Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)
Encyclopedia
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film adaptation
of the 1964 book of the same name
by Roald Dahl
. The film was directed by Tim Burton
. The film stars Freddie Highmore
as Charlie Bucket and Johnny Depp
as Willy Wonka
. The storyline concerns Charlie, who takes a tour he has won, through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by Wonka.
Development for another adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory began in 1991, which resulted in Warner Bros.
providing the Dahl Estate with total artistic control
. Prior to Burton's involvement, directors such as Gary Ross
, Rob Minkoff
, Martin Scorsese
and Tom Shadyac
had been involved, while Warner Bros. either considered or discussed the role of Willy Wonka with Nicolas Cage
, Jim Carrey
, Michael Keaton
, Brad Pitt
, Will Smith
and Adam Sandler
.
Burton immediately brought regular collaborators Johnny Depp and Danny Elfman
aboard. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory represents the first time since The Nightmare Before Christmas
that Elfman contributed to the film score using written songs and his vocals. Filming took place from June to December 2004 at Pinewood Studios
in England, where Burton avoided using digital effects as much as possible. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released to critical praise and was a box office success, grossing approximately $475 million worldwide.
, has long since closed access to the factory due to problems concerning industrial espionage
that ultimately led him to fire all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe. One day, Wonka announces a contest in which five Golden Ticket
s have been placed in five random Wonka Bars worldwide, and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory, as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. One ticket-holder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour.
The first four tickets are found by Augustus Gloop, a greedy, gluttonous eater from Düsseldorf
; Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl from Buckinghamshire
; Violet Beauregarde, a boastful, competitive gum chewer
from Atlanta; and Mike Teavee, an arrogant, aggressive video-game addict from Denver. Two of Charlie's attempts to find a ticket end in failure. With one ticket remaining, and his father laid off from his job at a toothpaste factory, replaced by a robot
, Charlie finds a ten pound
note on the street and buys another Wonka Bar with it, which, he finds with joy, contains the last Golden Ticket.
Chaperoned by Grandpa Joe and one of their respective parents, Charlie and the other ticket holders are greeted by Wonka, who leads the group through the facility. During the tour, each of the bad children disobeys Wonka's orders after being tempted by something related to their individual character flaws. They suffer various consequences as a result: Augustus falls into a chocolate river from which he was drinking and is sucked up a chocolate-extraction pipe; Violet chews an experimental gum and swells up into an oversized blueberry; Veruca is pushed into a garbage chute by worker squirrels after trying to take one of them as a pet, and Mike is shrunk by a teleporter that he uses on himself. Each misfortune is accompanied by a song of morality sung by Wonka's employees, the Oompa-Loompas. The children later leave the factory, each with an exaggerated characteristic relating to their demise: Augustus covered in chocolate, Violet being juiced and becoming blue and flexible, Veruca and her father covered in garbage, and Mike being stretched by a taffy
puller into a thin shape.
With Charlie the last remaining child on the tour, Wonka offers him the tour's secret prize: a chance to live in the factory and work with him, revealing that the purpose of the contest was to make the least rotten child heir to the factory so he can have someone carry on his legacy when he dies. The only condition, however, is that Charlie must leave his family behind. As detailed by a series of flashbacks
throughout the film, Wonka ran away from his own father, a dentist, who fitted him with oppressive orthodontic headgear
and forbade him from eating candy. As a result, Wonka believes that Charlie's parents will similarly restrain Charlie's creativity as a candymaker. Charlie refuses Wonka's offer, considering his family the most important thing in his life.
From that moment on, Charlie and his family begin living contently, with his father being rehired at the toothpaste factory to do maintenance on the robot that replaced him, though Wonka becomes depressed. After he returns to Charlie to seek advice, Charlie helps Wonka reunite with his estranged father and repair their relationship. Afterwards, Charlie accepts inheritance of the factory and moves his whole family into the facility, becoming good friends and business partners with Wonka.
hated the 1971 film adaptation
and refused the producers the film rights
to make the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
. Warner Bros. and Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
entered discussions with the Dahl estate in 1991, hoping to purchase the rights to make another film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The purchase was finalized in 1998, with Dahl's widow, Liccy, and daughter, Lucy
, receiving total artistic control
and final privilege on the choices of actors, directors and writers. The Dahl Estate's subsequent protection of the source material
was the principal reason that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory languished in development hell
since the 1990s.
Scott Frank
was hired to write the screenplay in February 1999 with the intention of making it closer to the book, in contrast to the 1971 film. Nicolas Cage
was under discussions for Willy Wonka, but lost interest. Gary Ross
signed to direct in February 2000, which resulted into Frank completing two drafts of the screenplay before leaving with Ross in September 2001. Both Warner Bros. and the Dahl Estate wanted Frank to stay on the project, but he faced scheduling conflicts and contractual obligations with Minority Report
(2002) and The Lookout (2007).
Rob Minkoff
entered negotiations to take the director's position in October 2001, and Gwyn Lurie was hired to start from scratch on a new script in February 2002. "I'm going to work straight from the original book and ignore the original movie," the writer said. Dahl's estate championed Lurie after being impressed with her work on another Dahl adaptation, The BFG
, for Paramount Pictures
(which distributed the earlier 1971 film version of Charlie..., and later sold the rights to WB). In April 2002, Martin Scorsese
was involved with the film, albeit briefly, and opted to direct The Aviator instead. Warner Bros. president Alan F. Horn
wanted Tom Shadyac
to direct Jim Carrey
as Willy Wonka, believing the duo could make Charlie and the Chocolate Factory relevant to mainstream audiences, but Liccy Dahl opposed this.
After reaching enthusiastic approval from the Dahl Estate, Warner Bros. hired Tim Burton
to direct in May 2003. "It was a bit like the situation on Batman
(1989)," Burton reflected. "Warners had the project for a long time, you could see all the different stabs at it. I felt that Scott Frank's version was the best, probably the clearest, and the most interesting, but they had abandoned that." Liccy Dahl commented that Burton was the first and only director the estate was happy with. He had previously produced another of the author's adaptations with James and the Giant Peach
(1996), and, like Roald and Liccy, disliked the 1971 film because it strayed from the book's storyline.
During pre-production
Burton visited Dahl's former home in the Buckinghamshire village of Great Missenden. Liccy Dahl remembers Burton entering Dahl's famed writing shed and saying, "This is the Buckets' house!" and thinking to herself, "Thank God, somebody gets it." Liccy also showed Burton the original handwritten manuscript
s. "They were incredible. Roald Dahl was even more politically incorrect
than what ended up in the book. Originally," Burton explained, "he had five other kids; he had a kid named Herpes
in it." Burton immediately thought of Johnny Depp
for the role of Willy Wonka, who joined the following August for his fourth collaboration with the director.
Lurie's script received a rewrite by Pamela Pettler, who worked with Burton on Corpse Bride
, but the director hired Big Fish
screenwriter John August
in December 2003 to start from scratch. Both August and Burton were fans of the book since their childhoods. August first read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when he was eight years old, and subsequently sent Dahl a fan letter. He did not see the 1971 film prior to his hiring, which Burton believed would be fundamental in having August stay closer to the book. The writer updated the Mike Teavee character into an obsessive video game player, as compared to the novel, in which he fantasized with violent crime film
s. The characters Arthur Slugworth and Prodnose were reduced to brief cameo appearances, while Mr. Beauregarde was entirely omitted.
Burton and August also worked together in creating Wilbur Wonka, Willy's domineering dentist father. "You want a little bit of the flavor of why Wonka is the way he is," Burton reasoned. "Otherwise, what is he? He's just a weird guy." The element of an estranged father-son relationship had previously appeared in Big Fish, similarly directed by Burton and written by August. Warner Bros. and the director held differences over the characterizations of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka. The studio wanted to entirely delete Mr. Bucket and make Willy Wonka the idyllic father figure
Charlie had longed for his entire life. Burton believed that Wonka would not be a good father, finding the character similar to a recluse. "In some ways," Burton protested, "he's more screwed up than the kids." Warner Bros. also wanted Charlie to be a whiz kid, but Burton reasoned that "Charlie should be like 90% of us, kids in school who disappear into the background and keep out of trouble."
Prior to Burton's involvement, Warner Bros. considered or discussed Willy Wonka with Marilyn Manson, Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton
, Brad Pitt
, Will Smith
and Adam Sandler
. Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment
, however, stayed on to co-finance the film with Warners. Johnny Depp was the only actor Burton considered for the role, who signed on without reading the script under the intention of going with a completely different approach than what Gene Wilder
did in the 1971 film adaptation. "Regardless of what one thinks of that film," Depp explained, "Gene Wilder's persona, his character, stands out."
Comparisons were drawn between Willy Wonka and Michael Jackson
. Burton joked, "Here's the deal. There's a big difference: Michael Jackson likes children, Willy Wonka can't stand them. To me that's a huge difference." Depp explained that the similarities with Jackson never occurred to him. "I say if there was anyone you'd want to compare Wonka to it would be a Howard Hughes
, almost. Reclusive, germaphobe, controlling." Burton agreed with the Hughes similarities, and additionally supplied Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane
as inspiration. "Somebody who was brilliant but then was traumatized and then retreats into their own world." Depp wanted to sport prosthetic makeup
for the part and have a long, elongated nose, but Burton believed it would be too outrageous. During production, Gene Wilder, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph
, accused the filmmakers of only remaking the 1971 film for the purpose of money. Depp said he was disappointed by Wilder's comment, and reminded that the film was not a remake, but another adaptation of Dahl's 1964 book.
The casting calls for Charlie Bucket, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee took place in the United States and United Kingdom, while Augustus Gloop's casting took place in Germany. "I tried to find kids who had something of the character in them. Mike Teavee was the hardest," Burton explained, "that took the longest, I don't know why." Burton was finding trouble casting Charlie, until Depp, who worked with Freddie Highmore
on Finding Neverland
, suggested Highmore for the part. Highmore had already read the book before, but decided to read it once more prior to auditioning. "I hadn't seen the original movie before doing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the actor explained. "I thought it was better to wait until afterwards because I thought I ought to create my Charlie on my own. I think the original film is good, but I think it's better now because Charlie is kept more pure."
for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory started on June 21, 2004 at Pinewood Studios
in England. Director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman
found filming somewhat difficult because they were simultaneously working on Corpse Bride
. The Wonka Factory exterior was coincidentally constructed on the same backlot
Burton had used for Gotham City
in Batman
(1989). The ceremonial scene required 500 local extras
. The Chocolate Room/River setpiece filled Pinewood's 007 Stage
. As a consequence of British Equity rules, which state children can only work four and a half hours a day, filming for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory languished for six months and ended in December 2004.
explained. "The cars, in fact, drive down the middle of the road." The town, whose design was shaped by the black and white urban photography of Bill Brandt
, Pittsburgh and Northern England
, is arranged like a medieval village, with Wonka's estate on top and the Bucket shack below. The filmmakers also used fascist architecture
for Wonka's factory exterior, and designed most of the sets on 360° sound stage
s, similar to cyclorama
s. Burton biographer Mark Salisbury wrote that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "melds 1950s and 70s visuals with a futuristic sensibility that seems straight out of a 1960s sense of the future." The "TV Room" was patterned after photographs from 2001: A Space Odyssey
, Danger: Diabolik
and THX 1138
. Danger Diabolik also served as inspiration for the Nut Room and Inventing Room.
techniques, oversized props and scale model
s were used to avoid computer-generated imagery
(CGI). Deep Roy
was cast to play the Oompa-Loompas based on his previous collaborations with Burton on Planet of the Apes
and Big Fish
. The actor was able to play various Oompa-Loompas using split screen photography, digital and front projection effect
s. "Tim told me that the Oompa-Loompas were strictly programmed, like robots — all they do is work, work, work," Roy commented. "So when it comes time to dance, they're like a regiment; they do the same steps.
A practical method was considered for the scene in which Violet Beauregarde turns blue and swells up into a giant 10-foot blueberry. A suit with an air hose was considered at one point for the beginnings of the swelling scene, before the decision was made to do the entire transformation in CGI. The visual effects house Cinesite was recruited for this assignment. In some shots that were shot of AnnaSophia Robb's head, a facial prosthetic was worn to give the impression that her cheeks had swelled up as well. Because this decision was made late in the film's production, any traces of Violet's blueberry scene were omitted from trailers or promotional material.
Rather than rely on CGI, Burton wanted the 40 squirrels in the Nut Room to be real. The animals were trained every day for 10 weeks before filming commenced. They began their coaching while newborns, fed by bottles to form relationships with human trainers. The squirrels were each taught how to sit upon a little blue bar stool, tap and then open a walnut, and deposit its meat onto a conveyor belt. "Ultimately, the scene was supplemented by CGI and animatronics
," Burton said, "but for the close-ups and the main action, they're the real thing." Wonka's Viking boat for the Chocolate River sequence floats down a realistic river filled with 192,000 gallons of faux melted candy. "Having seen the first film, we wanted to make the chocolate river look edible," McDowell says. "In the first film, it's so distasteful." The production first considered a CGI river, but Burton was impressed with the artificial substance when he saw how it clung to the boat's oars. Nine shades of chocolate were tested before Burton settled on the proper hue
.
, 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 synthesizer
samples and the diminutive chanting voices of the Oompa-Loompas.
Elfman also wrote and performed the vocals for four songs, with pitch changes and modulations to represent different singers. The lyrics to the Oompa-Loompa songs are adapted from the original book, and are thus credited to Roald Dahl
. Following Burton's suggestion, 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 bubblegum pop
/ psychedelic pop
, and "Mike Teavee" is a tribute to late 1970s hard rock
(such as Queen
) / early 1980s hair bands
.
The original motion picture soundtrack was released on July 12, 2005 on Warner Home Video Records
.
musical after release. The studio reiterated their interest in May 2003, however, the idea was postponed by the time filming began in June 2004. The main tie-in
for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory focused on The Willy Wonka Candy Company
, a division of Nestlé
. A small range of Wonka Bar
s were launched, utilizing their prominence in the film. The release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also rekindled public interest in Roald Dahl's 1964 book, where it remained on the New York Times Best Seller list
from July 3 to October 23, 2005.
at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre
, where money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
was raised. The film was released in the United States on July 15, 2005 in 3,770 theaters, earning $56,178,450 in its opening weekend, the fifth-highest opening weekend gross for 2005 and stayed at #1 for 2 weeks. This also included IMAX
theaters. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory eventually grossed $206,459,076 in US totals and $268,509,687 in foreign countries, coming to a worldwide total of $474.97 million. It was the fifty-eighth highest grossing film of all time when released, as well as seventh-highest for the US and eighth-highest worldwide for the year of 2005.
, 82% of the critics gave the film positive reviews with a 7.2/10 average score. The consensus reads: "Closer to the source material than 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is for people who like their Chocolate visually appealing and dark." The film was more balanced from 40 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics" poll, receiving an 83% rating and a 7.1/10 score. By comparison, Metacritic
calculated an average score of 72/100 from 40 reviews.
Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
praised Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, writing "Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka may be a stone freak, but he is also one of Burton's classic crackpot conjurers, like Beetlejuice
or Ed Wood
." Roger Ebert
gave an overall positive review and enjoyed the film. He was primarily impressed by Tim Burton's direction of the younger cast members, but was disappointed with Depp's performance: "What was Depp thinking of? In Pirates of the Caribbean
he was famously channeling Keith Richards
, which may have primed us to look for possible inspirations for this performance."
Mick LaSalle
from the San Francisco Chronicle
found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Burton's "best work in years. If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from Highmore, a gifted young performer whose performance is sincere, deep and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor." Peter Travers
wrote in Rolling Stone magazine that "Depp's deliciously demented take on Willy Wonka demands to be seen. Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did. Depp and Burton may fly too high on the vapors of pure imagination, but it's hard to not get hooked on something this tasty. And how about that army of Oompa-Loompas, all played by Deep Roy, in musical numbers that appear to have been choreographed by Busby Berkeley
on crack."
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post
criticized Depp's acting. "The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip. Aside from Burton's usual eye-popping direction, the film's strenuous efforts at becoming a camp
classic eventually begin to wear thin."
on Memoirs of a Geisha
. Johnny Depp lost the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy to Joaquin Phoenix
in Walk the Line
. More nominations followed from the British Academy Film Awards
for Visual Effects
, Costume Design
(Pescucci), Makeup & Hair
(Peter Owen and Ivana Primorac) and Production Design
(Alex McDowell). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was also nominated the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
, as well as Performance by a Younger Actor
(Freddie Highmore), Music
(Danny Elfman) and Costume (Pescucci). Elfman and screenwriter John August were nominated for a Grammy Award
with "Wonka's Welcome Song".
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the 1964 book of the same name
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. The film was directed by Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
. The film stars Freddie Highmore
Freddie Highmore
Alfred Thomas "Freddie" Highmore is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Finding Neverland, Five Children and It, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur and the Invisibles, August Rush, The Golden Compass, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Toast.-Early life:Highmore was...
as Charlie Bucket and Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as Willy Wonka
Willy Wonka
This article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly...
. The storyline concerns Charlie, who takes a tour he has won, through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by Wonka.
Development for another adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory began in 1991, which resulted in Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
providing the Dahl Estate with total artistic control
Artistic control
Artistic control or Creative Control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this commonly refers to the authority to decide on the final...
. Prior to Burton's involvement, directors such as Gary Ross
Gary Ross
Gary Ross is an American writer, director, and actor. He is best known for directing Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, both of which featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role...
, Rob Minkoff
Rob Minkoff
Robert R. "Rob" Minkoff is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the Academy Award–winning animated feature The Lion King ....
, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
and Tom Shadyac
Tom Shadyac
Thomas Peter "Tom" Shadyac is an American comedian, director, screenwriter, and producer. Shadyac, who was the youngest joke-writer ever for comedian Bob Hope, is widely known for writing and directing the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, and the...
had been involved, while Warner Bros. either considered or discussed the role of Willy Wonka with Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
, Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
, Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
and Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
.
Burton immediately brought regular collaborators Johnny Depp and Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
aboard. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory represents the first time since The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
that Elfman contributed to the film score using written songs and his vocals. Filming took place from June to December 2004 at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
in England, where Burton avoided using digital effects as much as possible. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released to critical praise and was a box office success, grossing approximately $475 million worldwide.
Plot
Charlie Bucket is a kind, loving boy who lives in poverty with his mother, father, and four bedridden grandparents. Directly across the street from their house is a world-famous chocolate factory, the owner of which, Willy WonkaWilly Wonka
This article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly...
, has long since closed access to the factory due to problems concerning industrial espionage
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
that ultimately led him to fire all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe. One day, Wonka announces a contest in which five Golden Ticket
Golden Ticket
Golden Ticket may refer to:* A plot element of:** The 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*** The 1971 film adaptation, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory*** The 2005 film adaptation, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
s have been placed in five random Wonka Bars worldwide, and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory, as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. One ticket-holder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour.
The first four tickets are found by Augustus Gloop, a greedy, gluttonous eater from Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
; Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl from Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
; Violet Beauregarde, a boastful, competitive gum chewer
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
from Atlanta; and Mike Teavee, an arrogant, aggressive video-game addict from Denver. Two of Charlie's attempts to find a ticket end in failure. With one ticket remaining, and his father laid off from his job at a toothpaste factory, replaced by a robot
Industrial robot
An industrial robot is defined by ISO as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes...
, Charlie finds a ten pound
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
note on the street and buys another Wonka Bar with it, which, he finds with joy, contains the last Golden Ticket.
Chaperoned by Grandpa Joe and one of their respective parents, Charlie and the other ticket holders are greeted by Wonka, who leads the group through the facility. During the tour, each of the bad children disobeys Wonka's orders after being tempted by something related to their individual character flaws. They suffer various consequences as a result: Augustus falls into a chocolate river from which he was drinking and is sucked up a chocolate-extraction pipe; Violet chews an experimental gum and swells up into an oversized blueberry; Veruca is pushed into a garbage chute by worker squirrels after trying to take one of them as a pet, and Mike is shrunk by a teleporter that he uses on himself. Each misfortune is accompanied by a song of morality sung by Wonka's employees, the Oompa-Loompas. The children later leave the factory, each with an exaggerated characteristic relating to their demise: Augustus covered in chocolate, Violet being juiced and becoming blue and flexible, Veruca and her father covered in garbage, and Mike being stretched by a taffy
Taffy (candy)
Taffy is a type of chewy candy, similar to toffee. Taffy is often sold alongside bubblegum and candy. Taffy is made by stretching or pulling a sticky mass of boiled sugar, butter or vegetable oil, flavorings, and coloring until fluffy. When this process is complete, the taffy is rolled, cut into...
puller into a thin shape.
With Charlie the last remaining child on the tour, Wonka offers him the tour's secret prize: a chance to live in the factory and work with him, revealing that the purpose of the contest was to make the least rotten child heir to the factory so he can have someone carry on his legacy when he dies. The only condition, however, is that Charlie must leave his family behind. As detailed by a series of flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
throughout the film, Wonka ran away from his own father, a dentist, who fitted him with oppressive orthodontic headgear
Orthodontic headgear
Orthodontic headgear is a type of orthodontic appliance attached to dental braces or a palatal expander that aids in correcting severe bite problems.- Need for treatment and concurrent corrections :...
and forbade him from eating candy. As a result, Wonka believes that Charlie's parents will similarly restrain Charlie's creativity as a candymaker. Charlie refuses Wonka's offer, considering his family the most important thing in his life.
From that moment on, Charlie and his family begin living contently, with his father being rehired at the toothpaste factory to do maintenance on the robot that replaced him, though Wonka becomes depressed. After he returns to Charlie to seek advice, Charlie helps Wonka reunite with his estranged father and repair their relationship. Afterwards, Charlie accepts inheritance of the factory and moves his whole family into the facility, becoming good friends and business partners with Wonka.
Cast
- Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as Willy WonkaWilly WonkaThis article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly... - Freddie HighmoreFreddie HighmoreAlfred Thomas "Freddie" Highmore is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Finding Neverland, Five Children and It, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur and the Invisibles, August Rush, The Golden Compass, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Toast.-Early life:Highmore was...
as Charlie Bucket - David KellyDavid Kelly (actor)David Kelly is an Irish actor, who has been in regular film and television work since the 1950s.-Acting career:Playing everything from Beckett to Shakespeare, he has appeared in Theatre, TV and film constantly since 1959...
as Grandpa Joe - Jordan FryJordan Fry-Private life:Fry was born in Spokane, Washington to Paul Fry and Christine; he has a sister, Rachel, and a brother, Joshua. He is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, WA and unlike his character Mike Teavee, he is very involved in sports, such as playing for the school football and diving...
as Mike Teavee - Julia WinterJulia WinterJulia Winter is a Swedish-born English actress.-Background:Winter was born in Stockholm, Sweden and grew up in London, England. She is fluent in both Swedish and English. She attends SSHL, a school in Sigtuna, Sweden...
as Veruca SaltVeruca SaltVeruca Salt may refer to:*The character in the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the films based on the novel*Veruca Salt , the Chicago-based alternative rock band... - AnnaSophia RobbAnnaSophia RobbAnnaSophia Robb is an American film and television actress. She gained prominence in 2005 with starring roles in Because of Winn-Dixie and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and starred in Bridge to Terabithia , Race to Witch Mountain , and Soul Surfer .-Personal life:Robb was born in Denver,...
as Violet Beauregarde - Philip WiegratzPhilip WiegratzPhilip Wiegratz is a German child actor. His filmography consists partly of adaptations of popular English and German children's books....
as Augustus Gloop - Helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as Mrs. Bucket - Noah TaylorNoah TaylorNoah George Taylor is an English-born Australian actor.-Early life:Taylor, elder of two boys, was born in London, England, the son of Maggie, a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist. Taylor's Australian parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew...
as Mr. Bucket - Missi PyleMissi PyleAndrea Kay "Missi" Pyle is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in several films, including Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay...
as Mrs. Beauregarde - James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
as Mr. Salt - Deep RoyDeep RoyGurdeep Roy , sometimes credited as Roy Deep, Gordeep Roy, or just Deep Roy, is a Kenyan-born English actor, stuntman and puppeteer of Indian descent.-Early life:...
as the Oompa-Loompas (vocals by Danny ElfmanDanny ElfmanDaniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
) - Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Dr. Wilbur Wonka - Adam GodleyAdam GodleyAdam Godley is an English actor.-Biography:Adam Godley has appeared in numerous movies including Love Actually, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ....
as Mr. Teavee - Franziska TroegnerFranziska TroegnerFranziska Troegner is a German actress; she was born in Berlin.Starting in 1976, Troegner was part of the theatre company Berliner Ensemble where she played in Brecht plays, e.g. Mother Courage and Her Children, The Threepenny Opera, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. She dubbed minor roles in several...
as Mrs. Gloop - Blair DunlopBlair DunlopBlair Dunlop is an English actor and musician. He used to attend Repton School, Derbyshire, England, the same school as attended by Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He has now taken a year out before university to concentrate on his musical aspirations...
as Young Willy Wonka - Liz SmithLiz Smith (actress)Liz Smith, MBE is a British actress, best-known for her roles in the sitcoms The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family. She also appeared in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
as Grandma Georgina - Eileen EssellEileen EssellEileen Essell is an English actress noted in part for the age at which she began her screen acting career.Although she acted on the stage for 13 years in the 1940s and 50s, her first screen performance was in her late 70s, in an episode of Doctors, and has since appeared in many other TV...
as Grandma Josephine - David MorrisDavid Morris (actor)David Cedric Morris was an English painter and actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Grandpa George in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . He made his debut as a professional actor at the age of 79....
as Grandpa George
Development
Author Roald DahlRoald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
hated the 1971 film adaptation
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
and refused the producers the film rights
Film rights
Film rights are the rights under copyright law to make a derivative work—in this case, a film—derived from an item of intellectual property. Under U.S...
to make the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is a children's book by British author Roald Dahl. It is the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, continuing the story of young Charlie Bucket and eccentric candymaker Willy Wonka as they travel in the Great Glass Elevator.Charlie and the Great Glass...
. Warner Bros. and Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
Brillstein Entertainment Partners is a talent management film and television production company formed by the 1991 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Company, founded by Bernie Brillstein in 1969.-The Brillstein Company:Bernie Brillstein formed The Brillstein Company in 1969...
entered discussions with the Dahl estate in 1991, hoping to purchase the rights to make another film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The purchase was finalized in 1998, with Dahl's widow, Liccy, and daughter, Lucy
Lucy Dahl
Lucy Dahl is a British screenwriter and daughter of Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal. She wrote the screenplay for Wild Child and served as a consultant to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on her father's book of the same name. She is also a content contributor to the online food and wine...
, receiving total artistic control
Artistic control
Artistic control or Creative Control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this commonly refers to the authority to decide on the final...
and final privilege on the choices of actors, directors and writers. The Dahl Estate's subsequent protection of the source material
Primary source
Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
was the principal reason that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory languished in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
since the 1990s.
Scott Frank
Scott Frank
Scott Frank is an American screenwriter & director.- Filmography :*Plain Clothes *Dead Again *Little Man Tate *Malice *Get Shorty...
was hired to write the screenplay in February 1999 with the intention of making it closer to the book, in contrast to the 1971 film. Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
was under discussions for Willy Wonka, but lost interest. Gary Ross
Gary Ross
Gary Ross is an American writer, director, and actor. He is best known for directing Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, both of which featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role...
signed to direct in February 2000, which resulted into Frank completing two drafts of the screenplay before leaving with Ross in September 2001. Both Warner Bros. and the Dahl Estate wanted Frank to stay on the project, but he faced scheduling conflicts and contractual obligations with Minority Report
Minority Report (film)
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
(2002) and The Lookout (2007).
Rob Minkoff
Rob Minkoff
Robert R. "Rob" Minkoff is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the Academy Award–winning animated feature The Lion King ....
entered negotiations to take the director's position in October 2001, and Gwyn Lurie was hired to start from scratch on a new script in February 2002. "I'm going to work straight from the original book and ignore the original movie," the writer said. Dahl's estate championed Lurie after being impressed with her work on another Dahl adaptation, The BFG
The BFG
The BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
, for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(which distributed the earlier 1971 film version of Charlie..., and later sold the rights to WB). In April 2002, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
was involved with the film, albeit briefly, and opted to direct The Aviator instead. Warner Bros. president Alan F. Horn
Alan F. Horn
Alan F. Horn is the President & COO of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Horn also sits on the board of directors of Univision.Prior to Warner Bros., Horn served in various positions at 20th Century Fox and at Norman Lear's television production company, Tandem Productions...
wanted Tom Shadyac
Tom Shadyac
Thomas Peter "Tom" Shadyac is an American comedian, director, screenwriter, and producer. Shadyac, who was the youngest joke-writer ever for comedian Bob Hope, is widely known for writing and directing the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, and the...
to direct Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
as Willy Wonka, believing the duo could make Charlie and the Chocolate Factory relevant to mainstream audiences, but Liccy Dahl opposed this.
After reaching enthusiastic approval from the Dahl Estate, Warner Bros. hired Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
to direct in May 2003. "It was a bit like the situation on Batman
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
(1989)," Burton reflected. "Warners had the project for a long time, you could see all the different stabs at it. I felt that Scott Frank's version was the best, probably the clearest, and the most interesting, but they had abandoned that." Liccy Dahl commented that Burton was the first and only director the estate was happy with. He had previously produced another of the author's adaptations with James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach (film)
James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
(1996), and, like Roald and Liccy, disliked the 1971 film because it strayed from the book's storyline.
During pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
Burton visited Dahl's former home in the Buckinghamshire village of Great Missenden. Liccy Dahl remembers Burton entering Dahl's famed writing shed and saying, "This is the Buckets' house!" and thinking to herself, "Thank God, somebody gets it." Liccy also showed Burton the original handwritten manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s. "They were incredible. Roald Dahl was even more politically incorrect
Politically incorrect
The phrase "politically incorrect" may refer to:* Someone or something which does not meet a standard of political correctness* Politically Incorrect, a late-night U.S. political talk show* Politically Incorrect, a German political blog...
than what ended up in the book. Originally," Burton explained, "he had five other kids; he had a kid named Herpes
Herpes simplex virus
Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 , also known as Human herpes virus 1 and 2 , are two members of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, that infect humans. Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 are ubiquitous and contagious...
in it." Burton immediately thought of Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
for the role of Willy Wonka, who joined the following August for his fourth collaboration with the director.
Lurie's script received a rewrite by Pamela Pettler, who worked with Burton on Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride, often promoted as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, is a 2005 stop-motion-animated fantasy musical film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter ...
, but the director hired Big Fish
Big Fish
Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy adventure film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Marion Cotillard. Finney plays Edward Bloom, a former traveling salesman from...
screenwriter John August
John August
John August is an American screenwriter and film director. He also writes and maintains the popular screenwriting blog , and develops screenwriter-targeted software....
in December 2003 to start from scratch. Both August and Burton were fans of the book since their childhoods. August first read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when he was eight years old, and subsequently sent Dahl a fan letter. He did not see the 1971 film prior to his hiring, which Burton believed would be fundamental in having August stay closer to the book. The writer updated the Mike Teavee character into an obsessive video game player, as compared to the novel, in which he fantasized with violent crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
s. The characters Arthur Slugworth and Prodnose were reduced to brief cameo appearances, while Mr. Beauregarde was entirely omitted.
Burton and August also worked together in creating Wilbur Wonka, Willy's domineering dentist father. "You want a little bit of the flavor of why Wonka is the way he is," Burton reasoned. "Otherwise, what is he? He's just a weird guy." The element of an estranged father-son relationship had previously appeared in Big Fish, similarly directed by Burton and written by August. Warner Bros. and the director held differences over the characterizations of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka. The studio wanted to entirely delete Mr. Bucket and make Willy Wonka the idyllic father figure
Father Figure
"Father Figure" is the U.S. number-one song written and performed by George Michael and released on Columbia Records in 1988 as the third single from the album Faith.-History:...
Charlie had longed for his entire life. Burton believed that Wonka would not be a good father, finding the character similar to a recluse. "In some ways," Burton protested, "he's more screwed up than the kids." Warner Bros. also wanted Charlie to be a whiz kid, but Burton reasoned that "Charlie should be like 90% of us, kids in school who disappear into the background and keep out of trouble."
Prior to Burton's involvement, Warner Bros. considered or discussed Willy Wonka with Marilyn Manson, Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
, Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
and Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
. Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment is a film production company founded by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, and Jennifer Aniston. In 2006, Pitt became the sole owner; the company currently holds a release deal with Paramount Pictures, along with Warner Bros...
, however, stayed on to co-finance the film with Warners. Johnny Depp was the only actor Burton considered for the role, who signed on without reading the script under the intention of going with a completely different approach than what Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
did in the 1971 film adaptation. "Regardless of what one thinks of that film," Depp explained, "Gene Wilder's persona, his character, stands out."
Comparisons were drawn between Willy Wonka and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. Burton joked, "Here's the deal. There's a big difference: Michael Jackson likes children, Willy Wonka can't stand them. To me that's a huge difference." Depp explained that the similarities with Jackson never occurred to him. "I say if there was anyone you'd want to compare Wonka to it would be a Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, almost. Reclusive, germaphobe, controlling." Burton agreed with the Hughes similarities, and additionally supplied Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
as inspiration. "Somebody who was brilliant but then was traumatized and then retreats into their own world." Depp wanted to sport prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...
for the part and have a long, elongated nose, but Burton believed it would be too outrageous. During production, Gene Wilder, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, accused the filmmakers of only remaking the 1971 film for the purpose of money. Depp said he was disappointed by Wilder's comment, and reminded that the film was not a remake, but another adaptation of Dahl's 1964 book.
The casting calls for Charlie Bucket, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee took place in the United States and United Kingdom, while Augustus Gloop's casting took place in Germany. "I tried to find kids who had something of the character in them. Mike Teavee was the hardest," Burton explained, "that took the longest, I don't know why." Burton was finding trouble casting Charlie, until Depp, who worked with Freddie Highmore
Freddie Highmore
Alfred Thomas "Freddie" Highmore is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Finding Neverland, Five Children and It, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur and the Invisibles, August Rush, The Golden Compass, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Toast.-Early life:Highmore was...
on Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee...
, suggested Highmore for the part. Highmore had already read the book before, but decided to read it once more prior to auditioning. "I hadn't seen the original movie before doing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the actor explained. "I thought it was better to wait until afterwards because I thought I ought to create my Charlie on my own. I think the original film is good, but I think it's better now because Charlie is kept more pure."
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory started on June 21, 2004 at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
in England. Director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
found filming somewhat difficult because they were simultaneously working on Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride, often promoted as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, is a 2005 stop-motion-animated fantasy musical film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter ...
. The Wonka Factory exterior was coincidentally constructed on the same backlot
Backlot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....
Burton had used for Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
in Batman
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
(1989). The ceremonial scene required 500 local extras
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
. The Chocolate Room/River setpiece filled Pinewood's 007 Stage
007 Stage
The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest silent stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after the famous James Bond film producer Albert R...
. As a consequence of British Equity rules, which state children can only work four and a half hours a day, filming for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory languished for six months and ended in December 2004.
Design
The architecture of the Bucket family home was influenced by Burton's visit to Roald Dahl's writing hut. Like the book, the film has a "timeless" setting and is not set in a specific country. "We've tried not to pinpoint it to any place," production designer Alex McDowellAlex McDowell
Alex McDowell, RDI is British production designer and film producer.McDowell was born in Borneo to parents of English origin. He wanted to become a painter and studied at the Central School of Art in London. He founded Rocking Russian Design in 1978 and started his career designing album covers...
explained. "The cars, in fact, drive down the middle of the road." The town, whose design was shaped by the black and white urban photography of Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes.-Career and life:...
, Pittsburgh and Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
, is arranged like a medieval village, with Wonka's estate on top and the Bucket shack below. The filmmakers also used fascist architecture
Fascist architecture
Rationalist-Fascist architecture was an Italian architectural style developed during the fascism regime and in particular starting from the late 1920s. It was promoted and practiced initially by the Gruppo 7 group, whose architects included Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco, Gino...
for Wonka's factory exterior, and designed most of the sets on 360° sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
s, similar to cyclorama
Cyclorama
For the classical album Cyclorama, see Jonathan Goldstein; For the rock album Cyclorama by Styx, see Cyclorama ; for the theatrical backdrop, see Cyclorama...
s. Burton biographer Mark Salisbury wrote that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "melds 1950s and 70s visuals with a futuristic sensibility that seems straight out of a 1960s sense of the future." The "TV Room" was patterned after photographs from 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
, Danger: Diabolik
Danger: Diabolik
Danger: Diabolik is a 1968 feature film from Italian filmmaker Mario Bava based on the Italian comic character Diabolik.- About the film :...
and THX 1138
THX 1138
THX 1138 is a 1971 science fiction film directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. The film is based on a screenplay by Lucas and Walter Murch...
. Danger Diabolik also served as inspiration for the Nut Room and Inventing Room.
Visual effects
Tim Burton avoided using too many digital effects because he wanted the younger actors to feel as if they were working in a realistic environment. As a result, forced perspectiveForced perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture...
techniques, oversized props and scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s were used to avoid computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
(CGI). Deep Roy
Deep Roy
Gurdeep Roy , sometimes credited as Roy Deep, Gordeep Roy, or just Deep Roy, is a Kenyan-born English actor, stuntman and puppeteer of Indian descent.-Early life:...
was cast to play the Oompa-Loompas based on his previous collaborations with Burton on Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (2001 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 2001 American science fiction film, based on Pierre Boulle's novel and a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Tim Burton directed the film, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Estella Warren. It tells the...
and Big Fish
Big Fish
Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy adventure film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Marion Cotillard. Finney plays Edward Bloom, a former traveling salesman from...
. The actor was able to play various Oompa-Loompas using split screen photography, digital and front projection effect
Front projection effect
A front projection effect is an in-camera visual effects process in film production for combining foreground performance with pre-filmed background footage...
s. "Tim told me that the Oompa-Loompas were strictly programmed, like robots — all they do is work, work, work," Roy commented. "So when it comes time to dance, they're like a regiment; they do the same steps.
A practical method was considered for the scene in which Violet Beauregarde turns blue and swells up into a giant 10-foot blueberry. A suit with an air hose was considered at one point for the beginnings of the swelling scene, before the decision was made to do the entire transformation in CGI. The visual effects house Cinesite was recruited for this assignment. In some shots that were shot of AnnaSophia Robb's head, a facial prosthetic was worn to give the impression that her cheeks had swelled up as well. Because this decision was made late in the film's production, any traces of Violet's blueberry scene were omitted from trailers or promotional material.
Rather than rely on CGI, Burton wanted the 40 squirrels in the Nut Room to be real. The animals were trained every day for 10 weeks before filming commenced. They began their coaching while newborns, fed by bottles to form relationships with human trainers. The squirrels were each taught how to sit upon a little blue bar stool, tap and then open a walnut, and deposit its meat onto a conveyor belt. "Ultimately, the scene was supplemented by CGI and animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
," Burton said, "but for the close-ups and the main action, they're the real thing." Wonka's Viking boat for the Chocolate River sequence floats down a realistic river filled with 192,000 gallons of faux melted candy. "Having seen the first film, we wanted to make the chocolate river look edible," McDowell says. "In the first film, it's so distasteful." The production first considered a CGI river, but Burton was impressed with the artificial substance when he saw how it clung to the boat's oars. Nine shades of chocolate were tested before Burton settled on the proper hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
.
Music
The original music score was written by Danny ElfmanDanny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
, a frequent collaborator with director Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
. 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
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
for Willy Wonka; and a hyper-upbeat factory theme for full orchestra, Elfman's homemade synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
samples and the diminutive chanting voices of the Oompa-Loompas.
Elfman also wrote and performed the vocals for four songs, with pitch changes and modulations to represent different singers. The lyrics to the Oompa-Loompa songs are adapted from the original book, and are thus credited to Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. Following Burton's suggestion, each song in the score is designed to reflect a different archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
. "Wonka's Welcome Song" is a maddeningly cheerful theme park ditty, "Augustus Gloop" a Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
spectacle (per Deep Roy
Deep Roy
Gurdeep Roy , sometimes credited as Roy Deep, Gordeep Roy, or just Deep Roy, is a Kenyan-born English actor, stuntman and puppeteer of Indian descent.-Early life:...
's suggestion), "Violet Beauregarde" is 1970s funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, "Veruca Salt" is 1960s bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
/ psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop is a psychedelic musical style inspired by the sounds of psychedelic folk and psychedelic rock, but applied to a pop music setting...
, and "Mike Teavee" is a tribute to late 1970s hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
(such as Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
) / early 1980s hair bands
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
.
The original motion picture soundtrack was released on July 12, 2005 on Warner Home Video Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
Marketing
Early in the development of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in February 2000, Warner Bros. announced their intention of marketing the film with a Broadway theatreBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical after release. The studio reiterated their interest in May 2003, however, the idea was postponed by the time filming began in June 2004. The main tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory focused on The Willy Wonka Candy Company
The Willy Wonka Candy Company
The Willy Wonka Candy Company is a brand of candy owned by the Nestle company using licensed materials from Roald Dahl's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and its two film adaptations for their packaging and marketing. The brand started in 1971, coinciding with the release of the first film adaptation...
, a division of Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
. A small range of Wonka Bar
Wonka Bar
The Wonka Bar is both a fictional candy bar, introduced in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, and a type of real life candy bar inspired by the fictional confection. Wonka Bars appear in both film adaptations of the novel, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and...
s were launched, utilizing their prominence in the film. The release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also rekindled public interest in Roald Dahl's 1964 book, where it remained on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
from July 3 to October 23, 2005.
Release
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had its premierePremiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
, where money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty-seven countries around the world through thirty-six affiliate offices.The president & CEO of this...
was raised. The film was released in the United States on July 15, 2005 in 3,770 theaters, earning $56,178,450 in its opening weekend, the fifth-highest opening weekend gross for 2005 and stayed at #1 for 2 weeks. This also included IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theaters. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory eventually grossed $206,459,076 in US totals and $268,509,687 in foreign countries, coming to a worldwide total of $474.97 million. It was the fifty-eighth highest grossing film of all time when released, as well as seventh-highest for the US and eighth-highest worldwide for the year of 2005.
Critical analysis
Based on 205 reviews collected by Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 82% of the critics gave the film positive reviews with a 7.2/10 average score. The consensus reads: "Closer to the source material than 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is for people who like their Chocolate visually appealing and dark." The film was more balanced from 40 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics" poll, receiving an 83% rating and a 7.1/10 score. By comparison, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
calculated an average score of 72/100 from 40 reviews.
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
praised Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, writing "Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka may be a stone freak, but he is also one of Burton's classic crackpot conjurers, like Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
or Ed Wood
Ed Wood (film)
Ed Wood is a 1994 American comedy-drama biopic directed and produced by Tim Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as cult filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau...
." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave an overall positive review and enjoyed the film. He was primarily impressed by Tim Burton's direction of the younger cast members, but was disappointed with Depp's performance: "What was Depp thinking of? In Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
he was famously channeling Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, which may have primed us to look for possible inspirations for this performance."
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
from the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Burton's "best work in years. If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from Highmore, a gifted young performer whose performance is sincere, deep and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor." Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
wrote in Rolling Stone magazine that "Depp's deliciously demented take on Willy Wonka demands to be seen. Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did. Depp and Burton may fly too high on the vapors of pure imagination, but it's hard to not get hooked on something this tasty. And how about that army of Oompa-Loompas, all played by Deep Roy, in musical numbers that appear to have been choreographed by Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
on crack."
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
criticized Depp's acting. "The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip. Aside from Burton's usual eye-popping direction, the film's strenuous efforts at becoming a camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
classic eventually begin to wear thin."
Awards
Costume designer Gabriella Pescucci received an Academy Award nomination, but lost to Colleen AtwoodColleen Atwood
Colleen Atwood is an American costume designer.Atwood has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design nine times and won Academy Awards for the movies Chicago in 2002, Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006, and Alice in Wonderland in 2011. Atwood has collaborated several times with...
on Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha (film)
Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment and by Douglas Wick's Red Wagon Productions. It was directed by Rob Marshall. It was released in the United States on December 9, 2005 by...
. Johnny Depp lost the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy to Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
in Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
. More nominations followed from the British Academy Film Awards
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
for Visual Effects
BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
*2010 - Inception - Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb**Alice in Wonderland - Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Sean Phillips and Carey Villegas**Black Swan - Dan Schrecker...
, Costume Design
BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design
The British Academy Film Award for Best Costume Design is one of the annual film awards given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-1960s:* 1969 - Oh! What a Lovely War - Anthony Mendleson** Funny Girl – Irene Sharaff...
(Pescucci), Makeup & Hair
BAFTA Award for Best Makeup & Hair
-Winners and nominees:*1999 - Topsy-Turvy - Christine Blundell**American Beauty – Tania McComas Carol A. O'Connell**The End of the Affair – Christine Beveridge**An Ideal Husband – Peter King...
(Peter Owen and Ivana Primorac) and Production Design
BAFTA Award for Best Production Design
List of winners of the BAFTA Awards from 1964 to the present in the category "Best Production Design".-1960s:Best British Production Design - Black and White1964: Dr...
(Alex McDowell). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was also nominated the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Fantasy Film:...
, as well as Performance by a Younger Actor
Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Performance by a Younger Actor:- References :* , Saturn Awards...
(Freddie Highmore), Music
Saturn Award for Best Music
The following is a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Music.-Multiple Winners:*John Williams - 7 awards*Danny Elfman - 5 awards*James Horner - 3 awards*Alan Silvestri - 3 awards*Alan Menken - 2 awards*John Ottman - 2 awards*Miklós Rózsa - 2 awards...
(Danny Elfman) and Costume (Pescucci). Elfman and screenwriter John August were nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
with "Wonka's Welcome Song".