 |
|
| Mmmm..... tasty. | | Date Created: Jul 25, 2005, 10:52 AM |
So, Depp's "Chocolate Factory" was indeed tasty. (Yeah ... eeeewww. Does Reuters not hire editors?!?)
There was a lot to love in this movie: the sets, the costumes, the story, the characters, Depp's performance, and the music. All these sugary ingredients piled on each other like a sweet confect.... Oh hell, I can't write like that, plus the metaphor is giving me a sugar high and making my teeth hurt.
How about this? This certainly isn't your father's Willy! (hee hee)
Depp's performance is less maniacally wacky than Wilder's but more socially inept. Basically Depp-as-Wonka is a guy who loves chocolate and hates bratty kids. I can relate. Forget what you've seen in the commercials; Depp's performance is creepy but not Michael Jackson creepy.
There are plenty of treats for geeks in this movie as well. For example, Charlie's dad works in a toothpaste factory, which makes "Smilex" toothpaste. Those who are geeky enough to remember Burton's "Batman" might remember that Smilex is the chemical that the Joker uses to poison Gotham. Subtle homages to the original movie abound ... including a reporter with horns sticking out of his head. (In the original movie, there's a reporter standing in front of some antlers, so it looks like he has horns ... in this one he's standing in front of a pair of speakers, and it again looks like he has horns ... OK, I'm a geek.) The entire opening credit sequence is bascially a copy of the Edward Scissorhands cookie-factory sequence.
The music isn't as singable or catchy as the original, but it's much more varied in style and equally amusing. The Oompa-Loompa choreography also pays homage to the original movie, but also includes such things as a giant chocolate choreographed swimming scene a-la Esther Williams. And I like the fact that, after each kid gets disposed of, the other kids start to realize something suspicious is going on.
The movie is definitely quotable (ie. "I like grapes!") Thus, I predict the phrase "I don't care" will be the hip new phrase of the next week. Or perhaps, "Everything here is eatable. I'm eatable, but that my children is called cannibalism and it is frowned upon in most societies." |
|
|
|
|
