Doopidy Doo

We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night.

It's really difficult to write down exactly what I thought, but it somehow managed to be everything I hoped it would be. If I ever read the book I don't remember how it was, it's the old movie that has stuck in my head since childhood. This new movie has a very different approach to Wonka and the Oompah Lumpahs, along with a lot of cuts and plenty of new scenes. I really liked the addition of the back story and flash backs, but I wondered how some of the missing scenes might have gone, and felt the end of the factory tour came too soon. But it would always have been too soon for me...

In general, even though the story's the same, the two movies are very different. The new movie just feels like something completely new, and that's exactly what I wanted from it. Next time I see Gene Wilder's enigmatic Wonka, I won't feel like Johnny Depp's entertaining child-like oddball take on the character ruined anything. It's hard to know what to say about the new Oompah lumpahs... they're different, and still creepy, but sadly(?) I doubt they will be in any of today's kids nightmares in 30 years time.

It was also my first time in an IMAX theatre. It's a shame that widescreen movies don't seem to use the whole screen, but the improvement in the sound and picture quality and the increased screen size blew me away.