Sunday October 23, 2011

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory- Caught this one on ABC Family today, and it's sometimes difficult to compare a remake film to its original, but in the end, one must decide. Despite making several improvements on this version, it's hard to hate on a movie with as much imagination, color, and catchy songs as this one. Sorry, but Gene Wilder just works the screen in a way that Depp doesn't. Maybe it's Depp's utter creepiness and acid attitude that keeps me away, but this film shows Wonka in a much less crazed tone, which is kind of comforting. In the new version, when Charlie ends up working with Wonka, I get a weird unfriendly/psycho killer vibe, while in the original, I feel genuine heart. I think the biggest differences between the 2 really is the musical aspect and the character of Wonka. Wonka in the original seems to have his plan well put together, weeding out kids like he wrote it in fate's weave. The new Wonka seems like he wrote a death song for everybody and every situation, because he gets a simple pleasure from watching kids bite the dust. Either way, both are good films, and I wouldn't expect it, but they go well together.



- Jeff Bassin