Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
original film poster
Directed by	Tim Burton
Produced by	Brad Grey Richard D. Zanuck
Written by	John August Roald Dahl (book)
Narrated by	Geoffrey Holder
Starring	Johnny Depp Freddie Highmore David Kelly Helena Bonham Carter Noah Taylor Missi Pyle James Fox Deep Roy Christopher Lee Annasophia Robb
Music by	Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Philippe Rousselot
Editing by	Chris Lebenzon
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Village Roadshow Pictures
Release date(s)	France: July 13, 2005 United States: July 15, 2005 United Kingdom: July 29, 2005 Australia: September 1, 2005
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$150 million[1]
Gross revenue	$475 million[1]
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. Based on the 1964 Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name, the film also stars Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket and is the second film adaptation of the book. It is also the second film based on a Roald Dahl novel worked on by Tim Burton. It became a box office success and received positive critical reaction, receiving an Academy Award nomination at the 78th Academy Awards for Best Costume Design.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Music 5 Distribution 6 Reception 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

In a chocolate factory, a gloved hand (Willy Wonka's) lays Golden Tickets on five chocolate bars, which are wrapped with other bars and sent out by trucks across the world. Near the factory, Charlie Bucket lives in a small shack with his parents and all four grandparents. Their only income comes from his father, who screws on caps at a toothpaste factory called Smilex. Grandpa Joe tells Charlie about the time he worked for Wonka at the factory and the palace made out of chocolate for Prince Pondicherry, who let it melt in the boiling sun after ignoring Wonka's advice to eat it. When the prince requested a new one, Wonka could not build it for him because of his own problems concerning spies who had infiltrated the factory. It was because of these spies that Wonka closed his factory and fired all his workers. Then, it inexplicably re-opened, though no new workers had been hired.

The next day, Charlie hears about a major contest to be held for a chance to see the chocolate factory firsthand. Willy Wonka has announced that five Golden Tickets have been placed in five Wonka Bars worldwide, and that the finder of each of these tickets will be given a full tour of the factory, along with one parent, and a lifetime's supply of chocolate. In addition to this, one of the five ticket-holders will be given a special prize at the end of the tour. Unfortunately, the increased sale of chocolate causes a rise in cavities, which in turn boosts the sale of toothpaste; with the increased profits, the toothpaste factory decides to modernize, and buys a new machine that eliminates Mr. Bucket's job. Charlie's birthday soon arrives, and he opens his yearly chocolate bar, which does not have a Golden Ticket. Grandpa Joe gives Charlie some money to buy another bar, but it also does not contain a ticket. Charlie finds a ten-dollar note in the snow and decides to buy a chocolate bar, which contains the fifth golden ticket. Charlie considers selling the ticket to make money for his family, but Grandpa George convinces him to keep the ticket and go to the factory by telling him that more money is printed and minted every day, but there will only ever be five golden tickets. Therefore, according to him, "only a dummy would sell the ticket for something as common as money."

The next morning, Charlie and his Grandpa Joe arrive for the tour, and are greeted by an automated puppet show that sings "The Wonka Welcome Song." Soon, a throne comes up when the puppets sing "Willy Wonka here he is!" but Willy Wonka isn't. Soon, fireworks shoot out and then the puppets set on fire and break down. It turns out he has somehow slipped into the group to watch the show as well. During a tour of the factory, the first four ticket-winning children are one by one tempted by something, relating to their own character flaws, causing a strange accident that eliminates the child and their worried accompanying parent from the tour. The Oompa-Loompas sing a song of morality after each demise. Greedy, sloppy Augustus Gloop drinks from the chocolate river in the Chocolate Room and is sucked away by a pipe that leads to the Fudge Room. Competitive, show-offy gum chewer Violet Beauregarde chews an experimental piece of Three-Course Dinner Chewing Gum, but the effects of the blueberry pie within it turn her into a giant blueberry. Spoiled Veruca Salt tries to steal a squirrel in the Nut Sorting Room, where she is deemed a "bad nut" by the squirrels and thrown down the garbage chute along with her father. Arrogant Mike Teavee, who is obsessed with violent television and video games, teleports himself over Mr. Wonka's TV waves, shrinking him down to miniature size, and is taken to the taffy pulling room to be stretched back to normal. Each of the children leave afterwards: Augustus had been turned partially to chocolate, Violet is much more flexible but still a very rich purple color, Veruca and her father are completely covered in trash and Mike Teavee turns out shockingly thin and tall.

After Mike Teavee's departure, Willy Wonka invites Charlie to come live in the factory and work with him. The only catch is that Charlie must abandon his family in order to accept the arrangement, because, in Mr. Wonka's opinion, family members only tell one what to do, and a chocolatier needs complete creative freedom. It transpires through flashbacks and narrations throughout the film that Wonka's dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka, denied him chocolate and candies because of the potential risk to his teeth, as he took his job too seriously. After finally sneaking in a piece of chocolate while cleaning out the fireplace (which his father uses to burn all his Halloween chocolate), he became obsessed with it, dreaming of becoming a chocolatier. Despite his father's wishes and threats, Wonka ran away from home to follow his dreams. As his family is the most important thing in his life, Charlie refuses the offer. Charlie's family is living contently a while later, as his father gets a new job maintaining the machine that performs his old job and probably gets a better pay for it. Later, Wonka encounters Charlie (who is now a shoe-shine boy) after Charlie knowingly insults him to his face (hidden behind a newspaper), and asks him to join him in confronting his own father. The Wonkas reconcile, and Willy finally realizes the value of family, while his father learns to accept his son for who he is and not what he does. Charlie's house and family are relocated to the factory's Chocolate Room. In the end, Charlie has the chocolate factory and Wonka has a family and they have dinner together.

[edit] Cast

• Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, the highly imaginative but disturbing and antisocial owner of the titular candy factory. He invites five children to a tour of his factory to determine which one one them will be the heir to the ownership of the business. Throughout the film, he has flashbacks recalling his damaged relationship with his dentist father. During these flashbacks, he is played by Blair Dunlop.
• Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, a soft-spoken and optimistic child who lives in poverty with his parents and two sets of grandparents, who share the same bed. He idolizes Willy Wonka and his factory enough to create an elaborate model of both made entirely out of deformed toothpaste caps. Despite Wonka's offer to have Charlie abandon his family in favor of becoming Wonka's heir, Charlie declines out of his love for his own family.
• David Kelly as Grandpa Joe, Charlie's lively grandfather. He once worked for Wonka back when Wonka ran a small corner store, and now accompanies Charlie in his tour of the factory.
• Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket, the mother of Charlie Bucket. She likes making all of her food out of cabbage.
• Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket, the father of Charlie Bucket. He works for the Smilex Toothpaste factory until he is laid off to make way for a robot. But closer to the end of the movie, he is employed as the Repairman for the robot.
• Missi Pyle as Mrs Scarlett Beauregarde, the mother of Violet and her chaperone during the tour of the factory.
• James Fox as Rupert Salt, Veruca's father and chaperone during the tour of the factory. He runs a profitable nut business.
• Deep Roy as the Oompa-Loompas, a cacao bean-loving people from Loompaland who agree to work in Wonka's factory in exchange for all the cacao beans they could ever want. Often they will perform musical numbers whenever something bad happens. Their voices are dubbed over by composer Danny Elfman.
• Christopher Lee as Dr. Wilbur Wonka, Willy's dentist father who forbids his son from consuming candy.
• Adam Godley as Mr. Teavee, Mike's father and chaperone during the tour of the factory.
• Franziska Troegner as Mrs. Gloop, Augustus' mother and chaperone during the tour of the factory.
• AnnaSophia Robb as Violet Beauregarde, a competitive girl who has an obsession with bubble gum.
• Julia Winter as Veruca Salt, a rich child who is spoiled by her equally rich parents.
• Jordan Fry as Mike Teavee, a brash and hyperactive but gifted child who is addicted to television and video games.
• Philip Wiegratz as Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous German child who is always seen eating something.
• Liz Smith as Grandma Georgina, a senile grandparent of Charlie who loves grapes.
• Eileen Essell as Grandma Josephine.
• David Morris as Grandpa George, a pessimistic grandparent of Charlie who doesn't believe Charlie will go to the factory.
• Geoffrey Holder as the voice of the narrator who turned out to be an Oompa-Loompa.

[edit] Production

Warner Bros. Pictures bought the rights to a film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1999, with Gary Ross attached to direct and Scott Frank writing. John C. Reilly expressed interest in playing Willy Wonka, and in 2001 Marilyn Manson claimed to have been cast in the role. Ross left in 2001, and Rob Minkoff and Martin Scorsese were considered for directing, while Gwyn Lurie began rewriting the script in February 2002.^[2] On May 26, 2003, Tim Burton was hired to direct,^[2] and was annoyed by the previous drafts which portrayed Wonka as a father figure to Charlie Bucket.^[3] He commissioned Pamela Pettler and then John August, with whom he had worked on Corpse Bride and Big Fish respectively, to pen new drafts to his satisfaction.^[2]

There were dozens and dozens of names thrown out for a role in the film, it holds notstarring.com's^[4] top spot. Amongst the names are Jim Carrey and Nicolas Cage^[5] and Michael Keaton and Christopher Walken^[6]. Patrick Stewart revealed on the May 25, 2006 edition of the B105 Morning Crew that he auditioned for the role. Producers of the film favoured Robert De Niro but Burton was set on casting Johnny Depp.^[7]. Robin Williams was another name thrown out [1]. In 2003, young British actor Freddie Highmore was cast in the role as Charlie Bucket at the same time Johnny Depp was cast as Willy Wonka. Depp modelled the character's hair on Anna Wintour.^[8] Filming completed in late-2004.

[edit] Music

The original music score was written by Danny Elfman, a frequent collaborator with director Tim Burton. Elfman's score is based around three primary themes--a gentle family theme for the Buckets, generally set in upper woodwinds; a mystical, string-driven waltz for Willy Wonka; and a hyper-upbeat factory theme for full orchestra, Elfman's homemade synth samples and the diminutive chanting voices of the Oompa-Loompas.

Elfman also wrote and performed the vocals for four songs. The lyrics to the Oompa-Loompa songs are adapted from the original book, and are thus credited to Roald Dahl. Each song in the score is designed to reflect a different archetype. "Wonka's Welcome Song" is a maddeningly cheerful theme park ditty, "Augustus Gloop" a Bollywood spectacle (per Deep Roy's suggestion); "Violet Beauregarde" is 1970s funk, "Veruca Salt" is 1960s bubble-gum pop / psychedelia; and "Mike Teavee" is a tribute to late 1970s British pop (such as Queen) / early 1980s hair bands.

The original motion picture soundtrack was released on July 12, 2005 on Warner Home Video Records. The following songs appear on the album:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Studio album by Danny Elfman
Released	June 12, 2005
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer	Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman chronology
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Corpse Bride (2006)

1. "Wonka's Welcome Song"
2. "Augustus Gloop"
3. "Violet Beauregarde"
4. "Veruca Salt"
5. "Mike Teavee"
6. "Main Titles"
7. "Wonka's First Shop"
8. "The Indian Palace"
9. "Wheels in Motion"
10. "Charlie's Birthday Bar"
11. "The Golden Ticket/Factory"
12. "Chocolate Explorers"
13. "Loompa Land"
14. "The Boat Arrives"
15. "The River Cruise"
16. "First Candy"
17. "Up and Out"
18. "The River Cruise - Part 2"
19. "Charlie Declines"
20. "Finale"
21. "End Credit Suite"

[edit] Distribution

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released in the United States on July 15, 2005.^[1] In its opening weekend it earned $56,178,450 at the North American box office and went on to gross $475 million in worldwide box office receipts.^[1] The film was released to DVD and VHS on November 8, 2005. In the US, a single-disc edition and a two-disc deluxe edition were released.

[edit] Reception

The film received generally favorable reviews. The average was 83% positive on Rotten Tomatoes,^[9] and earned a score of 73 from Metacritic.^[10] According to Rotten Tomatoes the 1971 Version has a higher rating by both critics and Rotten Tomato reviewers, though the 1971 film's score is gleaned from a much smaller sampling than the 2005 film. However, David Stratton of At the Movies rated as in "infinitely better" than the original.^[11]

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?"^[12] There was some criticism of racism, colonialism, slavery, and group stereotyping similar to those received by the original 1964 book, in which the Oompa-Loompas were described as dark-skinned pygmies from the African jungle.^[13][14][15]

[edit] References

• August, John. "Did I ever watch the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?", johnaugust.com (2004). Retrieved July 19, 2005.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Rotten Tomatoes
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Box Office Mojo
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Yahoo!
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film page on the Tim Burton Collective fan site
• Detailed Comparison between Theatrical Cut and HD-DVD

Preceded by Fantastic Four

Box office number-one films of 2005 (USA) July 17, 2005 – July 24, 2005

Succeeded by Wedding Crashers

v • d • e Films directed by Tim Burton 1980s Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) • Beetlejuice (1988) • Batman (1989) 1990s Edward Scissorhands (1990) • Batman Returns (1992) • Ed Wood (1994) • Mars Attacks! (1996) • Sleepy Hollow (1999) 2000s Planet of the Apes (2001) • Big Fish (2003) • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) • Corpse Bride (2005) • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) 2010s Alice in Wonderland

v • d • e Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Characters Willy Wonka • Oompa-Loompas • Charlie Bucket • Augustus Gloop • Veruca Salt • Violet Beauregarde • Mike Teavee • Grandpa Joe • Mr. Slugworth • The Candy Man • Prince Pondicherry • Vermicious knid • Mr. Salt • Mr. Beauregarde • Mrs. Beauregarde Novels Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator Films Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Miscellaneous Golden Ticket • Wonka Bar • Video Game • Differences between book and film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Attractions Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride