Product Details

• Actors: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor
• Directors: Tim Burton
• Writers: John August, Roald Dahl
• Producers: Brad Grey, Bruce Berman, Derek Frey, Graham Burke, Katterli Frauenfelder
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
• DVD Release Date: November 8, 2005
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (498 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BBOUU4
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,740 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The second disc is filled with a number of distinctive featurettes. The likely crowd-pleaser in most households is "Attack of the Squirrels," which recounts how those fuzzy little creatures (a combination of hard-to-train live animals, animatronics, and computer graphics) can be ornery in their own right. "The Fantastic Mr. Dahl" is a 17-minute look at author Roald Dahl through vintage footage and new interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. "Becoming Oompa-Loompa" follows Deep Roy as he is filmed over and over again through his dance steps and music performances.

Roy is a constant throughout the kids' activities as well. You can follow him to learn two different dance steps "Augustus Gloop" and "Violet Beauregarde," and make him taste weird candy inventions in a simple game. "Search for the Golden Ticket" is a five-part challenge that tests your remote-control fingers, your deductive abilities, or your luck. Finally, if you just want basic behind-the-scenes information, "Making the Mix" is a collection of featurettes (around 40 minutes total) covering the film's casting, music, production design, and special effects. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
Long isolated from his own family, Willy Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children from around the world, including Charlie Bucket, draw Golden Tickets from Wonka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary candy making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years.

DVD Features:
Biographies:The Fantastic Mr. Dahl: Learn about Dahl's life story and extraordinary body of work.
Challenges:4 SCRUMPTIOUS Challenges for kids to play! 1) Oompa-Loompa Dance Machine 2) The Inventing Machine 3) The Bad Nut 4) Search For the Golden Ticket
DVD ROM Features
Documentaries:Attack of the Squirrels: See how they trained live squirrels to perform in the film.
Featurette:5 Making-Of Featurettes!
Other:Becoming Oomp-Loompa: See how one actor, Deep Roy, was turned into a multi-talented army of Oompa's.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...life had never been sweeter.", January 13, 2007

By	M. Hart "Sci-Fi Fan" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When it was first announced that director Tim Burton was filming "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", starring the talented Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, concerns were raised that it may not be as good as the original 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". However, when the author of the original book, Roald Dahl (1916-1990), upon which both films were based saw the 1971 film, he was so disgusted that he forced the film's producers to rename it to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". Though we will never know today how Roald Dahl would have reacted to the Tim Burton's 2005 version, chances are that Roald Dahl would have been far more pleased with the result.

Unlike the 1971 version, the 2005 version both parents of the young Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) are still alive. His mother Mrs. Bucket (Helena Bonham Carter) and his father Mr. Bucket (Noah Taylor) struggle to support their son, as well as each of the aging parents: Grandpa Joe (David Kelly) who had previously worked at Willy Wonka's factory, Grandma Georgina (Liz Smith, who some viewers may recognize as the character Letitia Cropley from the 1994-1996 British sitcom "The Vicar of Dibley"), Grandpa George (David Morris) and Grandma Josephine (Eileen Essell). Unfortunately, things get worse financially for the Buckets when Mr. Bucket is laid off from the toothpaste factory where he had worked; but the announcement of five golden tickets hidden within five Willy Wonka chocolate bars that will grant the winners to a visit to the mysterious chocolate factory sends the world into a frenzy to find them. The lucky children that do find them are Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) and his mother Mrs. Gloop (Franziska Troegner); Violet Beauregarde (AnnaSophia Robb) and her mother Mrs. Beauregarde (Missi Pyle); Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) and her wealthy father Mr. Salt (James Fox); Mike Teevee (Jordan Fry) and his father Mr. Teevee (Adam Godley); and finally, Charlie Bucket, who is accompanied by Grandpa Joe.

Another interesting aspect that separates this film from the original is the exploration of Willy Wonka's childhood (Little Willy is played by Blair Dunlop). His father, the eminent dentist Dr. Wonka (Christopher Lee), forbids Little Willy from ever eating any candy or chocolate and forces Little Willy into a maniacal headpiece that prevents Little Willy from closing his mouth so that everyone can see the braces on his teeth. However, Little Willy, after going trick-or-treating, finds a piece of chocolate that his father had not completely destroyed. Upon eating it, Little Willy is obsessed with candy and chocolate, which eventually leads to Dr. Wonka abandoning Little Willy. However, Little Willy has big plans and eventually opens his chocolate factory; but when competitors send spies into his factory, he fires all of his workers and eventually replaces them with the oompa-loompas (with the aid of special effects, each oompa-loompa is played by one actor: Deep Roy).

With engaging characters, wonderful songs sung by the oompa-loompas, colorful cinematography, great dialog, superb direction and brilliant acting, I rate the 2005 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to everyone.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Deluxe edition, Soul Brother... ****1/2, November 8, 2005

By	Janson Kemp "jwk" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I once made the comment that most of the entertainment today is in very bad shape. The industries are trying to relive past glories, especially music and movies. Most of the money being made in the music industry is reissues, HDCD releases of well-known titles, delux reissues, legacy reissues, offical releases of bootlegs, greatest hits, and any and all repackaging of classic albums. And they all use well known, classic, big name artists, because they know people will buy it. Because the majority of new CDs, and new artists aren't of any real quality, they have to rely on the old stuff to make money. The same can be said of the movies. It's all sequels, prequels, remakes, and remodels.

Accordingly, I was not thrilled when I heard a new version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was coming out. When I learned it was a Tim Burton/Danny Elfman/Johnny Depp production, I was less skeptical. When I saw a trailer, I was interested. When I heard Danny Elfman was writing/composing the music AND doing the vocals, I was excited. The collaboration is great, almost to the point of excusing all their pretensiousness and self-absorbtion... enough quibbling. On to the movie!

It holds many of Tim Burton's staples; it is dark, stark, eerie, and filled with the regular unnamable props, but he has allowed joy into the equation. The movie is much better for it. There is rich color, specifically in the factory, to match the rich imagery and funny comparisons of Willy Wonka. Depp is cast perfectly in this role, which is not really apparent unless you see the movie. He is funny, quirky, confused, and innocent; much different than the brilliant, strong character played by Gene Wilder in the original. The children who find the golden tickets and their parents do a great job too. Perhaps my favorite part is the wild card, Danny Elfman. If you don't know WHO Elfman is, you're sure to have heard his music whether in any number of cult classic 80's films (Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman 1 & 2), his TV themes (The Simpsons), his musical-esque movies featuring his vocals (Nightmare Before Christmas-- an absolute classic soundtrack), or his 15-plus years of work as the vocalist/writer/guitarist for 80's heavyweight Oingo Boingo. "Charlie" is the 11th time Tim Burton has used Elfman as his composer, and this is arguably their greatest work together (though I prefer "Nightmare Before Christmas").

The movie itself is quite interesting, moving into parts of the Willy Wonka story the orignal movie didn't, relying more on the Ron Dahl book. Note: even the lyrics to the four Oompa-Loompa songs are the lyrics from the novel. We learn that Willy became a chocolateer to spite his father and is forever haunted by this falling out. An eventual redemtion of their relationship serves as a very positive pro-family element. Best of all, it's clean. Nothing negative, offensive, or disturbing is presented, meaning a green light for families and kids; a HUGE plus. The problem of lacking special features is corrected here, but you can save a few dollars if you don't mind a slimmer package. A great, big, fun movie.

Overall: 9 out of 10.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, fun movie!!!, January 1, 2008

By	Brandon Simpson "Author of 'Demystifying Fre... (Northern Kentucky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This movie is really good. Several other reviewers are unfairly comparing it to the the 1971 Gene Wilder version, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." The Johnny Depp version is actually much closer to the children's book written by Roald Dahl. In fact, Roald Dahl completely hated the Gene Wilder version because the film makers changed everything in his book. One reviewer says that Johnny Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka was scary and wierd. Well, if you've read the book, you'll know that Willy Wonka is supposed to be scary and wierd.

Brandon Simpson,
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