Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw golden tickets from Wonka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary candy-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing and enduring story.

Are there no original ideas left in Hollywood? Why is it that every movie they remake is a remake of a good movie, isn’t there plenty of bad movies more deserving of a remake. Don’t get me wrong Charlie is a fun, witty comedy full of fantasy and dreams it’s just that the movie was completely unnecessary. The original is a timeless telling of the eccentric Willy Wonka and the fanciful factory he built, the new Charlie and the Chocolate factory is slightly weird all the while still being as imaginative and fun as the original. What saves the movie is the fact that it does differ enough from the original to seem slightly new. I have always heard the original movie verged from the book quite a bit and every time I saw a new scene in the remake I had to wonder if this was part of the book and the new version just held closer to the original material. Its these new scenes that make the movie interesting and worth watching though,

I say and I will repeat it, as well Gene Wilder is Willy Wonka, no ifs ands or buts. Oh, sure Johnny Depp was a great choice for the remake as he has that quirky slightly offbeat persona perfect for the chocolateer but Gene Wilder is and always will be Willy Wonka. Depp gave the part a little more character certainly as they delved into Wonka’s back story a lot more but sometimes the movie was good despite Depp rather than because of him. That’s an odd thing to do but the movie is a visual spectacle that is supposed to be fun and watched and the characters took a backseat to this at times and rightfully so. Freddie Highmore does a good turn at Charlie and the rest of the cast is funny most of the time enough to make the remake forgivable. Me personally I will always enjoy the original a lot more as the newer movie while fun doesn’t have the same magic and it doesn’t have Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder.
3.5 stars out of 5