Gene Wilder was and excellent Willy Wonka, it is true. Whether or not Depp is a better one is a question of writing, not ability. He certainly has the chops to redefine the role if he wants to. For my money, it looks like he may have cut it closer to the character I see when I read the book, but it is so hard to tell from the trailer. Interesting trailer. Looks like Burton remembered what he did right in Beetlejuice, and ran it together with the brighter scenes from Big Fish (excellent, excellent, excellent, superlative, you must all go run out and buy a copy immediately type of movie).

For me, the test is not going to be Wilder vs Depp, but what they do with the Oompa Loompas. They are what realy kcked the first movie on its head.

As anleja already noted, there is already a book sequel - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. I am hoping against hope that this one is good enough that Burton and Depp will make that one too.

You absolutely need to check the books out. In addition to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there is a sequel (Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator - Hope they make that if only for the Pernicious Knids), as well as James and the Giant Peach (very dark), Matilda (Excellent movie already done of that one), and my favorite, Mr Fantastic Fox. (As well as a number of others I haven't read, among them The BFG - which I understand stands for Big Friendly Giant, but I always read as Big Fuckin' Guy.)

// short threadjack

You Only Live Twice is awesome. In addition to the Roald Dahl screenplay, and Connery's unmatchable Bond, it is also the source of the misconception that sake should be served hot (old, substandard sake is served hot. The good stuff is served cold.), and it also stars Charles Gray as the MI6 man in Tokyo - the guy with no neck in Rocky Horror, and Burt Kwok as SPECTRE #3 - Cato from the Pink Panther films.

// We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread already in progress.

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about that trailer. Something seems.. wrong? Probably just a feeling... I hope it will stand up to the standards of both the book and the first movie.

This is supposed to eb a gread acid trip. I hoping for the best, and expecting something decent.

I didnt see a single oompa loompa, how dissapointing! :(

I'll skip this movie. I love the original with wilder. Can't Hollywood come up with something new instead of all the remakes?

The first time I watched the trailer I thought "What... the.... fuck????"

I then watched it another 2 times and I have determined that this movie has potential to be fucking awesome. I think it will be dark. Like someone said already the trailer seems goofy and cheesy but I think it was meant to be that way. Grabs your attention. Makes you feel like a child who is excited about going to see Mr. Amazing Willy Wonka at the Chocolate Factory. And to be honest, when I read the books as a little kid before seeing the original movie, I pictured Willy Wonka to be more like what Depp is like that how Gene Wilder was. Gene Wilder was great, don't get me wrong, but not what I imagined.

I grew up in England so I read every Roald Dahl book I could get my hands on. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator... read them all.

I really liked Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (the sequel to C&TCF). It tells about how they blast up to outer space in the elevator they get in at the end of the first book and how there's some big space station or something out there. I think it was supposed to be the first space hotel. Anyway, I really hope they make that one next if this version ends up being a great movie.

I just read that Danny Elfman is actually going to sing as the Oompa Loompas. How cool is that?

No. No. No! No more Johnny Depp. No more Tim Burton. Didn't we learn anything from Batman? Burton should not be allowed to do anything that's not animated and/or includes Vincent Price. Since Price is dead . . .

And Johnny Depp, I think, is terrible for this role. Kevin Kline maybe. As far as I'm concerned, Depp and I parted ways after Blow.

I have the terrible feeling that this film is gonna be awful.

But what do I know

the irony ;)
http://www.depponline.com/imgs/fear2.jpg

(okay, that's not fair of me, considering your sig was also used in the book in addition to the movie... and Johnny Depp wasn't in the book. Besides, you said that you parted ways with Depp after Blow, meaning during Fear and Loathing you were still on good terms with him...)

C'mon, you gotta give this movie a chance. It could suck, it could be awesome... sometimes previews are awful indicators of what the movie is really like.

I LOVE Tim Burton and I LOVE Johnny Depp so this is going to be awesome...Johnny Depp hasn't ever done a bad movie...he's an awesome actor...mmm xoxoxo

You know how Johnny Depp used Keith Richards as a muse for "Pirates"?

He's using Marilyn Manson as his muse for this film :)

http://www.marilynmanson.com/news.php?newsid=93

Well, I didn't see a new thread, so I thought I'd move this one to the top. The movie was awesome! seriously... 9.5/10. The Oompa Loompa(s) are great, creepy, entertaining. Johnny Depp was awesome. Just wow... great movie!

Johnny Depp was awsome. He truly is a great character actor. He portration of Willy Wonka was nothing like Gene Wilder. All the kids were good and Christopher Lee played his father which I was shocked to see. :thumbsup:

I have not seen it yet. And got to admit I am torn, I love the original and almost always hate the remake. Not to mention to spend $20 for a movie i am doubting I will like. How can anyone replace gene wilder, especially in a roll that he was awesome in!

But I do like Tim Burton, and Johnny in most of his movies. Probably will wait a few weeks see what my friends say, then consider being dragged to see it.

I saw it and loved it, but you have to go realizing that this is a different look from the Gene Wilder one.

This is darker yes and IMHO slower at the beginning. They try very hard to make Charlie seem very Oliver Twistish and it at times seemed forced.

The story is relatively the same with a few major differences but overall,this movie allows us, the viewer to know more about Willie Wonka, which the first never covered.
It also allows us to know more about the Oompa Loompas and we get to see how Willie met and took them into his charge.

In fact one can argue who truly is in control of the factory, the Oompa Loompas or Willie.

Overall, this was a great movie for all children and children at heart.

One of Depp's best performances ever.

A definate 9.25/10, again the only "bad" part was how slow the beginning was (but it does build up and it's interesting to see how the grandfather fit into it all), the original was slow at the beginning also.

To put it rather succinctly, this movie is crazy enough to amuse the hell out of me. Just as all the Katamari Damacy (PlayStation 2) that preceeded it, it too has a wierd vibe, a vibe of irregularity. The additional background information is nice and the Oopma Loompas are very amusing.

I wanted to say that I have been looking forward to this movie and I was not disappointed. Johnny Depp was too funny. Especially with Mike Teevee. I think that kids were cast well. I was not too keen about the back story of Willy Wonka, but I guess Burton wanted some way to tie everything together. I was very impressed with all the actors. Especially the man who played the Oompa Loompa. I think he had the hardest job of them all.

Side note: Has anyone heard anything about the Corpse Bride also by Burton. I saw the trailor before the movie and can't wait to see it, but haven't heard much about it. It looks a lot like the Nightmare Before Christmas.

You smell like old people.... and soap.

What was that? You really need to stop mumbling, I can't understand a word you are saying.

pretty good movie, but

Gene. Wilder. is. Willie. Wonka. Period.

while Depp played him as crazy as he possibly could, Wilder's potrayal of Wonka reaches another level of insanity/genius which cant be touched just by acting goofy and childlike. Thats what made the original movie so good to me, and a little spooky too.

It's a different movie tho, closer to Roald Dahl's story.

What would have been great is to have had Gene Wilder, instead of Christopher Lee, play Depp's father.

Deep Roy was great as all the Oompa Loompas.

went and saw this yesterday with my mother.
i had heard is was mildly funny.
It almost seemed like a really dark comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed myself , but i gotta admit i kept waiting for things that happened in the original to happen in the new version (mainly the floaty juice room).
Im not one for seeing movies in the theatres, but this, like star wars 3 are just not as amazing on a smaller television.
and the oompa(s)/story was awesome.

I liked it better than the original.

It just feels better. The 70s version never really explained why the fuck this Wonka is so fuckin crazy.

And I always wanted to see Loompaland, or whatever it was called. With all those crazy fuckin creatures. I loved the whole addiction to the cocoa bean thing. Isn't that, um, where you get cocaine? So maybe it wasn't chocolate...

But yeah, much better than the original. This one actually felt more like a kids movie. The other one... creepy. But still good.

Yeah this did do a great job in explaining Wllie's eccentricities.

In all honesty, I'd love to see a sequel/prequel on more of Oompaland and Willie's adventures there.

Oh yeah, you get cocaine from the cocoa leaves not the bean. You grind the leaves into a paste, then dry it out and powder it down...... at least that is what I have always been told. I do know that if you chew the cocoa leaves straight off the plant you get the cocaine high. The natives showed the Spanish conquistadors this trick to give them more energy.

Ya, I felt the same way. Gene Wilder was the shit as Willy Wonka, but the Burton and Depp combo is awsome. Johnny Depp is a very weird Willy Wonka and you just can't keep your eyes off of him throughout the movie. Also, Tim Burtons style is so original. Then you have the music of Danny Elfman which is complex, weird and beautiful. Its worth it, but don't compare it to the original.

I saw this on opening night last week at work - and I was pleasantly surprised by it !

Johnny Depp's performance as willy, displaying his eccentricities better than Gene did, but I think Gene did a better job in his cleverness and sarcasm; Though Johnny's 'quit mumbling' was very sharp.

The decision to include more of Willy's personal life was warranted. Younger, I always wondered about Willy's background and family, and the movie definitely explains most of it. Plus, the fact that Mr. Wonka [the father] bears a resemblence to my boss is a good chuckle :P

There seemed to be a bit of innuendo in the movie, which doesn't bother me, but I'm surprised that the movie didn't get a PG-13.
Spoiler: : In the whipping cream room in the tunnel, there's the cow in bondage, being whipped by oompa-loompas !

I rate it a solid 8/10.

I completely agree. The trailer made me say "wtf?" but I gave the movie a chance, and found it pretty funny. And Danny Elfman did such an awesome job (as expected) with the music, and those Oompa Loompa songs were great.
I might go see it again with my younger brother, he should watch it at least once. :)

the coca and cacao trees are different
cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) being the bringer of chocolate
and
Genus: Erythroxylon
Species: E. coca
being the good working plant turned super villain via refinement

I saw this last night with my 3 year old son. We had a blast! He has been telling me he wants to see it again, which I have no problem with. I'll have to take my daughter next time, as well.

My only complaint was the boat ride, I kept wanting it to be as creepy as in the original movie, and had to tell myself that this isn't a remake. I loved the Oompa Loompas though.

All in all, I'd give it an 8/10. I was impressed, but not too much. I like the first one better, but this one is still wonderful!

Good stuff! We enjoyed it. Wilder kept coming to mind but Depp did a good job for his style.

Interesting thought to have Wilder play the father but for me it would have completely hijacked the movie.

Whoever mentioned Burton should have done Cat in the Hat was dead on. Everything he does looks like Dr Seuss art.

My fiance and I went to see this movie and frankly it left me feeling rather "flat". I note that some here have said that this movie was darker, but I disagree to that. I felt that much of the movie was done lighter and with more of an animated, letsnotscarethekids feel to it and lets give it a really true happy ending feeling. Gene Wilder was hateful at the end of the Original Willy Wonka, and even when he does "come through" you still feel a bit betrayed by him even after he gives the "prize" to Charley. For me, that feeling never really ever left me. Some of this movie made me laugh, but then again I felt that some of it was just totally not necessary and seemed to me to make the movie feel disjointed. Like, learning about how Willy Wonka actually became the eccentric he became and the whole thing about finding the Oompaloompas. For me it didn't make the movie flow. As for Johnny Depp and his performance, I think he was great and a good choice. At one point I leaned over and said to my fiance that I thought Depp looked a bit like Michael Jackson (apparently, I'm not the only one to think he did either). I love the way Depp portrays Willy Wonka in this, clearly eliciting his eccentricities. Overall I'd give this movie 2 stars out of 5. For what it's worth, the kids we took did love it though. Maybe that is all that counts.

I went and saw it the other day. All around, a fairlly solid film.

There were some pacing issues in the middle, right around where Veruca Salt and Mike Teevee disappear, (Amusingly, the original film had pacing issues in the exact same spot as well.)

But other than that rather sluggish spot, definitely a good film. Not better or worse than the original, just...Different.

I liked the show alot. Took some getting used to Depp's character.

But the music rocked! Its amazing that Danny Elfman did the voice work for all of the Oompa Loompa Songs himself and the intro. I picked up the soundtrack asap. I love the different musical stylings between each of the songs.

Cheers!