wonka

Adrienne and I went to a sneak preview of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a lot better than I was expecting, because I wasn't expecting much. It was flat out gorgeous, and it was really funny.

I just wish that the original wasn't burned so deeply into my brain. Bit of a spoiler alert here. Things that bugged me about the movie:

1) The great songs from the original were missing. Like Wonka's wonderful song from when they entered the room of candy. Or "I've got a golden ticket". Lots of them were great.

2) You couldn't understand a lot of the Oompa Loompa lyrics. The musical numbers were hilarious and looked great, but the lyrics were mumbled.

3) They took out all the drama. There was no Slugworth trying to tempt the kids. There was no question of if Charlie would inherit the factory. It just flowed with no suspense.

4) Wonka wasn't creepy. Dammit, he's supposed to be creepy. He was funny, and childlike, and reminded me of a mix of Michael Jackson and Andy Warhol. He had a few sarcastic quips, but he also had silly physical gags, and seemed confused, instead of deviously in control. And that was all in the directing, Johnny Depp could have been a MEAN Wonka.

But hey, kids are going to love it, if they've never seen the original. It really is a fantastic film. But the original has spoiled me forever.