Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film based on the 1964 children's book of the same title by author Roald Dahl (see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). It was directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket.

Criticism

• Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka in the 1971 film, initially opposed this version, stating it "is all about money. It's just some people sitting around thinking 'How can we make some more money?' Why else would you remake Willy Wonka?" http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2005/06/johnny_depp_vs_.html Johnny Depp responded by saying "We didn't remake Willy Wonka, we remade Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's based on the same book they based theirs on. Making a statement that they only made this film because of the money is a really odd statement to make from a guy who has been in the business as long as he has ... all movies were made because somebody somewhere wanted a return on their dollar that they spent." http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/18/film.johnnydepp.ap/ However, since the film's release, Wilder has supported Depp, stating "If I were going to cast the movie, I would cast Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka because I think he is wonderful. Mysterious - always - and magical."http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=148536046&p=y4853675z.
• A number of movie critics, including one from the New York Times, criticized Burton's Freudian backstory for Wonka as being both unnecessary and out of the spirit of Dahl's original novel.
• Some film reviews have noted the resemblance of Depp's performance to pop star Michael Jackson and actor Sam Rockwell. Depp denied any resemblance to Jackson. Burton commented, "Here's the deal: Michael Jackson likes children, Willy Wonka can't stand them. To me, that's a big difference in the whole personality ya'know?"{{Inote|Slotek|Slotek}}
• Some independent media, internet bloggers and message boards have offered criticisms of racism, colonialism, slavery and group stereotyping similar to those received by the original 1964 children's book, in which the Oompa-Loompas were described as dark-skinned pygmies from the African jungle.http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=8609http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=43058&entryid=218551&view=public http://www.epinions.com/content_190123314820