A thrilling, most excellent retelling of the tale.

Went to see the movie on the big screen. Showed up in enough time to squeeze into the 2:00 show, but decided instead to be first in to the 2:30 show. It seemed unlikely that we'd be the only ones in the theatre, as no one else wandered in until about 2:20. Then we hit about 1/2 capacity.

First the bad parts of the movie.

For a bit I was worried that we had the loudest blabbers in the row behind us. Thankfully, they shut up as the previews ended and didn't utter anything more than anyone else did for the whole movie.

Someone's infant got fussy about half-way through, and the parent took about fifteen minutes too long to decide that they needed to take the child out of the theater to be dealt with.

And about 1/4 of my popped corn was charred.

Those were the bad parts.

The rest was delightful. I was tentative; with Tim Burton directing I expected something much, much more dark. I expected good, don't get me wrong, but I expected dark.

I first recall seeing the movie on television as a child--no video tapes yet. I may have seen it in the theater, but I was still pre-school when it was released. I think I've seen it similarly (television) since, and perhaps have even done so on purpose (video or DVD).

The story was pretty much the same. The characters of Charlie and Willy are the biggest changes.

Charlie is still an upstanding urchin from desperate conditions. His family is poorer than poor, and still lives in the should-have-fallen-down house, with the parents and grandparents who don't leave the bed. Charlie's got great family pride, is courteous and generous, and holds some high moral values. As in the first movie, he, unlike the other children on the tour, behaves himself and wins the big prize.

The portrayal of Willy Wonka by Johnny Depp made for some interesting comparisons to other real-life characters, and of course, to the role as played by Gene Wilder thirty-some years ago. This Wonka is a little less crazy kid in a grown-up suit, and much more a guy who knows his place and business, who has some internal strife and quirks. Throughout the movie we're taunted with a better approach to "genius or idiot," even when not being spouted from one of the brats on the tour. There's a kind, if brutal, honesty in Depp's delivery.

My favorite line (you've seen it on TV): When one of the children on the tour introduces herself (I believe it was Victoria, but I laughed too much to remember), Willy responds with a gleeful "I don't care."

The events of the film come in the same order, with pretty much the same results. What do you expect? Both movies are based on the same book, and, while I haven't read the book, I suspect the story is pretty much the same there, too.

The end is a little different, and that was as refreshing as the other changes in the story. Again, having not read the book, I'm not sure which movie is the truer; this or the '71 version.

Spoiler follows.

Pages: 1· 2