CAST: Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka), Freddie Highmore (Charlie Bucket), David Kelly (Grandpa Joe), Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Bucket), Noah Taylor (Mr. Bucket), Missi Pyle ( Mrs. Beauregarde), James Fox (Mr. Salt), Deep Roy (Oompa Loompa), Christopher Lee (Dr. Wonka) SCR: John August DIR: Tim Burton STUDIO: Warner Bros. MPAA: PG for quirky situations, action and mild language. RUNNING TIME: 106 minutes OFFICIAL SITE: http://chocolatefactorymovie.warnerbros.com If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's what I always say when it comes to remakes of older movies. The problem with that point of view is, studios aren't interested in remaking movies that didn't perform well at the box office the first time around, rather than take good ideas that were poorly executed and improving upon them, studios seem hell bent on padding their pockets with a sure thing. Thus when a remake of the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was announced, I croaked a collective moan along with many other fans of Gene Wilder's perfect blend of psychedelic head trip and kid flick. Why must this old wine be put in a new bottle? Can't they just leave well enough alone? However my tune quickly changed from a sour note to a cheerful Oompa-Loompa inspired ditty as the thoroughly engaging Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unfolded on the screen. Note to studio heads and directors: if you really, really must remake a movie, please do it like Tim Burton has done here. Think of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a companion to the original. Is it better? In some ways, definitely. In other ways, not even close. However this version stands firmly on its own and never feels as if it's trying to make a bigger, faster, stronger movie than the original. It truly is, as has been said repeatedly by Burton and screenwriter John August, a re-imagination of the original. For those living in their very own dark factory and have no idea what this film is about, here's a quick recap. Willy Wonka is the worlds foremost chocolatier and candy maker. Yet he's highly reclusive. In fact no one has seen him for years and no one's seen anyone coming in or out of his factory. Yet the candy and chocolate still gets made. Without warning, a contest is announced in which Willy Wonka himself has hidden five golden tickets in five "randomly" chosen Wonka bars throughout the world. A frenzy of choco-mania strikes as kids and adults seek to find the golden tickets which will get them a tour of the highly secretive factory as well as a special prize "beyond your wildest dreams." As the world looks on, rude, slobbish, spoiled and stupid children find golden tickets. Finally our hero, the pleasant and polite, yet poor as dirt, Charlie Bucket (Highmore) finds the last ticket and off the five children and their chosen parents head on their prized tour. Although the title is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this movie is clearly about the quirky, psychologically as well as emotionally-damaged Willy Wonka. Unlike the original, we get to see why Wonka is reclusive, strange, somewhat dark as well as brilliant. While the character of Wonka is drawn much better this time around, one never senses the closeness between the other two main characters, Charlie and his Grandpa Joe (Kelly). They get along fine and both actors do a good job, but I found myself kind of missing the chemistry of the original Charlie and Grandpa Joe. Yet where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory kind of drops the ball on that relationship, it makes up for it ten fold with several scenes of Charlie and his family, especially mom (Carter) and dad (Taylor). We see why Charlie is a good boy. It's because his parents love one another and Charlie unconditionally and teach him compassion, sharing, respect and discipline. Although in the original the same is true, we see it more clearly defined here. We're pulling for all of the Buckets to win out, not just Charlie. The tone of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory wavers between slapstick, caricature style comedy and dark allegory. Yet it never gets too dark for young children. There's also a virtual feast for movie geeks on display. Try and count how many homages there are to Depp characters of the past as well as tips of the hat to other great (and not-so-great) cult films. Speaking of Depp, his performance in this movie is, in a word he uses so frequently as Wonka, weird. All this hullabaloo about Depp using Michael Jackson as a character sketch is bogus. The only similarities between Depp's Wonka and Jackson are the fact that they're both reclusive millionaires who find a way to lure kids into their castle. Depp's Wonka is a totally different kind of freak. But he's also a damaged soul. I must admit though, Depp's level of weirdness almost makes it impossible to pull for the Wonka character to transform. I'm not saying he's not hilarious and clearly realized, because he is. He's just really, really strange. I'm still not sure if I was rooting for him or not. Through all the laughs and all the touching moments in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one thought kept going though my head: "Welcome back Tim Burton!" When on his game and in his element, is there a finer creative mind working in Hollywood today? Just look at all the misguided tricks (Planet of the Apes, Mars Attacks!) and glorious treats (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Batman, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands) Burton has given us over the years. Although Big Fish was well received, it wasn't very "Burton-esque." Taking that film out of the mix, the last "good" Burton film was arguably Sleepy Hollow and that was in 1999. Yet Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has everything Burton fans came to love him for. Grotesque (although in this case, decidedly "retro modern") architecture, splashy colors, snow flurried darkness and whimsical fantasy lands. The key Burton characters are here as well, namely a lonely and reclusive genius who is shown love by the influence of family. Throughout the movie, Burton does some outstanding things with subjective point of view as well as sound. You truly see and hear what the characters see and hear. Burton also isn't afraid to break the imaginary "fourth wall" but he does it in an unconventional way. It all adds to the fun of this already exciting and funny movie. Where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory truly succeeds is in the screenplay which perfectly fills in the gaps left out by its 1971 predecessor. That's why I feel both films can successfully coexist without ruffling too many feathers. Yet the golden ticket question remains: Is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "better" than Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The answer? No. And, yes. It's not better or worse, just different which is a pleasant surprise in this world of star studded, "celluloid on steroids" remakes proliferating the cineplex. Want to find out for yourself? Come with me....and you'll see.....a world of true imagination... --reviewed by DON R. LEWIS