This is a new kind of review where I review a film and it's remake and I decide which is the better film and seeing as it's Easter, my first one will be on the much loved children's book by the late Roald Dahl which has since been adapted many times, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For this review, I'm going to look at the original 1971 film titled Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and Tim Burton's "sort of" 2005 remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Let's begin with the original:
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
So in a sort of musical adaptation of the book, we come to a group of kids who choose to go into a candy store to get some candy. All except for Charlie Bucket who is poor and has no money so he just stares at the window, watching. He then gos to a newsagent where the owner gives him some money to buy a loaf of bread and on his way home, he passes Wonka's factory. Hew then hears something from a tinker who tells him that nobody goes in or out. He then returns home questioning the matter to his hard working parents and his less functional grandparents and they tell him that the factory was closed when Wonka found out that his secrets were somehow revealed to the public. Despite that, he still makes and sells candy 3 years later. Wonka then sends out 5 golden tickets and places them in 5 Wonka bars and tells the world that whoever gets these golden tickets, will be given a tour of the factory (and also get a prize) and I think you can work out the rest of the story from there. Now as someone who has read the book, I find this film to be OK. There are parts that are scary and make you think "WTF?!", but for the most part, it tries it's best to stay true to the book, the songs are pretty good and it's overall, a good flick. May not be the best, but it's still worth watching. 8/10
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I won't go into too much detail about the story here, but I will say that this film covers not only the original book, but also covers some of the events in the second book, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, but it being a film directed by Tim Burton, he does it his own way. The film has all of Tim Burton's usual things happening with Johnny Depp playing one of the main characters, Helena Bonham Carter appearing somewhere, Danny Elfman did the musical score for the film and it's a weird and dark film, with a few comedy elements thrown in. The film does have a focus on Wonka's backstory and while I find it to be predictable, it works well for the most part and its very understanding. Visually, the film looks great, the acting is done well, only the Oompa-Loompas get to do songs this time (which is different from the original, but its still pretty good) and it's closer to it's source material than the original film which is always good. 9/10
So for me, both films are great, they do have some similarities such as the original had a focus on Charlie and his life, and the remake had a focus on Wonka and his life (despite the film titles saying the opposite). Acting for both films are great, the music is odd but good at the same time, there are moments in both films that make you go "WTF?!" (although there is less of that in the remake) and both do their best to be closer to the source material. I find Tim Burton's version to be dark, weird and has a few things that weren't in the original story, but however work well and tie in to the main story, whereas the original is more light hearted, a little bit scary here and there, it doesn't really have all the action until much later in the film, but the Wonka in that film is great. Overall, based on what I've said about both films and the scores I've given them (and this is personal preference, not what everyone else has said), Tim Burton's one is the best as it's story is more towards the source material and throws in a few elements from the book's sequel to make it a stand alone film and its great.
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