Willy Wonka vs Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

WARNING: This Review Contains Spoilers

As a child, I grew up reading books written by Roald Dahl. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was possibly one of my favourites but I will admit that I cannot remember exactly how the story is written to say if either of the films I am going to discuss truly hits the nail on the head. The 1971 version does give a reasonably dark side to a much beloved children’s story, so when I heard that Tim Burton would be directing the remake in 2005, I had my hopes up for more of the same. However, even though I enjoy the film, I am still a little disappointed in terms of overall atmosphere it delivers.

Musical Vs Non-Musical

                The version that is preferred when it comes to the songs, or lack thereof, really does come down to personal taste. I think making the original a musical brings a lighter side to what turns out to be a rather dark film. I will say, however, that I do find Ms Bucket’s ‘Cheer Up Charlie’ a little dull compared to most of the other songs included. Especially ‘I’ve Got A Golden Ticket’, a scene that I do find more realistic than its counterpart in the remake. Grandpa Joe actually struggles to get out of bed, whereas in 2005 he can get up and dance with no trouble? He’s been in that bed for years. Some will possibly argue here that the remake is still a musical when you take in to account the songs of the Oompah-Loompahs but I will come on to those later.

Willy Wonka

                Now here is what comes across as a seemingly damaged human being. Understandable as he has been ‘alone’ in the factory for so many years. Again, something I will discuss a little later is the sudden back story we receive in the remake that we did not have before which may be another reason why Wonka is the man he is. The one thing we do know from both films is that he has his heart set on a child being the one to take over his factory. Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp bring different kinds of strange to this particular role. They both have what comes across as rather peculiar entrances, Depp’s possibly more so but it is the development of Wilder’s Wonka that is really interesting. He is a welcoming and friendly man from the outset but ever so gradually, slight quirks begin to come to the surface – like his confusion with sentences ‘So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you.’ and the singing that unnerves Mr Salt on the boat. I find however, that Johnny Depp’s is reasonably lacking in this department apart from his random flashbacks. He seems to play Wonka as bit more of aloof, not always certain what is happening.

                The question that has always bothered me however, is does Wonka expect or really care what has happened to the children? Again, it is more evident in the original film that Wonka is more dismissive and unaffected by what happens. For example, in the cases of both Augustus and Violet – it is like he has already given up on trying to stop them before anything has happened.

Augustus Gloop

                Being the child embodiment of gluttony, Augustus Gloop of Dusselheim (or Dusseldorf as mentioned in the remake) is the greediest and fattest of the group. Excluding of course his mother. Understandably he gorges himself in the first room, Wonka’s beautiful edible garden but it is shown in the original that his mother does do her best to slow him down. However, in the remake he almost goes on a food rampage, stuffing his face with chocolate and the marshmallow before he has even swallowed the previous bite. I also feel, as with many of the other children, Burton has made Gloop extra competitive; ‘Want some chocolate?’ he says to Charlie ‘Well you should have brought some.’ It seems to be a trend in the remake, as I will go on to show with the other children, that certain characteristics have been exaggerated. It is also seen at the end of the 2005 film that Augustus is still covered in chocolate when they leave, although his mother’s line makes it sound like he has been turned into chocolate – ‘Augustus, stop eating your fingers.’ Well, you are what you eat right?

Violet Beauregarde

                Now, what I am about to say may come across as an overreaction to some of you reading this, but I actually feel that Burton slightly ruined Violet’s character. In both, she is a competitive chewer and yes, she holds the world record for the longest chewing of a single piece of gum (3 months, pretty gross, right?). But she is only competitive with her best friend Miss Cornelia Princess Medal but it comes across as a friendly competition. However, in the remake we see that she has trophies for her chewing also. She does have a little bit of an attitude in the original film but it is particular aimed at her father and Veruca, but the remake almost gives her the same nasty tone as Veruca – along with a pushy mother to boot.

Veruca Salt

                On to our more vacuous and selfish character. In neither film do I like her, but I think that was the point, you are not supposed to. Truthfully, nothing has been changed much between films about Veruca herself. The main difference is her father. In the original, I actually have quite a bit of sympathy for him. Here’s a man that is having to knuckle under and do whatever he can to keep his spoilt brat happy. Agreed, he must have brought this on himself at some point in his life by never saying no to her in the first place but the Salts come across as a family that are doing well but not so well that he can lose business having his staff unwrapping chocolate bars all day instead of doing their jobs. Whereas, in the remake they are a rather well-off family from Buckinghamshire who can give her anything her heart desires whenever she wants it. The original Mr Salt looks on the edge of exhausted by the time they reached the room for the golden eggs but still does whatever he can to keep his little girl happy. Unfortunately for him, it ends in disaster, them both being weighed as bad eggs. I get the feeling that Burton decided to change these geese to squirrels in order to keep closer to the book.

Mike TeeVee

                It is no joke, this is genuinely the surname that Dahl gave this character – and he is obsessed with television (does that count as nominative determinism?). A little like Veruca, not much is changed about Mike’s character, he’s just made slightly more modern. OK, I know an obsession with TV is not something that can go out of fashion, but what I mean is – instead of being TV we are shown Mike obsessed with video games. Both things we were taught growing up were bad for you. He also comes across as a bit of smart-ass in the remake. He figures out a pattern to the chocolate bars, and even belittles Wonka when it comes to the ‘WonkaVision’ transportation. On the other hand, in the original film, it is just childish excitement about being on TV that makes him decide to use the machine himself.

Charlie Bucket

                Now to the hero of our story. The whole journey is about finding the child with the truest heart, and Charlie is the epitomy of this. But the one thing that I will always find better about the original film, is that he breaks the rules too, proving that not everyone is perfect. So why change this? Charlie no longer samples the fizzy drinks that make him and Grandpa Joe float, in fact the scene has been completely removed.

Oompah-Lumpahs

                Here is an interesting, some may look at it as controversial, point. Originally, the Oompah-Lumpahs were played by a variety of little actors. However, in the remake – they decided to get technology involved, using the same actor and just copying his likeness again and again. It’s not like little actors no longer exist, and I felt that this gave more dimension to the original film because no two people look alike so it would naturally be the same if they do come from Lumpahland like Wonka states. Another way to look at this however, is the fact that Lumpahland does not exist and they have been genetically engineered in some way, which would explain Wonka’s defensive attitude when questioned by Mr/Mrs TeeVee in both films. I would like this to be the case (of course only Tim Burton knows the thought process), as if not – it seems to play up to the racist stereotype that people from a different country ‘all look the same’.

                As I referenced previously, outside of the main songs in the original, the Oompah-Lumpahs have their own and this is consistent in the 2005 version. Strangely however, each of their songs for the children’s fateful departures, names the child when sung in the remake. This is drawn attention to during the film as coming across as rehearsed so I go back to my question, does Wonka know this is going to happen? Even though I do prefer the original songs they sing, I will say that I am a little disappointed with how repetitive they are.

Additional Back-story

                I found this was a strange addition to the remake. I already mentioned Wonka’s flashbacks explaining his childhood, something we did not have in the original version. I wonder every time I watch the film, if it is really needed. It is referenced at the start of both the original and the remake that Wonka closed the factory in the first place due to the spies that were working for him and selling his secrets which would naturally make him protective of his product and suspicious of others. I feel this is enough for us as the audience to then accept the character’s peculiar foibles throughout the rest of the film and even feel a little sympathy for him. So, why explain to us about his father being a dentist and him being denied sweets and chocolates as a child?

                To conclude, I am afraid that even though I am a big fan of Tim Burton as a director, I very much prefer the original film. Not only for its darker way of retelling the children’s story but for the great portrayal of clearly such a damaged character by Gene Wilder.