Movie: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Chocolate Heaven

Plot Overview

A town's top dentist designed a special contraption to straighten his son's peculiar bite. He put the kibosh on his kid's (“What's the damage this year?”) Halloween candy, but Willy salvaged one piece from the fire­place and went on to sample more. He resolved to become a chocolatier causing a break with his protective dad, so Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) struck out on his own to develop a world class chocolate factory. Industrial espionage was the ruin of it, but he opened it anew using robotics, conscripted labor (from Africa,) and trained squirrels (to work the nuts.) Seeing aging in his mirror he implemented a pseudo-lottery to find an heir. Authoress Sarah Manguso has written poetically about passing the torch:

The man is alive, but the boy is gone. The light is out.

His light is out yet it shines triumphant from the next of the living, and when their time is up, their potential spent, the light will move along to the next brightest, and the next. (88)

Ideology

The five lotto winners get to tour the plant accompanied by a (grand)­parent or guardian. While the kids are taking it all in, Willy is evaluating their reactions to determine the most suitable heir. While that is going on the audience takes a gander at which kid(s) embarrass(es) or inconvenience(s) their parents the most. This according to (Prov. 15:27) “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.”

Fat & rapacious (“What a repulsive boy”) Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) gorges him­self on all too available chocolate, falls into a brown vat of it, and gets stuck in the works. He ends up a chocolate mess escorted by his neat-as-a-pin mom with the bouf­fant hairdo.

Spoilt rich kid Verruca Salt (Julia Winter) helps her­self (“I'll take this one”) to a trained squirrel who rejects this “bad nut” and consigns her to the garbage chute from which she will emerge with her coat-and-tie wearing dad, both covered in refuse.

Gum chewing (“She's even worse than the fat boy”) Miss (“I'm a winner”) Violet Beaure­garde (Anna­Sophia Robb) indulges her­self (“What a beastly girl”) on experi­mental chewing gum and turns blue­berry blue for her blue ribbon mom.

Idiot box junkie Mike (“Ungrateful little bugger”) Teavee (Jordan Fry) tele­ports himself into a 2001 Space Odyssey ape scene from which he loses substance in his extraction. His dad already didn't know what to make of him, and now there's less of him to be concerned with.

The main contender for the factory prize ends up by default Charlie (“Such a good boy”) Bucket (Freddie Highmore) from the poor side of town, escorted by his grand­father Joe (David Kelly) who'd worked for Wonka in his heyday. The only draw­back (“Are you ready to leave all this behind and come live with me at the factory?”) is he wouldn't be able to bring his family with him. As family-alienated Willy Wonka put it: “You can't run a chocolate factory with a family hanging over you.” This gift comes with strings.

Production Values

“” (2005) was directed by Tim Burton. It was written by John August based on a book by Roald Dahl. It stars Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore and David Kelly. Also featured are Helena Bonham Carter (Burton's fiancée), Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket, Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beaure­garde, James Fox as Mr. Salt, Deep Roy as Oompa Loompas, and it was narrated by Geoffrey Holder. Young High­more made a good Charlie Bucket. The supporting cast were swell.

MPA rated it PG for quirky situations, action and mild language. The special effects were colorful but border­line over­whelming. The songs were on the weird side to a distraction. The cinema­tog­raphy was CGI chauvinistic. Runtime is 1 hour 55 minutes.

Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation

It did present a good model family. I watched it on Thanksgiving when it seemed to fit Halloween as well. It'll get lost in the Christmas hoopla, so it won't be missed. This is the kind we can be grateful they don't make more like it any­more. It should appeal to those with a silly bone.

Movie Ratings

Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability for children: Suitable for children with guidance. Special effects: Amazing special effects. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Three and a half stars out of five.

Works Cited

Scripture is taken from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.

Manguso, Sarah. Ongoingness. Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Manguso. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2015. Print.