Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [HD DVD]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [HD DVD]
by Tim Burton

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: David Kelly, Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Noah Taylor
Director: Tim Burton
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Philippe Rousselot
Editor: Chris Lebenzon
Producer: Bruce Berman
Producer: Graham Burke
Producer: Liccy Dahl
Producer: Patrick McCormick
Producer: Michael Siegel
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-10-10
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video

Movie Reviews of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [HD DVD]

Movie Review: Dark Chocolate
Summary: 2 Stars

This a borderline disgrace of the original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. It's as if someone zapped the soul out of every character in this film. Johnny Depp seemed like he was on vicodin or something. One minute he was up, the next down. His character went in and out of personalities. Most of his jokes fell flat after their delivery, leaving the viewer with an uncomfortable CREEPY feeling. His character of Willy Wonka was a cross between the church lady from Saturday Night Live and Jack from Will and Grace. Does that tell you anything? Some of the dialogue was almost identical to the original, the only difference is they edited out all the wittiness that made the original so special. All of the soul, intellect and attitude were missing from all of the characters portrayal's in this film. There was an all across the board lack of emotion that resonated like a plague throughout the entire film. Some of the special affects were cute but even the sets seemed to lack the magical quality of the original Willy Wonka. The musical numbers with the oompa loompas were surreal and did give a campy feel to the movie but overall this is a totally different movie than the original. It's very difficult to compare the 2 of them but I will say the first one is heartfelt and magical. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a sour imitation, a souless, dour, unfunny tragedy. A sign of the times of what kind of world we're living in now.

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Summary of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [HD DVD]

Warner Brothers Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - HD-DVD
Fantasy Adventure. Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw golden tickets from Wonka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary candy-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing and enduring story.

Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The second disc is filled with a number of distinctive featurettes. The likely crowd-pleaser in most households is "Attack of the Squirrels," which recounts how those fuzzy little creatures (a combination of hard-to-train live animals, animatronics, and computer graphics) can be ornery in their own right. "The Fantastic Mr. Dahl" is a 17-minute look at author Roald Dahl through vintage footage and new interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. "Becoming Oompa-Loompa" follows Deep Roy as he is filmed over and over again through his dance steps and music performances.

Roy is a constant throughout the kids' activities as well. You can follow him to learn two different dance steps "Augustus Gloop" and "Violet Beauregarde," and make him taste weird candy inventions in a simple game. "Search for the Golden Ticket" is a five-part challenge that tests your remote-control fingers, your deductive abilities, or your luck. Finally, if you just want basic behind-the-scenes information, "Making the Mix" is a collection of featurettes (around 40 minutes total) covering the film's casting, music, production design, and special effects. --David Horiuchi

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