic that should be revered above all others. Perhaps this is mostly because I often prefer faithful adaptations, and I don't think this film was made at the right time or by the right people.
Let's start with Wonka. I think he's definitely aiming for the book, but at the same time, I find Depp's to feel much more consistent and in-tone. While I don't like the 2005 Wonka's lack of warmth, neither do I like this one's bizarre collision of saccharine whimsy and nightmarish psychosis. They seemed to be trying a bit too hard to make Wonka's presence unsettling and questionable while retaining a sense of magic, and, seeing the result, I honestly can't fault the newer one for focusing just on the creepiness behind his secondary plan for the children but doing it subtly. In the book, I never thought Wonka was so intensely creepy in some of his more off-putting moments, I just got the idea that he was a weirdo that nobody was able to understand. Depp's Wonka is certainly creepy and awkward, but he doesn't seem as malicious in his strangest moments.
The sets don't quite work for me. It's obvious that they were held back by budget and special effects, and while there are indeed some interesting work-arounds and sets (the Nut Room's changes and the half room), some of them just don't need to be there or don't live up to their description. The Chocolate Room is a cramped soundstage in a warehouse with diluted paint running through it, not a beautiful edible meadow with luscious chocolate.
The real problems come with the plot, which they didn't seem to hold up as high. The key problems with both films come with the Not His Sled of Charlie's victory, and here, testing him secretly due to his poverty sort of works, but Charlie is just a goodhearted bystander, the one who was always supposed to be the winner. Wonka's plan for him is much more elaborate and it misses the point of the story, which, for better or worse, says that kids are the products of their guardians and only their behavior can change the child.
The music isn't right here. Sure, a couple of the songs are okay, but they wasted the effort on them when they could have tried, like the 2005 film, to adapt the actual Dahl-penned Oompa-Loompa songs. These are trite and all the same here.
It's not terrible, but I'm with Dahl on this one.