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| Sunday, July 24, 2005 05:32 PM |
| Have you seen the new Willy? |
 by Fëanor |
Poppy and I just got back from seeing Tim Burton's new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and we were both pleasantly surprised. It's a really clever, amusing, and all-around fun movie, and even teaches you some good lessons about manners and what's important in life without getting too corny (although of course it does get a little corny, especially near the end). I never thought it could be as good as the wonderful original film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, especially after I saw the crummy trailers, but I'd say that it was nearly as good, if not as good, as that film, and that the ending was perhaps even better. The casting was fantastic; no one, I think, could compare to the original Veruca Salt, but Annasophia Robb and Missi Pyle as Violet Beauregarde and her mother, respectively, striding about purposefully in their matching hot-pink outfits and make-up, were simply inspired. I loved the entire Bucket family (which included Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket, Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket, David Kelly as Grandpa Joe, and the quite talented young Freddie Highmore--whom you may recognize from Finding Neverland--as Charlie Bucket), and Christopher Lee was absolutely perfect as Willy Wonka's strict, candy-hating dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka (Wonka's flashbacks, btw, are a great addition to the story). Poppy and I differed on the songs (she preferred the originals, whereas I thought these were a bit better), but on the film as a whole, we were in complete agreement: quite excellent!
We also agreed, after having sat through the whole movie with a rather large mother and her two very small children sitting nearby, that you should NOT bring a baby into a movie theater. Come on now, people. Get somebody to look after the tyke or stay home. Not only are you and the baby almost bound to have a bad time, everyone around you is going to end up having a bad time, too. |
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