Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Essay Preview: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. One, a beloved movie for adults and children of all ages, the other a made for the money remake that just doesnt capture the fun and adventure of the first one. Both of these movies come from the U.S., and are both very different. In the lead role of Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder gives a great performance as the chocolate factorys owner. In the new one, the lead role goes to the one and only Johnny Depp, riding the coattails of the success of Pirates of the Caribbean. The original was directed by the one and only Mel Stuart who the only other movie hes really directed is Wattstax which is a movie Im sure 90% of the public have never heard of. The new one is done by Tim Burton, whos considered a great director who infuses his movies with his own brand of uniqueness and style. Both are in color and the new one is about 15 minutes longer than the original which clocked in at an hour and forty minutes.
In the end, both movies remain fairly similar to each other based on plot. Poor boy finds golden ticket, takes the tour, watches as one by one his tour mates fall “prey” to the factory and at the end the factory is given to the poor boy. Burton had been quoted as saying he tried to make his version, which named itself after the book, giving Charlie the title credit instead of Willy Wonka, more like the book, which was written by Ronald Dahl. There arent many differences in the plot, but there are small differences. Ill start by saying I wasnt a fan of the new one that much. First off, the oompa loompas, which are so beloved in the first one with their catchy songs and interesting outfits, are terrible in the new one. They sing crappy songs, that arent as catchy and is played entirely by one man who is CGIed to make him look like 20 different loompas. Johnny Depp is an interesting choice to play Willy Wonka, but to be honest, in this movie hes just weird. A little creepy too. The hair bob, pale skin, weird voice and mannerisms make him as far away from Gene Wilders Wonka as possible. While I guess this was done to try to distance itself enough from the original. Personally, I really truly despised Depps performance in this. And while you could tell his factory was created from all the latest greatest CGI and 100 million dollar budget that comes with a big summer movie, it still doesnt feel as intimate as Wilders version.
The new one tries to delve a little bit into Wonkas past, which it didnt really in the original as far as I can remember. And personally that hurts it a little bit. I think the audience is better off not knowing that much about Wonka because it gives him a mysterious aura to him, and makes you wonder, who would go to great lengths to build the worlds largest, and strangest, chocolate factory. And when the kids start disappearing, its actually made more humorous then frightening which it could have easily been like. I mean if you really think about it, these kids are disappearing, and yet you never feel for the kids, or feel anger towards Wonka for letting it happen. You shrug it off like he does, and in the original you just didnt feel that as much. At least I didnt. I just kept hoping the movie would speed up until the end when Charlie is given the factory.
One thing that I will give the new one credit with is the casting of the boy, Charlie. The casting of him, played by Peter Ostrum, was a good choice. I thought he did the part well. In the new one, he is played by Freddie Highmore.