I really wasn't expecting much from Charlie, despite the pedigree of the people involved - Johnny Depp, Tim Burton and John August. There really wasn't much to the screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's well-known kids' book, as could be seen from the old Gene Wilder original. Some whimsical visuals, a bit of off-the-wall acting, and some Oompa Loompa songs were about the extent of the expectations. That's more or less what I got.
Depp got free rein to do what he wanted with the character, of course, and on the heels of the strange Jack Sparrow, we get a sort-of-predictable queer Willy Wonka. It's got a bit of the Wilder Wonka in it, this performance - that offbeat, something's not quite right with this guy effect. Depp adds a bit more queer into it, and a hint of malevolence through most of the show. It's too bad there's not much to throw the character against and see if it bounces, because the rest of the cast is either cut out from cardboard or simply nonexistent. Even the kid who plays Charlie registers no more than a 4 on the 10-point Dakota Fanning scale.
The lone interesting supporting cast member is the man who plays the Oompa Loompas, Deep Roy. The DVD special feature shows the painstaking work he put in because they had to shoot him repeatedly in the same scenes, in different locations, oftentimes doing the same things over and over again. Now that's dedication. (Burton decided that the Oompa Loompas would all be played by Roy.)
Bottom Line: All in all, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't a total waste of time, but if you miss it, you're not missing much.
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