Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

This is not meant to be a spoiler. I went and saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week. I was skeptical. I grew up on the Gene Wilder version. I loved the his singing, his feigned insanity, and his singing. My only disappointment later was that the movie did not capture the Roald Dahl-ness of the book.

Dahl wrote some wonderful children's books. He also wrote some very scary books. And that scary edge seems always to be there - even in his children's literature (check out James and the Giant Peach - yikes!).

Who better to direct a Dahl story than Tim Burton. I think Burton and Johnny Depp did a great job catching the real insanity of Willie Wonka. He was at times wonderful and weird and creepy. I loved it. I felt unsettled by WW. It was perfect.

Overall I loved the music. My only disappointment was the score. Don't get me wrong... I loved the Oompa Loompa songs and the other Wonka ditty. But the main score was just too predictable. Tim Burton and Danny Elfman have certainly developed a sound, but I think that Elfman's sound is pretty much the same most of the time.

Having said that, it is a fairly minor complaint for a wonderful movie. Make sure you see it.