Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Ok, I know. After months of saying how I was going to protest in front of the theatres when this film came out, I have to admit, I went and saw it. Granted, I was with a group of people and did not really want to be the jerk who said, "hey, I have a moral objection to this movie because the original is perfect and you don't mess around with perfection." So, I went.

It wasn't near as bad as I was prepared for. Charlie, the little boy, is excellent. I fell in love with him. The grandpa is also great, works the character well. The problem is, of course, Willy Wonka. Now I want you to know, I like Johnny Depp, I don't have anything against him. One of his first roles was in A Nightmare On Elm Street, so he has to have at least some dignity. But here is the problem. . .when he would say lines that were also said in the original movie, you can't help but think to yourself, "thats not right, Gene does it much better." And it's true! A perfect example is when they are in the Wonkav8ter (which is not called a wonkav8ter in the new one), Johnny says "Just push any button and whoosh, there you go." Gene says, "Just push any button and ZING (doing his classic quick hand movement) there you go!" It reminded me of when I heard Metallica with the symphony. Poser Metallica fans thought it was great. Real Metallica fans thought, I want to hear the song, not all this symphony crap that is getting in the way. Same thing here. Even though it smells, sounds and kinda feels like Willy Wonka, it's definitely not! It just makes you want the real thing. . .real bad.