Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Edition)
by Tim Burton
List Price:
Our Price: $2.81
You Save: $3.17 (53%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.11 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Kelly, Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Noah TaylorDirector: Tim Burton
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Brad Grey
Producer: Bruce Berman
Producer: Derek Frey
Producer: Graham Burke
Producer: Katterli Frauenfelder
Writer: John August
Writer: Roald Dahl
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
Published: 2005-11-01
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-08
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Movie Reviews of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Not just a review of the film itself, but a comparison with the original
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi, everybody. I'm back. And I am going to compare the two film adaptations of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", one of Roald Dahl's novels. The original from 1971 directed by Mel Stuart is known as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", while the new one from 2005 directed by Tim Burton has the same name as the book. There have been people who compared the new one unfavorably to the original, thinking of it as another half-baked remake, like that of the over-budgeted & over-hyped Planet of the Apes remake that Burton also directed, but there are others like me that beg to differ. After all, it is NOT a remake of a classic movie, but another film adaptation of a classic book. Here is my comparison between the two in my personal opinion.
First off, let's compare the depictions of Willy Wonka in both movies. Even though Johnny Depp gave a weird, creepy, and decent performance of Wonka like in the books, no one can beat the delightful, charming, and friendly Gene Wilder. From Depp's portrayal in the new one, Wonka shows disdain for families as a disadvantage on fulfilling your dreams because his dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka (Christopher Lee) deprives Willy of candy due to risks to the teeth. More details later in the review. Does that happen in the original? NO! In the end, Wonka brings in the rest of Charlie's family in the first place. He was also more concerned for the others in the old one as well. I have also seen better Johnny Depp performances from Edward Scizzorhands, Benny and Joon, and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, for example. No offense.
Now for the supporting cast of both films. They vary in terms of advantages and disadvantages. the five Golden Ticket finders, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee (yeah, I know, a silly pun), and Charlie Bucket were noticeably older in the original, but were younger in the book and new one. Veruca seemed more spoiled and grumpy in the original. In the newer film, Augustus was more of a pig and bites his ticket for comic relief, Violet processes Martial Arts skills, and Mike is smarter when it comes to technology and shows a dislike for chocolate (PPPHHHTTT!). Charlie and his family seem more poor and his father (Noah Taylor) was alive like in the book. In the book, the Golden Ticket winners could bring one or two relatives to look after you. In the films, it was reduced to just one to keep the budgets under control. So, I would give the new one the win overall.
Next up is the music department. Let's discuss the songs. The songs of the original were memorable and original, while those of the newer one were catchy and loyal to the book. To be fair, I had a little difficulty remembering the lyrics when I first saw the new film, so I looked them up on the internet and read the book. The only exception is the annoying introduction song before the puppet set catches on fire and the music distorts (now that's funny). Sorry, new Carlie, even though your songs are catchy, I have to give the original the win because of it having more songs with an Oscar nomination. In terms of the score, however, the new one by Danny Elfman was more catchy and suits the film like a glove, and when it comes to Elfman's other scores, let's say I came to expect that. So yeah, the new version wins in the score, but let's face it, in musicals like these, the songs are usually the main focus, so I'll give the original the win to be fair.
It seems that one common aspect that remakes improve over the original is the visual effects. In the original, some of the candy pumpkins were obviously balloons, the chocolate river looks like a YooHoo drink, you can barely see the tube connected to Violet's suit when she becomes a humanoid blueberry, and it features the infamous demon tunnel from Hell. The visuals of the newer film were more refined and advanced. The river actually looks like chocolate, everything looks more real, the Great Glass Elevator is made entirely out of glass, and the tunnel is more of a park ride instead of a freak-out (thank god). The new film wins on the effects by a long shot.
Last, but not least, let's talk about the plot, the aspect that matters the most. The premise is the same. It is about a poor boy named Charlie Bucket, who is a big fan-boy of Willy Wonka. Wonka decodes to hold a competition to search for five golden tickets hidden in five Wonka bars and the winners would gain access to the factory for a tour and a chance to win a lifetime supply of chocolate. I already discussed the ticket winners in the supporting cast section. The greedy kids would mess up and end up in a horrific fate. Augustus would fall into the Chocolate river and get sucked up by a pipe, Violet would try Wonka's meal gum and become a blueberry, Veruca gets ambushed by squirrels and dropped down the garbage chute like a bad nut (falls down a trap door in the Golden Goose room like a bad egg in the original during her musical number), and Mike tests himself for a television project like the giant candy bar and becomes tiny. All that leaving the room for Charlie to win the factory as Wonka's successor. The plot in the new one is more in depth. It is closer to the source material in terms of main premise and tone, but has its share of minor changes as well. For example, the subplot on Wonka's troubled past is original to explain his origins and keep things fresh. The events of the past when Wonka went downhill thanks to spies stealing his secret recipies were also shown and features a bit with Prince Pondicherry and the chocolate palace that melted into a giant chocolate puddle on a hot day. Like the book, it shows what happened to the other contenders. Augustus seemed a little thinner and covered in chocolate and apparently fused with it. Gee, does that sound familiar at all? Violet became more flexible and still blue. Veruca and her father are covered in garbage and Mike was overstretched by the taffy puller. Also in the new one, continuing from Willy's past, while helping clean the fireplace while his father was busy with a patient, he finds a piece of chocolate that missed the fire, tastes it, and was hooked. He goes on a journey of knowledge about candy. When his father disapproves of this, Willy leaves for Switzerland with his mother to follow his dreams. He sees that his old home disappeared when he went to stay with a neighbor for the night. Willy goes to see his father with Charlie and it was revealed that he showed remorse for his actions since he had a ton of media from Willy's fame. Willy learns the true value of family and still took care of his teeth and Wilbur learned to accept his son for who he is. Another key difference is like in the book, Charlie and Grandpa Joe do not mess up! It's just more straightforward and knows what it wants to be.
In conclusion, even though I loved both of these movies, I enjoyed the new one a little more (3-2), mainly because of a more developed plot and was more similar to the book. Congratulations, Tim Burton, on another job well done! I also did a survey at my school one time on both films, and the original received the most votes from adults, and that is understandable because it was probably the one they grew up with. If you are like me, I would check them both out. They are worthy additions to add to your movie collection. See you next time!
Summary of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Edition)
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 andenduring 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
Similar DVD Movies
The Neverending StoryWarner Brothers; Release date: 2001-09-04; DVD
Best price: $3.56
Price in other shops:
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)Disney; Release date: 2008-08-26; Published: 2008-08-01; DVD
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops:
Finding Neverland (Widescreen Edition)Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2005-03-22; Published: 2005-03-01; DVD
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
The Wizard of Oz (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2010-03-16; DVD
Best price: $7.89
Price in other shops:
![Coraline (Single-Disc Edition)[Anaglyph 3D] Image](/images/Coraline-Single-Disc-Edition-Anaglyph-3D-B00288KNL8-X.jpg)
Coraline (Single-Disc Edition)[Anaglyph 3D]NBC Universal; Release date: 2009-07-21; DVD
Best price: $5.23
Price in other shops:
Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2012-01-03; DVD
Best price: $3.20
Price in other shops:
Edward Scissorhands (Widescreen Anniversary Edition)Fox; Release date: 2000-09-05; DVD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops:
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)Unknown; Release date: 2006-01-31; Published: 2006-01-01; DVD
Best price: $2.78
Price in other shops:
Alice in WonderlandWalt Disney Pictures; Release date: 2010-06-01; Published: 2010-06-01; DVD
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops:
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-21; DVD
Best price: $3.97
Price in other shops: