smokingboot

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a total hoot.

I am a long time fan of Mr Depp. Now, at last, a film in which, despite the top hat and the velvet, he is not in the least bit attractive. I never thought it would happen; as haircuts go, bobs are not always flattering, dear lj,no matter what people tell you. No, he was a magnificent freak, all twitchy giggles and clever little expressions that made the film. There was certainly a touch of Michael Jackson somewhere at the source of this depiction, but the twist has nothing to do with any unhealthy craving for children, no, quite the reverse; a deep fear and loathing of all kid-kind. The message was clear; Kids are horrible, and the only thing worse than kids are their parents. The cutification of children in our society has led to some sickly film dialogue ('And the younglings?')so it was refreshing to see the depiction of robustly awful 'younglings'. If Anakin had gone for these, the Force would have cheered and handed him one of those Wonka bars now on sale; the sort that make your teeth tingle with the aftertaste of chemical sugarlumps.

The Oompah-Loompahs were simply awesome, with their sperm-tailed coifs and their little yellow bathing caps, reminding us all that the best form of child control is contraception (Check out that scene again, it's not just me!) Oh how I laughed.

Criticisms? well yes. The tacked on ending about families and reconciliation was just a bit, er, sweet. Tim's done the whole redemption through family thing much better in Big Fish. Here, even as a joke it's a bit Don't write him off, Willy's non-subversive really! He just needs a home! I don't really buy it; give me the earlier family jokes; the removal of father and home, that's the kind of parental ire I appreciate.

But that's a tiny criticism of a great film. And to finish it off, here's a rare and remarkable shot of the chocolate factory garden/waterfall at conceptual stage;

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/a/images/altarpc_bosch.gard.entir.lg.jpg