IE TALK - Scholastic Canada

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Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1 of 11
THE SUNSET STAR NEWSPAPER | E3
MOVIE REVIEWS
Burton Film Worth the Hype
CHARLIE
AND THE
CHOCOLATE
FACTORY (PG)
Copyright © Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp,
Freddie Highmore,
Helena Bonham Carter,
David Kelly, Noah Taylor,
Deep Roy
Rating: 
The lucky golden ticket winners explore the edible chocolate factory in a scene
from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Charlie continued on E4
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2 of 11
E4 | THE SUNSET STAR NEWSPAPER
MOVIE REVIEWS
Copyright © Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
Charlie continued from E3
If the movie Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory were a
chocolate bar, it would definitely
be dark chocolate. With its rich
colours, intense characters,
and dark sense of humour, it is
delightful and delicious and
not to be missed.
The movie, based on Roald Dahl’s
1964 book with the same title,
tells the tale of Charlie Bucket,
a boy who comes from a very poor
but loving family. In their town,
there’s a huge chocolate factory
run by a man named Willy Wonka.
Charlie loves chocolate,
but gets only one
chocolate bar a year,
on his birthday.
You can imagine how
excited Charlie is
when Willy Wonka
announces a contest
in which five children
can win an exclusive
tour of the factory plus
a lifetime supply of
chocolate. All they have to do
is find one of the five golden
tickets hidden inside the Wonka
Charlie continued on E5
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 3 of 11
THE SUNSET STAR NEWSPAPER | E5
Depp Brings Colourful Character to Life
chocolate bars. Charlie’s birthday
is just around the corner and he
longs to find one of the golden
tickets. In the end, the five lucky
winners are: Augustus Gloop,
a gluttonous eater; Veruca Salt,
a spoiled rich girl; Violet
Beauregard, an aspiring gumchewing champion; Mike Teavee,
a boy obsessed with video
technology; and, luckily, Charlie.
doesn’t seem phased or surprised
by these “accidents.” Instead,
he continues with the tour until
only Charlie is left.
The character of Willy Wonka
(played by Johnny Depp) is kind
of creepy—and I loved him. His
face is unnaturally pale, almost
lavender. He’s quite rude, but
that’s fun because it’s also silly;
he’s child-like, and he speaks
Inside the factory, odd events in an odd, high-pitched voice
eliminate the children one by that only adds to his weird
one. Each time, Willy Wonka quirkiness.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Charlie continued from E4
In fact, one of the best things
this movie does is explain why
Willy Wonka is so eccentric. In
the book and in the previous
film released in 1971, Willy’s
character comes off as an odd
man obsessed with chocolate who
likes to punish children in
strange ways. But in the 2005
version,
screenwriter
John
August adds something new: he
tells us about Willy Wonka’s
restricted childhood in which
Charlie continued on E6
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 4 of 11
E6 | THE SUNSET STAR NEWSPAPER
MOVIE REVIEWS
Copyright © Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
Charlie continued from E5
his nasty dentist father refused
to let him eat any candy and
treated him coldly. That makes
Willy much more likable and
easier for us to relate to. Willy’s
character development is really
lacking in the original film, and Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka steals
scene in Charlie and the
the special effects aren’t nearly every
Chocolate Factory.
as good because computer
house where Charlie lives is so
animation hadn’t been invented
soft and rich that it looks like
when it was made.
candlelight. In contrast, the
Still, the best part of this film is bright and colourful factory with
the design, the sets, and the dancing Oompa-Loompas feels
special effects, which make it cold and empty, making it all the
eerie and beautiful all at once. creepier. Also, in the book,
The light in the falling-down the descriptions of things inside
the factory get a bit boring, but
the images really come to life
in the film: a giant pink boat with
a prow like a dragon’s head,
a transparent elevator that shoots
through the air, and a roomful of
squirrels opening nuts then
turning their twitching noses
towards an unwelcome visitor.
Movie director Tim Burton has
taken novelist Roald Dahl’s recipe
and added new ingredients that
make this tale about chocolate
even more mouth-watering.
— Colin Thomas
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5 of 11
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March 30, 2009
Charlie and
the Chocolate
Factory
Rating:
out of 5
I finally got around to watching Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
after we talked about all these book-turned-movie adaptations in class.
When I saw this movie, my first impression was “Yum! That looks tasty!” And that was
pretty much my impression of the whole thing, because this movie was FILLED with
tasty things to eat. There was chocolate, and taffy, and fudge... but surprisingly, that
was not at all the focus of the movie.
The real focus of the movie was... well... kind of foggy. It was either showing the
details of the factory, seeing who would win the final prize, unravelling Mister Wonka’s
childhood, or trying to solve the Bucket family’s poverty. Another foggy thing was
Mister Wonka’s personality. At times he seemed insane, then lonely, and sometimes
he even appeared to be a genius.
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 6 of 11
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But one thing that was almost genius was the music by Danny Elfman. It will
be stuck in my head for a very long time, as will the characters that sang the
songs. Oh, those Oompa-Loompas, with their choreographed dances, funny
costumes, and punchy songs. Did you know that all the Oompa-Loompas were
played by the same person? That guy must have had to do a lot of work, as there
were hundreds of Oompa-Loompas in the movie.
In short, this movie was pretty crazy, and I’d think twice before watching it again.
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 7 of 11
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Rating:
out of 5
I totally agree. The movie was weird and I wanted to know what was up with
Willy Wonka. Out of all the characters, I liked Charlie best and I was happy
to see him win a golden ticket. Still, I won’t be watching that one again.
Posted by: Andie | March 30, 2009
Damien, 12
Rating:
out of 5
I thought the movie rocked! The factory was pretty cool, and so was
seeing the blue kid blow up. I’d definitely see it again.
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Andie, 11
Posted by: Damien | March 30, 2009
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 8 of 11
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Rina, 12
Rating:
out of 5
The Oompa-Loompas were my favourite part of the movie. They were so
cute with their matching outfits. The best was their huge white glasses in
the scene with Mike Teavee. Their funny hair was also pretty awesome.
Posted by: Rina | March 31, 2009
Rating:
out of 5
It made me want to visit a chocolate factory or better yet, build my
own!
© iStockphoto
Sherif, 13
Posted by: Sherif | April 1, 2009
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 9 of 11
FAMOUS KIDS | Summer 2005
andy trees don’t grow just
anywhere. They have to
In Charlie and
be invented first, and
the Chocolate Factory,
then nurtured by
someone who really
the mysterious
knows what they’re
Willy Wonka opens
doing. They probably
the doors to his
wouldn’t do very well outside,
since they’d dissolve in the
factory and you
rain. Yup, candy trees can pretty
won’t believe
much only grow inside a factory—a
what’s inside!
chocolate factory.
Candy trees, chocolate rivers, gum that
tastes like an entire meal—they all exist
inside only one chocolate factory in the
world, the one belonging to the great
confectionery visionary, Willy Wonka. You
may have read the book about him by
Roald Dahl, or seen an old movie based
on his story. But now there’s a brand new
movie all about Willy, his scrumptious
(but very secret) workplace, and the
little boy—Charlie Bucket—who wins a
chance to look inside.
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
Willy Wonka holds a contest. He hides
five golden tickets inside five Wonka
bars, and the five kids who find them will
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 10 of 11
Four of the five tickets are snapped up by
bratty kids who don’t deserve to win. But the
fifth ticket is found by Charlie Bucket, a sweet
kid from a poor family, who just might get a
surprise if he can manage to behave himself
for the whole tour. vvv
/Eve
©Warner Bros
be allowed to enter his gated factory, where
no one has been in many years. They can
bring one grown-up each and, together, the
10 visitors will be taken on a complete tour
of the hard-to-imagine candy laboratories in
Wonka’s factory.
rett Collection
FAMOUS KIDS | Summer 2005
Taken from Cineplex Theatres’ Famous Kids magazine
© Famous Kids magazine
Movie Talk: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 11 of 11