Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen) (2005)

"A winning, charming, very droll children's film for the whole family.  Kirk Honeycutt, HollywoodReporter.com
"An exhilarating and fanciful movie that never drowns in money or technology.  Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"A feast for the eyes and the imagination.  Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight
"Wondrous. You've never seen anything like this before.  A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"A delicious treat for the entire family.  Francine Brokaw, LA Family Magazine
"Destined to become a family movie classic!  Clay Smith, Access Hollywood
"Two thumbs up.  Ebert & Roeper
"****. The year's hippest family fantasy!  Thelma Adams, US Weekly

Editor's Note Who better to bring Roald Dahl's adored children's story to life than the mastermind behind inventive films like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE? From Tim Burton's opening shot--against Danny Elfman's eerie score--this CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is recognizably darker than the Mel Stuart-directed 1971 version starring Gene Wilder. Though the mysterious chocolate factory has been closed for 15 years, it continues to produce and ship candy all over the world. When a contest promises a tour of the plant to the lucky finders of five golden tickets hidden inside wrappers, no one is more excited than Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), an impoverished boy whose family lives mere steps from the factory. Though he can barely afford even one candy bar, fate intervenes, and Charlie finds the last golden ticket. Joined at the gates by a group of despicable brats named Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop, and Mike Teavee, Charlie and his Grandfather (David Kelly) venture inside proprietor Willy Wonka's (Johnny Depp) delightful factory for a wild adventure. Each room is a feast for the eyes, and more importantly the taste buds--a sugarcoated dreamland where everything is edible. One by one, however, the children meet unfortunate fates, until only Charlie remains in the company of Wonka and his curiously small workers, the Oompa Loompas (all played by Deep Roy, whose image is multiplied with CG). Sporting a severe bob, and talking in a high-pitched voice, Depp makes his Wonka even weirder than Wilder's. While Burton adds some amusing contemporary touches (like the musical Oompa Loompa routines), and an elaborate back story, he also preserves the charm of the original book. Overall, Burton's visual innovation succeeds in capturing the vividness of a child's imagination--but whether this version trumps the beloved '71 film is for viewers to decide.

	David Kelly
	Freddie Highmore
	Helena Bonham Carter
	Johnny Depp
	Alex McDowell - Production Designer
	Brad Grey, et. al. - Producer
	Bruce Berman, et. al. - Executive Producer
	Chris Lebenzon - Editor
	Danny Elfman - Original Music By
	John August - Screenplay
	Philippe Rousselot - Cinematographer
	Roald Dahl - Based On Novel By
	Tim Burton - Director

Entertainment Weekly
"Those Oompa-Loompas are the beat, and soul, of Burton's finest movie since ED WOOD: a madhouse kiddie musical with a sweet-and-sour heart." 07/22/2005 p.51-52

New York Times
"Wondrous....[The film] moves, like Dahl's original, in a straight line from one inspired set piece to the next..." 07/15/2005 p.E1

Rolling Stone
"Tim Burton surrounds Depp with miraculous visuals of spun sugar and creeping menace. Their missionary lunacy is a treat for twisted children of all ages." 07/28/2005 p.92

Uncut
"[I]t's very much Burton's vision: the modern fairy tale town, kitsch musical number and 'gothic' Edward Gorey-inspired design." 09/01/2005 p.140

Sight and Sound
"Depp's Wonka is both flamboyant and reserved....He can be plaintive...or hilarious..." 09/01/2005 p.58

USA Today
"Depp deserves kudos for fashioning an original and outlandish if occasionally menacing character in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY....[The film is] a marvel of rich, colorful design and flair." 07/15/2005 p.6E

Entertainment Weekly
Included in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten Films Of The Year -- "[A] delectable sweet-and-sour madhouse kiddie musical..." 12/30/2005 p.117

Rolling Stone
Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "The colors on the two-disc DVD are tempting and toxic. Dahl would approve." 12/01/2005 p.92

Total Film
"[I]t's movie candy: an optical endorphin rush." 07/01/2006 p.128

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "This is a dazzling confection for the senses..." 08/01/2007 p.91

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
If there is any living director who can do justice to the warped nature of Roald Dahl's "children's stories," it's Tim Burton. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't the first time these two have "collaborated." Burton produced Henry Selick's animated James and the Giant Peach, but this time he's in the director's chair, with his favorite star in the camera's crosshairs. Although this movie is an adaptation of one of Dahl's best loved stories, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory feels like Burton through-and-through - from the bits and pieces cut from Edward Scissorhands to an ending that hearkens back to the theme of father/son affection from Big Fish. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
Now this is strange. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory succeeds in spite of Johnny Depp's performance, which should have been the high point of the movie. Depp, an actor of considerable gifts, has never been afraid to take a chance, but this time he takes the wrong one. His Willy Wonka is an enigma in an otherwise mostly delightful movie from Tim Burton, where the visual invention is a wonderment. - Roger Ebert