Search - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Full Screen Edition) on DVD

Robert P. (Jiyu) from VERO BEACH, FL
Reviewed on 3/11/2017...

Largely disappointing. Johnny Depp is quirky and engaging as always, and Deep Roy gives a unique and entertaining performance as ALL of the Oompa Loompas, but overall, the best I can say about this version is that it was worth watching - once. Unfortunately, it pales compared to the original, which remains as perfectly wonderful on the 10th viewing as it was on the first. Not so with this version. If you've seen the original, you can't help but be let down by this remake. I'm a huge Depp fan, but he's no Gene Wilder. Wilder was perfect for the role, while Depp is simply... strange, even creepy, as Willy Wonka. He is as wrong for the role as Wilder would have been for the role of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Some movies were perfect in their original incarnation, and should simply never be remade. This is one of them.

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Nina E.
Reviewed on 7/6/2014...

Magical. A great remake of a classic. In our this is better than the original!

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Casey H. (Gnives) from BALDWYN, MS
Reviewed on 6/7/2011...

Johnny Depp likes being weird and this is his legacy, Good day sir, I said GOOD DAY!

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Christine J. from ROCK HILL, SC
Reviewed on 4/25/2009...

I prefer this version over the original!
Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Roald Dahl is a perfect combination.
Freddie Highmore is adorable and heart-warming, as always.

3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Dreary, Lacking in Charm and the Music's Bad

Confederate | Bethesda, MD | 07/16/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971) is a delightful story with great music that can be viewed repeatedly by both children and adults. And though children and adults will like it for different reasons, it's colorful and enduring. Not so with CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Even though I'm a dedicated Depp fan, this movie is only mildly entertaining and the squirrels manage to steal the show. Perhaps most disappointing is the dreadful music and the muted colors. It isn't magical...it's dysfunctional. Gene Wilder, though wary of children in general, is always in charge, and always entertaining. (One reviewer said "cuddly".) Depp is simply an Edward Scissorhands in charge of a chocolate factory. Burton does his best to add humor to the film, but in the end one usually only remembers the squirrels and the children, not Depp. Sadly, this film is lacking in the very things it should have been rich in. It's like Jan de Bont and THE HAUNTING (1999). Why pick a director who knows nothing about psychological horror to recreate a thriller where psychological horror is at the very heart and soul of the story? In this case, think of Don Knotts as Achilles in about the same way as Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. The humor doesn't work because the film is, at its core, humorless.



The 1971 film is so good in so many ways that it's amazing they thought to remake it. Why waste the money when there are so many other good ideas? But the squirrels were great.



"

Imposter In The Chocolate Factory "gasp"

Rachel Vironet | Alachua, FL, US | 08/21/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This movie was interesting... but I grew up watching the 1971 version of the Roald Dahl book and I am spoiled for any other version. Gene Wilder was untouchable as Willy Wonka. Johnny Depp was awesome and brought a new sort of life to the character but still not Willy Wonka like. I know this movie is a unique adaptation of the book, so it would have a different "feel" but once you watch the version directed by Mel Stuart everything else is just a second rate imitation.



If you have never seen the 1971 version then watch the remake first or you may be disappointed. :)



Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Special Edition)"