You look really Weird...

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
reviewed by none other than ME. of course. Who else is there?
The film opens with a nice bit of music (composed by DannyElfman - don't know who he is? Well I don't either), with really nice graphics of the chocolate packaging process. Knowing Tim Burton, it is weird. The chocolate bars all have individual white mini parachutes that float down in a spiral. Really nice. The sets are lavish. I mean, it is Tim Burton after all; so you can expect things to look a little less ordinary. The story, as anyone knows, is adapted from a Roald Dahl book of the same name.

The movie follows quite truly to the book, in terms of the things said and sequence of events. What deviates from the book, however, is Willy Wonka. There is an added feature on Willy Wonka's youth. The movie also strangely shifts focus away from Charlie, the lead protagonist to Will Wonka. Now that, in itself is not a bad thing (more screen time of the world's coolest actor can't be bad). However, Charlie does play a crucial role in helping to adjust Wonka's skewed world view that parents are nasty creatures that inhibit individuality. I suspect that as the anticipated audience would largely consist of kids, it would be neccessary to restore the morals of the story. One tends to get carried away by Wonka's evil antics, especially that sinister smile on his face whenever the 4 rotten kids get their just desserts.

Some people have remarked that Johnny Depp looks really weird. I mean what's with all that white makeup? I however feel that the costume sits well the "look" of the film, especially since Wonka is such a child-like character - it would be wrong to portray him as the old eccentric complete with goatee and all. Rather, the androgynous look is a success here.

Great film overall. Go watch it. There were some misses though. But hey. Perfection is boring.