I suppose I’ll start with the movie’s strengths. Tim Burton does a magnificent job creating an exaggerated world both inside and outside of Wonka’s Factory. For example, Charlie’s dilapidated home leans so much that viewers will sit on the edge of their seat in anticipation of its collapse. One of my favorite scenes is the initial hysteria surrounding the announcement of the five golden tickets. To make sure we know this is a worldwide phenomenon, the movie cuts to various cities across the globe, each populated by frantic crowds rushing in sync towards their respective candy stores. Mr. Salt’s search for the golden ticket, in particular, serves as a textbook example of the power of scale.

Speaking of details, I must commend Tim Burton on the squirrel scene with young Veruca Salt. The sequence was very smooth, no obvious signs of computer generation. I’m still wondering how his production team pulled that one off. This was actually the only scene Tim Burton revised from the original story. I must say that this was a wise creative revision on behalf of the writers, as it appeared more visually compelling than another golden egg scene would have. The opening scene of the movie is also visually appealing, but it is clearly all done with animated technology. Nonetheless, it chronicles in a recognizably Burtonian way the strange manner in which Wonka bars are made and transported.

Most importantly, this movie is funny. Between Willy Wonka’s sarcasm and the narrator’s comments, you’re guaranteed to laugh out loud. For example, one of Charlie’s relatives (great uncle?) says something to the extent of “Mark my words; the first winner is going to be a porker.” Immediately afterward, a television broadcast covers the enormous Augustus Gloop’s finding ticket and Charlie’s relative replies, “I told you he’d be a porker.”

Unfortunately, my complaints about this movie cast a shadow across the more positive features. First and foremost, Charlie is a child. He should act like a child and make mistakes as any a child would in a chocolate factory. However, Charlie does NOTHING wrong in this movie. It seems as if Charlie was modeled after Christ, as he came from a poor family, held to his morals, and always put others before himself. In fact, his grandfather possesses more spunk than him throughout most of the movie. Since Charlie does nothing wrong, the original ending has to be slightly altered because there is no reason why Charlie wouldn’t be entitled to the prize at the end of the tour. After the movie ended, I scratched my head for at least ten minutes wondering what the movie was missing and then I remembered…a real climax!

My next reservation about the movie is the Oompa Loompas songs. As a child, I used to sing along with the silly limericks about the four other, rather unfortunate children. However, I cannot hear the words to the songs in this version because they were drowned out by rap and rock music. Due to this dissonance, the songs themselves were not as catchy as last time. Parents will be thrilled, I suppose, as most three-year-olds won’t be singing “Oompa Loompa…” around the house.

I was also disappointed that this movie was not as “dark” as the trailers portrayed. I was envisioning something more along the lines of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). My girlfriend actually told me that she didn’t want to see it because it looked scary. I must say that her concerns can be put to rest, though this movie is still relatively quirky and abstract in places.

Lastly, the movie was too focused on Willy Wonka. If I wanted to see Willy Wonka and His Emotional Hang-ups Due to His Severed Relationship with His Father, I would’ve taken my girlfriend to go see it. Although I normally wouldn’t mind a storyline providing insight into Willy Wonka’s travels and relationship with his father, this movie attempts to add substance when there’s a gaping hole in its core storyline.

In the end, I recommend going to see this movie, especially as a family. I can’t recall any profanity, so it is suitable for both Christian and non-Christian families alike. In an effort to be fair to Tim Burton, please view this movie objectively (i.e. forget about the original). I promise you’ll enjoy the film much more.

3.5 out of 5 stars

By A. Jarrod Jenkins