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.

Plot overview

Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) is a poor boy living with his parents and four grandparents in a tiny, rickety shack in the city. He spends most of his time dreaming about the chocolate that comes from the nearby chocolate factory, owned by the greatest candy maker in the world, Mr. Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp). Charlie's family is struggling to make ends meet when his father (Noah Taylor) loses his job at the toothpaste factory. Things begin to look up when Willy Wonka announces that he has placed "golden tickets" into five of his candy bars. The finders of these special items will be given a full tour of Wonka?s famous candy factory ? the inner workings of which are a tightly kept secret ? and a lifetime supply of chocolate.

Related Topics:
Charlie Bucket - Freddie Highmore - Willy Wonka - Johnny Depp - Noah Taylor

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It happens to be Charlie's birthday next week, the one day each year that he receives a Wonka Bar. Despite nearly impossible odds of winning, he is still disappointed when he finds no golden ticket inside. One by one, news reports from all over the world reveal the children who find the first four tickets, all characterized by a major personality flaw. Grandpa Joe (David Kelly), who used to work at Wonka's factory, gives Charlie a coin to buy another bar. It comes up empty once again, but, on the last day of the contest, Charlie finds a bill of cash with which he buys the last winning chocolate bar.

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The next morning Charlie and Grandpa Joe arrive for the tour, led by the strange and eccentric candy man Willy Wonka. During the tour, the first four ticket-winning children, other than Charlie, are tempted by something extraordinary. One by one, each child exhibits a major flaw, causing them and their accompanying parent to be escorted off the tour. Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), a gluttonous overeater, falls into a river of chocolate in the Chocolate Room and is sucked away by a pipe. Competitive gum-chewer Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb) hastily chews a defective piece of gum that turns her into a giant blueberry. Spoiled Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) demands to steal a squirrel for herself in the Nut Room, where she is attacked by the squirrels and thrown down a chute, deemed a "bad nut". Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry), who is obsessed with TV and video games, demands to be the first human transported over television waves, causing him to be shrunken to miniature size. Each of the "accidents" occur after the children refuse instructions against doing something, and each is followed by a song of morality by the Oompa Loompas (Deep Roy), Wonka's little factory workers from Loompaland. By the end of the day, each of the children leave the factory, altered in some way by their wrongdoings, Augustus Gloop was covered in chocolate, Violet Beauregarde was blue and felxible, Veruca Salt was covered in garbage, and Mike Teavee was a very tall, thin giant.

Related Topics:
Augustus Gloop - Violet Beauregarde - Annasophia Robb - Veruca Salt - Mike Teavee - Jordan Fry - Oompa Loompas - Deep Roy - Chocolate - Blue - Felxible - Tall - Thin - Giant

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During the tour, Willy Wonka has flashbacks to his childhood (a backstory not in the original book). These give background on his defunct relationship with his dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka, played by the "Hammer Horror" actor Christopher Lee. As a child Wonka was denied chocolate and candies by his father because of the potential risk to his teeth. After finally sneaking in a piece of chocolate, he became obsessed, dreaming of being a chocolatier. Despite his father's wishes, Wonka ran away from home to follow his dreams.

Related Topics:
Dr. Wilbur Wonka - Hammer Horror - Christopher Lee

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After Mike Teavee's departure, Willy Wonka notices that Charlie is the only remaining child. He reveals his desire to hand over the chocolate factory to Charlie, as he is the least rotten of the group. The only catch is that Charlie must abandon his family in order to accept the arrangement, because family members only tell you what to do, and a chocolatier needs complete creative freedom. Charlie's family is the most important thing in his life, even more important than chocolate, and therefore he refuses a befuddled Wonka.

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Days go by, and the Bucket family is happier than ever. Wonka returns to Charlie, and in an attempt to understand his love of family, requests the boy to join him in confronting his own father. The elder Wonka and son end up reconciling, and in the end Willy Wonka and Charlie begin work together as a candymaking team, with Charlie's house and family relocated to the factory's chocolate room.

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