This movie was a lot of fun. I saw the 1971 version when it was on TV, and my second-grade teacher read the book to the class, but since both of these events occurred around 1978, I remember very little about either the book or the first movie. So I can't compare them with this latest movie version. I can say that Johnny Depp was very good as the eccentric Willy Wonka.
Most people probably know the basic premise of the story. Charlie is one of five children who gets a gold ticket in a chocolate bar. The prize is getting to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Plus, one of the five kids will get another special prize.
Charlie is definitely the most needy of the five children. He lives in a tiny, rundown house with his parents and both sets of grandparents, and they eat cabbage soup every day. His dad has a job at the toothpaste factory, until his job is taken over by a machine. Charlie is also the only one of the kids who is not a brat. He manages to be sweet without being saccharine. The others are 1) a rich, extremely spoiled girl from England, whose father had his workers check candy bars by the boxload in search of a gold ticket, 2) an extremely overweight boy whose parents don't seem to feel it necessary to limit his chocolate intake, 3) a fiercely competitive little beauty queen from Atlanta who has been chewing the same piece of gum for months to try to set a record, and 4) an obnoxious little boy who watches TV and plays video games all the time.
The children, each with an adult guardian along, get a tour of the factory. But it isn't all pleasant for bratty, misbehaving children!
The humor is probably more for adults than kids. Also, the scene where Veruca (the spoiled rich girl) gets dragged away by squirrels would probably scare younger children. In general, though, it's a movie that appeals to both older kids and adults.
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