Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers (WGA):

Roald Dahl (book)
John August (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Oompa-Loompas are crazy for Coco-Beans

Plot:

A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.

Plot Keywords:

Chocolate | Factory | Ticket | Chocolate Factory | Candy

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 31 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Aug. 3	8:00 PM	DISN
Wed. Aug. 4	3:00 PM	DISN

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Johnny Depp	...	Willy Wonka
Freddie Highmore	...	Charlie Bucket
David Kelly	...	Grandpa Joe
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Mrs. Bucket
Noah Taylor	...	Mr. Bucket
Missi Pyle	...	Mrs. Beauregarde
James Fox	...	Mr. Salt
Deep Roy	...	Oompa Loompa
Christopher Lee	...	Dr. Wonka
Adam Godley	...	Mr. Teavee
Franziska Troegner	...	Mrs. Gloop
AnnaSophia Robb	...	Violet Beauregarde (as Annasophia Robb)
Julia Winter	...	Veruca Salt
Jordan Fry	...	Mike Teavee
Philip Wiegratz	...	Augustus Gloop

Also Known As:

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The IMAX Experience" - USA (IMAX version)

MPAA:

Rated PG for quirky situations, action and mild language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | USA:PG (certificate #41837) | Spain:T | Taiwan:GP | Iceland:L | Sweden:Btl | Belgium:KT | Malaysia:U | Denmark:7 | Canada:G | Switzerland:8 (canton of Zurich) | Germany:6 (bw) | South Korea:All | Germany:o.Al. (f) | Netherlands:6 | Australia:PG | UK:PG | Ireland:PG | Canada:G (British Columbia) | Brazil:Livre | Czech Republic:12 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:PG | Mexico:A | Philippines:G | Peru:PT | Norway:7 | Argentina:Atp | Hong Kong:I | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Sam Neill was considered for the role of Mr. Salt.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the scenes where the news vans are outside the golden ticket winners homes... the truck outside of Mike Teevee in Colorado has the wrong call letters. They start with the letter "W". They should start with "K" for a TV station west of the Mississippi. Also, the live truck in front of Violet's home in Atlanta has call letters beginning with a "K" instead of "W". While this is most often true, there are a few cases of call letters starting with "K" in the eastern US. Examples: Philadelphia's CBS station, KYW and in Pittsburgh, KDKA.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:This is a story of an ordinary little boy named Charlie Bucket. He was not faster, or stronger, or more clever than other children. His family was not rich or powerful or well-connected; in fact, they barely had enough to eat. Charlie Bucket was the luckiest boy in the entire world. He just didn't know it yet.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Soundtrack:

Macarena

As Good As I Hoped It Would Be

I was pleased to have this "Willy Wonka" re-make meet my expectations. Those expectations were high, at least in the visuals department. I expected a wild, colorful ride with brilliant hues and good special effects...and I was not disappointed.

It was inventively fun with those great visuals and another wonderful kid playing "Charlie." I doubted they could ever come up with another child as appealing and nice/wholesome as one in "Willy Wonka" but they found one in Freddie Highmore. He filled the bill magnificently, as did the "brat" kids.

A different feature of this version, as opposed to the 1970 original, was that here the Oompa-Loompas were all played by just one person, a very small Indian man named Deep Roy. One of the interesting "features" on the DVD details how difficult that was to do and how much time Roy had to put in to do all the things he did.

Johnny Depp, meanwhile, "did" what he always does - do a good job of playing a weird person. I get the feeling he relates easily to strange characters. He seems to play enough of them. This was the only part of the movie, frankly, where I preferred the 1970 version: the role of Willy Wonka. Yes, Depp was interesting as always but a little too weird, too Michael Jackson-like, for my tastes. I'll take Gene Wilder's take on the character.

Otherwise, this re-make has it all over the original, simply because it has 35 years of technology and computer work that the original wasn't able to have. It made this re-make a real "hoot" to watch. Since entertainment is what the business is called, and this movie is extremely entertaining, then I have no complaints. A fun two hours!