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Saturday, December 27, 2008

WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY A CULT CLASSIC



Remember during those rainy days or special movie treats in elementary, the teacher would ask what movie the class would like to watch? And what was the majority of the suggestions be? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder.

I loved that movie when I was a kid and as an adult it's still one of my all time top 5 favorite movies. Gene Wilder was just amazing in that movie. I'd compare it to the performance of Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. You're just so captivated by his performance. He was erratic and psychotic, but he was always thinking 5 steps ahead. Everything was planned out perfectly. Just like Heath's Joker in the Dark Knight.

The way the screen play was modified and tweaked from the original book was nothing sort of genius. From the countless literature quotes referenced by Willy Wonka to the meaningful songs of the Oompa Lompas the movie was extraordinary.

Then Tim Burton got the right to do a remake. He hired an amazing actor to play Willy Wonka, Johny Depp. But boy were both terribly wrong for this movie. Tim Burton's vision for the movie was disgusting to watch. Johnny Depp's performance was equally disgusting. Tim Burton's style is out of date. It's circa 1990s. And Depps interpretation of Wonka was as if he were imitating Michael Jackson. And don't get me started with the Oompa Loompa [singular] . Tim Burton totally missed the essence of the original movie. The formula that made it such a cult classic. I would not ever dare purchase Tim Burtons version, in fact if someone gave it to me as a gift I would throw it away in front of their face. I would consider it as an insult that they would think of giving that to me as a gift.

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