Movie Review – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Overall 3.5 / 5.0
Gay Content 1.0 / 5.0 (strong suggestion, nothing explicit)

It all began with Roald Dahl’s pen, when he wrote “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (1964), wherein several “lucky” children win a contest to enter the self-contained magical universe of Willy Wonka’s world famous Chocolate Factory. The book was adapted in 1971 into “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971) starring Gene Wilder. Now Tim Burton has remade the story in his own vision, and I’m finding it impossible not to compare the two film versions. But at the same time, I’m not sure how useful that is. They’re just so DIFFERENT.

Although directing skill varies widely, few directors have such a distinctive style that they easily stand out from other directors. Tim Burton is one of the few. His vision of Roald’s story is darker, almost vaguely menacing. Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka as the boy-who-never-grew-up smacks of psychological disorder and is slightly unnerving to behold. And yet, there’s something appealing about the freedom to speak without self-censorship. And isn’t play-as-work the dream of any working adult?

It’s interesting to watch Depp’s Wonka interact with the children. They’re so ill-mannered and arrogant, they’re practically begging for a thrashing. If you were a kid in their company, you just know they’d make you feel worthless and inadequate. If you were an adult in their company, you’d want to throttle their parents for not teaching their kids how to behave. But social decorum constrains us. Not so with Willy Wonka, whose stature as adult and proprietor of the establishment insulates him from the consequences of his own childish, not-quite-sadistic streak.

The visuals are brilliant, with lush, bright colors and uniquely designed sets. Still, even visually the production seems dark. For example, after the children first enter the factory, they enter a huge chamber filled with rolling grassy hills dotted flowers and trees, and a river of chocolate. Everything is edible, even the grass. In the 1971 film version, the set feels like an open field at midday, all bright and cheery. In Burton’s version, although the colors are intense and multi-hued, the room is clearly completely contained and darkly lit, giving the impression of a field at night lit by spotlights.

I actually prefer this Charlie (Freddie Highmore) to the other (Peter Ostrum), who always irritated me. His innocence seemed forced and almost smarmy, like a goody two-shoes. But Highmore brings the same innocence and hopefulness to the role with an understated charm. Of course, Highmore has great big open eyes reminiscent of a puppy. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Both humor and pacing, meanwhile, are inconsistent. Many of the performances are just strange, and it’s hard to know how to react to them. In the scene where the children first meet Wonka, they are treated to an egocentric animatronic display celebrating Mr. Wonka. Fireworks in the display set the animatronic figures on fire, and the children watch as plastic flesh melts and glass eyeballs pop out. It’s hilarious and horrible and completely bizarre, and how are you supposed to react to that?

As for the film’s pacing, the opening sequence struck me as overlong. A couple of times I found myself thinking, “Get on with it already.” The meat of the movie is Wonka and his factory.

Surprisingly, the film contains the suggestions of two gay characters. They make a very brief appearance near the beginning, serving to update the viewer (and Charlie, who overhears them talking) about the status of the five golden tickets. These two men are walking their dogs, and the film suggests they are gay through their mannerisms, like two effeminate and flamboyant queens walking their precious little Boo-Boos. In a way, they fit seamlessly into the film, because everyone’s behavior seems exaggerated. It’s an interesting situation, because their mannerisms are so stereotypical that I am tempted to score down on the Gay Positivity. But if that hadn’t had those mannerisms, I might not have even pegged them as gay characters, and they would disappear into invisibility.

I did not score for Gay Positivity due to insufficient gay content.