Genre: Family, Animals, Marriage, Urban, Halloween
Tagline: Oompa-Loompas are crazy for Coco-Beans
Plot: Most nights in the Bucket home, dinner is a watered-down bowl of cabbage soup, which young Charlie gladly shares with his mother (HELENA BONHAM CARTER) and father (NOAH TAYLOR) and both pairs of grandparents. Theirs is a tiny, tumbledown, drafty old house but it is filled with love. Every night, the last thing Charlie sees from his window is the great factory, and he drifts off to sleep dreaming about what might be inside.For nearly fifteen years, no one has seen a single worker going in or coming out of the factory, or caught a glimpse of Willy Wonka himself, yet, mysteriously, great quantities of chocolate are still being made and shipped to shops all over the world. One day Willy Wonka makes a momentous announcement. He will open his famous factory and reveal “all of its secrets and magic” to five lucky children who find golden tickets hidden inside five randomly selected Wonka chocolate bars. Nothing would make Charlie’s family happier than to see him win but the odds are very much against him as they can only afford to buy one chocolate bar a year, for his birthday. Indeed, one by one, news breaks around the world about the children finding golden tickets and Charlie’s hope grows dimmer. First there is gluttonous Augustus Gloop, who thinks of nothing but stuffing
More Plot Descriptions
 |
Related Movies:
|
 |
Behind the Scenes:
Read more about the production
| |
 Discussion forum for this movie
|
| |
 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a family film, but it is off the beaten track. It's darker than Willy Wonka, and the gaudy set decoration and special effects are light years ahead of what they were 34 years ago  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
The little tale of healing between Wonka and his father may be pleasing to parents, but it's inimical to the book's healthy mistrust of adults in general and parents in particular. It also steals the spotlight from Dahl's real hero, a boy whose familiarity with cabbage makes him appreciate chocolate even more than his mentor does.--Jonathan Rosenbaum
Depp and Burton fly too high on the vapors of pure imagination. But it's hard to not get hooked on something this tasty. --Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)
In summation, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is yet another solid pillar in a summer of suprisingly great cinema. The thrill of seeing that Golden Ticket is enough to excite those from 8 to 80. I'll no doubt be in for repeat viewings and any fans of the original film can cast their doubts aside because I assure you, this is the real deal.--Bill McCormick (Movie-Vault.com)
The acting is great. This is Johnny Depp's greatest triumph as yet. He plays Willie Wonka as sort of a Michael Jackson, except that he's deliberately phony, speaking in a singsong voice generally used by kindergarten teachers.--Eric Lurio
While the novel maintains a more or less steady focus through Charlie's perspective of all these crazy goings-on, the film is less coherent.--Cynthia Fuchs
I don't know that this movie is for me. That said, when I saw this movie in the theater it seemed like the kids were laughing the hardest.  --Evan 'Mushy' Jacobs (MovieWeb)
Burton's joy makes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory freakishly amusing from start to finish, even when those everlasting gobstoppers get stuck in our throats.--David Edelstein
Cheery, crazy, very funny, and (of course) just a little bit dark, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a great rendition of a classic old story. This is a perfect example of how to take a well-established tale and re-tell it for a whole new generation. Here's hoping the 2039 version is even half this much fun.  --Scott Weinberg (eFilmCritic.com)
...is a real winner–the kind of family film that kids will adore (and perhaps even become inspired to check out Dahl’s other literary works) and that will make adults wonder why they didn’t have films that good when they were younger. It is funny, creepy, touching and throughly enchanting work that will satisfy the cinematic sweet tooth of anyone looking for genuine enchantment in their multiplexes this summer.  --Peter Sobczynski (eFilmCritic.com)
Burton has demonstrated a genius for macabre visions, a fondness for people whose development is so arrested they in fact may be decomposing, and an inability to relate well to the living. --James Verniere (BostonHerald.com)
Having committed himself fully to Willy's eccentricities, it's as if Depp had nowhere to turn with the character, and slowly begins to devour himself, like a candy bar. --Bruce Newman
Dahl's blend of humour and horror balances perfectly. And there's enough subtext (before the cloying "Family Is Everything" message) to add some real meaning along the way. So much fun you just want to eat it.--Rich Cline
|
| Written by |
Roald Dahl
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, You Only Live Twice, Matilda | |
|
| Cast |
Johnny Depp
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Platoon |
 | |
 | Noah Taylor
Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider |
 | Missi Pyle
Big Fish, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Galaxy Quest |
 | James Fox
Patriot Games, The Remains of the Day, Sexy Beast |
 | Christopher Lee
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
 | | |
[more] |
|
LIKE Roald Dahl's book, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative and visually stunning - and often very dark and creepy - new version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is squarely aimed more at children than their parents.  --Lou Lumenick (New York Post)
In the end, it's hard to relate to Wonka, its hard to find empathy for this disturbed figure, and the moral centerpiece of Charlie is never developed beyond his superficial traits.--Alton Lee
You might wonder, though, how, in a film that is quite obviously set in an urban region of the United Kingdom, the British-born Willy Wonka sounds like a Floridian. No problem. Better to do no accent than a distracting one. --Ed Blank
But it’s Burton’s stable of humans that truly brings to life what CGI and sets alone cannot. Among the actors who play “good” adults are the dependable Helena Bonham Carter and Noah Taylor as Charlie’s parents and David Kelly as adorable Grandpa Joe. Burton’s eye candy is more than an amusing confection. At its gooey heart, Charlie is a timeless cautionary tale for parents and children alike.--Paul Myers
Maybe, but I doubt it, this remake nothing more than an Everlasting Gobstopper who’s only use is to clog the throat and stop the heart from beating. ---Sara M. Fetters
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the jokes are more mature, subdued, and tailored to an audience that are already Tim Burton fans B+--Alexis Tuminello (TheCinemaSource)
For new eyes who have never seen the 1971 picture, Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is entertaining enough. Depp’s creepy performance is worth the price of admission alone. For those who enjoyed Gene Wilder’s Wonka, the elaborate musical numbers, and the heart of the 1971 picture, this current version is an empty candy-coated shell.--Harrison Cheung (Movie-Gurus.com)
|
|
Movie Database
In Theaters
