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Facial capturers,
compositors, data wranglers and previs artists, some of the talented behind the scenes
heroes responsible for making today’s films, join visionary director Tim Burton in a
new version of Roald Dahl’s beloved fairy tale. More
madcap than the original, with even more spectacular set designs and production values
than its predecessor, Willie Wonka 2005 may be anathema to many older generation Wonka
fans but will be pure delight for those too young to have experienced the original. The updated Wonka incorporates far more artistic
wizardry than the
1971 version and has morphed into a film that incorporates a greater number of
fast-moving action scenes, as evidenced by Charlie’s rollercoaster ride down the
chocolate river and the magical flight of the magnificent glass elevator.
Screenwriter John August has followed
the original script fairly closely but has also taken several liberties, such as adding
more footage at the end of the film and neatly tying up a lot of loose ends in order to
accentuate its feel-good outcome. Society has
changed significantly over the past thirty-four years when the original Wonka movie was
made, but the moral issues have remained a constant. The new film reiterates the message
that both children and their parents must suffer the consequences of their various
transgressions.
Most likely set in
Charlie and the grievously
rude and self-indulged children who accompany him on their tour of Wonka’s factory
are told that one of them will be awarded a prize at the tour’s conclusion. Given
that this is a fairy tale, is there any reason to doubt that Charlie will win? The other four children are the over-indulged,
spoiled, rich girl Veruca Salt; the fiercely competitive Violet Beauregarde; the greedy,
gluttonous Augustus Gloop; and the haughty and violent Mike Teevee. All of the children, who display personality traits
that their parents also possess, are exaggerated examples of child-raising going bad.
Willie Wonka, the reclusive and
enigmatic candy maker, is played by Johnny Depp in his inimitable and wacky style. In this role, he is sometimes compared to the
equally eccentric Michael Jackson, who, like him, suffers from a case of arrested
development. Alternating between broodiness and silly, childlike behavior, Depp is far
more flamboyant, complex and colorful than the far-gentler Gene Wilder was in the part,
but he is every bit the dandy. Both scary and tender at times, he thinks nothing of
chastising his ill-behaved guests for their bad behavior. His
bizarre personality is most likely a product his tortured and sad childhood, which we
experience in a series of flashbacks. Saddled with a
grotesque dental apparatus and prohibited from indulging in his great love of chocolate by
his sadistic, dentist father, Willie runs away from home to escape his terrible fate.
As the movie opens, a luscious
river of chocolate is shown being poured into candy molds, and the viewer is given the
opportunity to observe the entire production process of the candies, ending with the
insertion of the golden dollars into each of the pristine chocolate bars and their
subsequent journeys to locations around the world. Repetition,
a running theme throughout the movie, provides stunning visual effects and is evidenced in
the chocolate factory’s assembly line, Charlie’s father’s job at the
toothpaste factory, and the workshop of the nut-cracking squirrels, as well as the song
and dance routines of the oompah loompahs (who become increasingly annoying as the movie
progresses). The functions of order and
structure are a perfect contrast to the flights of fantasy
that are an inherent part of the film.
By the end of the movie, the nature of
the big prize and its winner are revealed, all of the errant children are doled out
punishments that are appropriate for their crimes, good triumphs over evil and, of course,
Charlie and his family live happily ever after.
- Karen Berk
