When I take my family to see a movie (wife and two boys, ages 10 and almost 7) I judge the movie on not just what I think about it, but also on what the rest of the family members think. As we decided between seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Sky High I was concerned that Charlie would be either too weird or the humor would go over the kids’ heads. We decided to see Charlie!
The first thing when seeing the new Wonka movie is to try not comparing the original movie with this one. The key characters are, obviously, Charlie and Wonka. First, Charlie, who is played by Freddie Highmore (Peter in Finding Neverland) is a very compelling character. He’s instantly likeable, believable and is someone you want to root for. Now, as everyone knows, Wonka is played by Johnny Depp (who won me over as a fan as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean), and is a creepy, strange somewhat misfit, but in the end, great character. He’s the character you end up watching the movie for. Now some of you may have heard that he would remind one of Michael Jackson, but I didn’t get that. Watch out for Oompa Loompa’s though as they got very creative with them.
In terms of the visual characteristics, I found the movie to be quite pleasant to watch. Too many movies try to overwhelm you in every scene (Sith is in that vein), but this one, although relying on plenty of effects, isn’t one where you walk out thinking you just saw too much.
So, back to the test, did my whole family enjoy it? Heck yes! One recommendation, bring a chocolate bar with you because you will quickly develop a craving. After the flick we went and bought a couple of Wonka Bars.
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