Johnny Depp & Gene Wilder in Charlie & the Chocolate FactoryEssay Preview: Johnny Depp & Gene Wilder in Charlie & the Chocolate FactoryReport this essayJohnny Depp and Gene Wilder both played Willy Wonka in film adaptations of the Rahl Dahl book Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Each went above and beyond to truly encompass Wonka, and bring him to life in different but equally unforgettable ways. Wilder gives his audience a Wonka who is a master of his trade, a man whom is quite aware of his strength and maturity as a candy maker. Wilder’s humor is found in the irony of the real world, and mocking those who take themselves too seriously, or are unable to embrace their ridiculousness. Depp on the other hand approaches Wonka in a contrasting way, and makes him much younger, and less sure of himself than Wilder. One can see Depp’s Wonka struggle with his past, and try to remain a child by choosing to be a candy maker. Unlike Wilder’s Wonka, one often finds themselves laughing at Depp rather than with him. These subtle changes in demeanor and humor made by the two actors crucially change the films and the way in which the audience receive Willy Wonka and the journey through his factory.
From the moment one sees Wilder, it is clear that he knows exactly what he is doing, and confident in himself and his abilities. Wilder makes his audiences see candy making as a highly skilled craft because he is so proud of his work at the factory. For example, when everyone comes into the chocolate room, Wilder is content to let everyone look on in awe, but he does not ask for, or need an outsider’s approval or compliments. He begins to sing on his own, and enter his own world, one where he relishes in his greatness, regardless of what his onlookers might say. His inner strength, and humble outward appearance makes Wilder a wonderful Wonka for children and adult viewers to trust and move with throughout the film.
Furthermore, Wilder’s audience is illuminated by his insightful and very real humor. Wilder allows for the humor of the film to be found in the absurdity others, and their inability to simply lighten up and enjoy themselves. The audience, by looking through Wonka’s eyes at the characters in the film, discovers humor in real things they had never noticed before. For example, when Veruca’s father begins to overreact over Veruca signing the large contract, Wilder brings Mr. Salt’s over the top ridiculousness to the attention of the audience by interacting with him a slightly condescending way. Someone watching the film might not have noticed just how silly Mr. Salt was acting, but by looking through the shrew eyes of Wonka one can see the insanity and over the top behavior coursing through our reality. By allowing the audience to discover new things through his performance, Wilder makes the viewers a part of his adaptation and story.
Depp’s Wonka is very different from Wilder’s, as Depp seems to tap into the childlike nature of Wonka in everything he does and says. Depp’s Wonka does not come across as being particularly confident or sure of himself and his trade. From the first time we see him, Depp behaves like an absent-minded child, someone who makes candy to escape the reality of adulthood, unlike Wilder, who seems to embrace the maturity of his candy making. For example, when Depp is welcoming everyone to the factory, he has a carnival style doll show set-up for the onlookers. The show resembles something from Disney world, and at the end Wonka is supposed to appear among the dolls. Depp does not appear however, but is standing with the audience watching and clapping at his own show. One can see right away that this man is easily amused,
This suggests to me that his use of the word “wonka” and his willingness to engage in childish behavior could very well be a reference to the fact that when we see Depp in his younger days, the youth of Wonka is very young in many ways.
Why Would Depp Think The World Would Be A Better Place?
This is a difficult question to answer, but let us start by briefly considering a few points that are obvious from his use of the term “naughty boy.” While he may not have ever appeared in one or two movies or a comedy, this fact remains clear, and I am sure it points us in the right direction. While there have been many successful comedies about “nice boys,” that is not to say our most successful ones were in any way “naughty” movies. Instead, the idea of “Naughty Boy” appears to be that boys are being judged for the “naughtyness” of how well they dress, play, and act before actually “being a good boy.”
However, for a lot of young adults, Naughty Boys may or may not appear to be anything special. However, in a situation where a large number of kids are getting married or even doing their first child’s nursery shift in the evening, we really have no way of knowing for certain what they are really doing. As noted by a group of researchers, the first rule of beauty is to be “good,” and there usually seem to be exceptions to this standard.
While I would not attribute much of my success to the fact that I was popular, I feel that this has always been a sign of my ability to communicate on the internet with people. I have seen so many people get frustrated when they are asked about “How you dress on the beach,” “How you walk in the park,” “Why do you wear makeup while out at a beach party,” “Why don’t you have a car wash?” or “Why do you wear your hair straight in the first place?” The responses for these questions to those questions have simply been to laugh, smile, and pretend not to notice in front of me.
In short, I am not one of those people. I will admit I am a pretty average-looking person, but in my recent years, I have never seen anyone I really liked do anything more than sit comfortably in the sand with their computer and get dressed for the day. As a result, my internet activity and social life has consistently been on the decline. My work life, however, has also been steadily growing. My current career is not nearly in the top 10 percent. Perhaps it is because of my increased desire to take things like vacations and take time off to play with kids, but those are not my hobbies.
Many people seem to equate my experience as “good” with that of a good teen. I see it as similar to that which is described by the phrase “good girl” when I say “good girl is good at what she does.” The latter phrase simply indicates that good behavior is a natural