Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) [Movie Review]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is based on the Roald Dahl book, though I'm sure most people are far more familiar with the Willy Wonka movie from 1971. Having grown up watching that movie, sometimes quite literally on a loop, and having read the book (albeit 20 years ago), I must say that this remake puts me in a difficult situation.

I'm not one to bring comparisons between different iterations of a story, however I feel inclined to bring up certain things. For one: this particular film follows the book almost to a T. Something that, had this come out in 1971, I'm sure Roald Dahl would have been more than happy to have more of his films be turned to film. His hated for Willy Wonka meant that in his lifetime, he would not allow any more of his stories to be turned to film. But enough of the history lesson. I enjoy this film for the simple fact that it follows the original story more closely.

That being said, I have to bring up one more comparison. This film pays homage to the 1971 film by having an eerily similar opening sequence - however this time around it feels cheap. It was clearly done using CGI, which at the time of it's creation may have been state of the art, but still leaves a bitter taste is the eye. That's how that phrase goes, right? Anyway, the overall charm of the original is gone. I do feel bad to continue to bring that up, but it keeps popping into my mind.

I don't really have much to say about this, without doing nothing but comparing the two films. This story is still a great one, but there is nothing truly special about it. Well, I guess Deep Roy playing every single Oompa Loompa was pretty special, but I don't particularly think that is a good kind of special.

You might think that the rating I will be giving seems too high for a review such as this, but I think it's the most accurate rating I can give it while trying to disregard the bias I clearly have.

Rating: 7/10

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