Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005, Tim Burton)
29/03/2024
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film directed by Tim Burton.
The film stars Johnny Depp and is based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.
Another adaptation had previously been made from the book in 1971, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, by Mel Stuart, with Gene Wilder, from whom, however, Burton said he did not take inspiration for his, instead trying to return to the spirit original of Dahl's novel.
Charlie Bucket is a poor child who lives with his family, consisting of his parents, his paternal grandparents George and Georgina and his maternal grandparents Joe and Josephine.
One evening grandfather Joe tells Charlie that, years before, he worked in the first shop opened by the man who would become the most famous sweets maker in the world, the enigmatic Willy Wonka. Unfortunately, Wonka's rivals, envious of his sweets and success, sent spies to steal his secret recipes, to the point that Willy Wonka was forced to close the factory, firing his employees.
One day Willy Wonka makes an announcement that shocks the whole world: whoever finds five golden tickets hidden in as many chocolate bars produced by him, which could be found anywhere in the world, will have the opportunity to visit his grandiose factory, and one of the five visitors will win a special prize. As soon as the news spreads, the sweet shops are stormed and, after a short time, the first four tickets are found by four children: Augustus Gloop, from Düsseldorf, Germany, greedy and obese; Veruca Salt, from Buckinghamshire, England, a capricious and spoiled little girl by her rich father; Violet Beauregarde, from Atlanta, Georgia, a vain and arrogant little girl, world bubble gum champion and winner of numerous awards; Mike Teavee from Denver, Colorado, a very intelligent and grumpy child addicted to television and video games.
During the tour of the factory, a series of flashbacks reveal Willy Wonka's past: he was the son of the uncompromising dentist Wilbur Wonka, who made him wear enormous orthodontic braces and didn't allow him even the smallest sweet. One Halloween night, after his father had thrown the sweets he had collected into the fire, little Willy secretly managed to retrieve and eat a chocolate. After closing the factory due to recipe thefts, he decided to reopen it having found new and loyal workers among the indigenous Oompa-Loompas.
During the tour inside the factory, unlike Charlie, the other four children turn out to be unpleasant and disobedient and are involved in various events due to which they leave the scene one after the other: Augustus falls into a river of chocolate from which he was trying to drink and is sucked into a tube that collects the chocolate and takes it to the various departments; Violet tries an experimental chewing gum on herself and swells, transforming into a huge blueberry; Veruca is attacked and thrown into the garbage dump by a group of squirrels trained to shell nets, after trying to catch one; Mike gets teleported by a machine to transfer Wonka Bars to the television and becomes very small.
Charlie Bucket, played by Freddie Highmore.
Willy Wonka, played by Johnny Depp.
Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, played by Noah Taylor and Helena Bonham Carter.
