Last week the family went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the remake of the Gene Wilder film of the 70’s with Johnny Depp in the title role. Overall, I liked the movie much better than the original.

This film is much darker than the original, which is actually the main thing I really liked about it. While Gene Wilder played the role as a little eccentric, Johnny Depp took it to a whole new level, characterizing Willie Wonka as a very inept and socially retarded character.

Some comparisons though. I liked the Oompa Loompas in the original movie much better than the replicated ones in the new movie. I also disliked the much “hipper” versions of the songs done at the demise of each of the children in the movie. The original movie did these things much better than this one did, in my opinion.

However, I did like the dark disposition of this movie a lot. It was interesting to see Willie Wonka portrayed as a bit of a tortured soul, rather than just a goofy shut in. Tim Burton did a great job in putting this one together (as usual – check out the first Batman movie compared to others in the franchise).

I think the movie is well worth seeing. I enjoyed it. If your looking for something to do on a 95 degree day in air conditioning, this might be something to go see to keep you entertained for a couple of hours.