"In terms of colour, design, and the richness of the imagination, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is a very sweet treat indeed." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES "A movie that will delight children, annoy fans of the 1971 version that starred a slyly subversive Gene Wilder and perplex everyone else." Jami Bernard, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS " The Germans have a term for that sort of thing: “Schandenfreude.” Lots and lots of sadistic fun." Eric Lurio ENTERTAINMENT INSIDERS "The three-pronged combo of Burton, Depp and Dahl makes a wild director/actor/writer chorus, even if this film probably isn't the ideal by-product of their collective genius. Bubbly and fun but lacking theatrical panache, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't great entertainment but it's definitely good fun." Luke Buckmaster INFILM "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a spectacle to be enjoyed, but only as such." Desson Thomson WASHINGTON POST

"Johnny Depp casts a delightfully eccentric and at times creepy Willy Wonka, but it’s Freddie Highmore’s wide eyed innocent Charlie, who steals the show." Jaimie Leonarder SBS THE MOVIE SHOW "It's fun, it's weird, it's visually stunning. It's what going to the movies to escape is all about." John Venable SUPERCALA.COM "Tragically, by the end of this second chocolate high, we kind of have Wonka figured out. And that's not a good thing." Steven Snyder ZERTINET MOVIES "A winning, charming, very droll children's film for the whole family." Kirk Honeycutt HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "Charlie is Tim Burton at his kooky best. Not since Beetle Juice or Edward Scissorhands have we seen him pull out the joyously surreal whimsy that has made him so great. There are a few missteps, true (did we really need to see so much of Wonka’s back story?) And the Michael Jackson parallels are ladled on so thick you half expect Depp to bust out in a bloody moonwalk." Anthony O’Connor FILMINK

The Inside Story

"Anyone doubting that the creative talents of Burton and Depp should be ashamed of themselves." Stefan Halley HERO REALM

Mention the name Tim Burton to a moviegoer and their first reaction is that he is director with geat imagination and a huge creative genius. From classic such as "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", "Edward Sissorhands" through to "Big Fish" it's been a wonderful magical journey. Anyone expecting that "Charlie and the Chocolate factory" would be any different, needs to think again for Burton has created yet again, another wide-eyed, mindblowing interpretation, this time it's author Roald Dahl's second book, the 1964 classic which first hit the screens in 1971 as "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and starred Gene Wilder in the lead role of Willy Wonka. That film has been described as a classis and it is. But that was last century and in the 34 years since the first version hit the silver screen, a new generation of moviegoers has grown up, so in a way it is only fitting that something with a more modern interpretation has evolved out of the original childrens story. Burton's version from a screenplay by John August is most probably a more faithful interpretation of Dahl's classic, with its dark, almost sinister overtones. The children in the film are, with the exception of Charlie Bucket, quite obnoxious little pests who deserve the most horrible of fates. Then there's Depp and his interpretation of the role as Willy Wonka, an almost Peter Panish, Michael Jackson take. Like the story itself, evrything in Burton's presentation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is big. Very big. "This was bigger than anything I’ve been involved with in my entire career, not only as a producer but as a studio head. It’s bigger in scope, size and imagination," says producer Richard D Zanuck. Zanucks fellow producer, four time recipient of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award Brad Grey says, "We took our time to get the script right and assemble a team that felt the same way we did about it." Part of getting it right was to collaborate and get the support of Dahl's wife Felicity who administers the estate of the late, great author and worked as an executive producer on the film. "Without her blessing, we wouldn’t have a movie", Grey noted. Felicity knew too that the production would have to be one done on a grand scale. "An adaptation like this is daunting because I don’t think there’s a child in this world who hasn’t read the story or knows about it", she said. "Every child wants to be Charlie." When it came to selecting a director for the film, it appears that Tim Burton was the production teams choice. "When you look at his body of work, there’s a running theme of intelligence and whimsy that’s perfectly suited for a story like this," says Grey. "Like Dahl, he never underestimates the sophistication of his audience. In our first conversations it was clear that Tim was a fan and wanted to be as faithful to the book as possible, which was right in sync with how we felt." Felicity Dahl was especially pleased noting, "I wish Roald was here to work on it with Tim, because they would have been brilliant together." As for Burton, well his connection with Dahl [even though he never had the opportunity to meet the man] goes right back to his childhood. "When I was in the third grade," Burton recalls, "we had to write a letter to a famous person. Nearly everyone chose Jimmy Carter, who was the president then, but I chose Roald Dahl because my favorite book was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Incredibly, I got back a postcard from him, from England. I was ten years old and it was my first contact with an author. That was one of the things that inspired me to become a writer. So it was a great honor and responsibility for me to adapt this book into a movie." But how far can one go when it comes to working with such a classic? "All books have to be changed a bit in making a film," says Dahl's widow Felicity. "The important thing is that the alterations enhance the story rather than detract from it, and I believe that’s what Tim has done here. When you choose someone like Tim to make a film, you choose him for his creative ability so you have to give him your trust." "We tried to keep as true to the book as possible in creating specific places like the nut room and the TV room. Still, there is a lot of room for interpretation, which is the wonderful thing about doing an adaptation like this." Burton says. "Each room has its own flavor and possibilities." The production designers work at the Pinewood Studios certaily impressed Felicity who recalls, "it’s magical! I know that if Roald had seen it, he would have loved it. He would have said this is exactly what he had in mind." Production designer Alex McDowell revealled that the scope of the 360 degree sets was so huge that it required seven soundstages, the back lot and the famous James Bond sound stage to fit in all the settings. How did they go about it? "We pretty much took over the studio lot," he said "Lock, stock and ' barrel." The truth is, it wasn't all that simple. Take the chocolate river and the waterfall. They team originally envisaged trucking in the chocolate but that would have meant using fourty tankers to transport it all. How much chocolate was needed? Two hundred thousand gallons. That meant finding the right equipment to mix it and store it. That came in the form of "commercial vats designed for mixing toothpaste, that could blend as many as 12 tons at a time and store 20,000." Special Effects Supervisor Joss Williams acknowledges "experimenting with mixtures of water and dietary cellulose, with various food dyes to achieve the right look and texture. Color to the eye is different than color on film, so we tested through a whole pattern of shades to get exactly the right one." As for the hygiene Williams says, "the mixture was constantly cleaned and tested daily by a local laboratory to make sure it was safe for the company to work with and eat." One delightful part of the film is one where the tour of the factory takes the group to a room where squirrels are hard at work sorting out nuts. "When I found out what was involved, it was a bit overwhelming,” says Senior Animal Trainer Mike Alexander, of Birds & Animals Unlimited. "Squirrels can be very tough, and training 100 of them was inconceivable." There was also the problem that once in captivity, squirrel's are not allowed to be released back into the wild. This meant that those who didn't have owners had to be cared for after filming finished by Birds & Animals Unlimited. So what were the difficulties the team of four trainers faced during their 19 weeks training the squirrel's? Alexander explained that while the squirrel's are "incredibly photogenic, squirrels are notoriously difficult to handle. Independent and unpredictable, they’re not necessarily good at doing specific, intricate things. They don’t like to sit still. They’re hard to keep in one place. The first couple of weeks were spent in just getting the animals to come out of their crates and sit with us, never mind any of the things they were supposed to do." And when it came to handling their nuts? "We found that some of them had no interest at all in picking up the nut, while others, once they had it, refused to let it go. Those that didn’t lend themselves to being ‘good nut squirrels’ were moved to a second group, being trained to run across the floor toward Veruca. Our smartest squirrels do the nut gag." If all this sounds like wild and whacky fun, just wait until you see the colorful settings, the Oompa-Loompa's and of course the five children lucky enough to find a golden ticket. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a memorable experience that will delight both children and adults alike. Crew Bytes "CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY" was .......
directed by Tim Burton ["Batman Returns", "Mars Attacks!", "Ed Wood", "Sleepy Hollow", "Planet Of The Apes" and "Big Fish"]; screenplay by John August ["God", "Go", "Charlie's Angels", "Charlie's Angels Full Throttle" and "Big Fish"]; adapted from the book "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl ["Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory", "James and the Giant Peach", "Matilda" and "Genesis and Catastrophe"]; costume design by Allan McCosky ["Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines", "Last Days" and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith"] and Gabriella Pescucci ["Les Misérables", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Secret Passage" and "Van Helsing"]; production design by Art Directors Guild Award winner Alex McDowell ["The Lawnmower Man", "Fight Club", "Minority Report", "The Cat In The Hat" and "The Terminal"]; edited by Chris Lebenzon ["Batman Returns", "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Pearl Harbor", "XXX" and "Big Fish"]; cinematography by Philippe Rousselot ["A River Runs Through It", "Interview with the Vampire", "The Tailor Of Panama", "Antwone Fisher" and "Constantine"]; original music and songs by Danny Elfman ["Sleepy Hollow", "Spy Kids", "Planet of the Apes", "Spider-Man", "Men in Black II", "Big Fish" and "Spider-Man 2"] produced by Brad Grey ["Happy Gilmore", "What Planet Are You From?", "View From The Top" and "City By The Sea"] and Richard D Zanuck ["Driving Miss Daisy", "Deep Impact", "Rules Of Engagement" and "Road to Perdition"]. Casting About "CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY" stars .......
Johnny Depp ["The Astronaut's Wife", "Sleepy Hollow", "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", "Secret Window" and "Finding Neverland"]; Freddie Highmore ["Women Talking Dirty", "Two Brothers", "Finding Neverland" and "Five Children and It"]; Helena Bonham Carter ["Fight Club", "Women Talking Dirty", "Planet of the Apes", "The Heart Of Me" and "Big Fish"]; Noah Taylor ["Lara Croft Tomb Raider", "He Died with a Felafel In His Hand", "Vanilla Sky", "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"]; Deep Roy ["Going Bananas", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Planet of the Apes", "The Haunted Mansion" and "Big Fish"]; Annasophia Robb ["Because Of Winn-Dixie"]; Christopher Lee ["The Stupids", "Tale Of The Mummy", "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Lord of the Rings I, II & III"]; Oscar James ["Last Night At The Alamo", "Three Kinds of Heat", "U.S. Seals" and "My Kingdom"] and David Kelly ["Girl with Green Eyes", "Green Fingers", "Mean Machine", "Laws Of Attraction" and "The Calcium Kid"] as Grandpa Joe. What It's All About

"Tim Burton's pretty-good interpretation of the classic kid flick can't match the original ... but what could?" James Rocchi NETFLIX

Willy Wonka hasn't been seen for some fifteen years, yet his chocolate factory still produces great quantities of Wonka chocolate products to supply shops all around the world. Then, an announcement comes. Willy has hidden five golden tickets in five randomly selected chocolate bars and who ever finds a ticket, will receive an invitation to tour his wonderful chocolate making factory. Little Charlie Bucket has often wondered what has happened to Willy Wonka and would love to be one of those lucky enough to find a golden ticket. But Charlie's family is very poor and is managing to survive only on cabbage soup, and anyway, it's not his birthday, the one day his family can afford to buy him a bar. Then a stroke of luck. Charlie Bucket finds some money in the snow. Just enough to buy a Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight. Inside the wrapper Charlie finds a golden ticket. Now he will join Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee on a tour with Willy Wonka. Accompanied by his loving Grandfather Joe, Charlie Bucket joins the other four winners at the famous chocolate factory. Here he will discover what Willy Wonka has set out to achieve with his golden ticket promotion. The Verdict "Tim Burton once again, as he did with "Big Fish" takes us on a wonderful, magical and exciting cinematic experience. While Johnny Depp may be the star attraction as Willy Wonka, there's no doubting the fact that it's young Freddie Highmore who steals the show. Comparisons with the 1971 version are futile and useless. Thirty four years on, Burton has shown you can successfully breathe life into an old story as long as you have the imagination to do so. On that score Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a sure fire winner. Very recommended." The Cast

Johnny Depp Freddie Highmore David Kelly Helena Bonham Carter Noah Taylor Missi Pyle James Fox Deep Roy Christopher Lee Adam Godley Franziska Troegner Annasophia Robb Julia Winter Jordan Fry Philip Wiegratz Blair Dunlop Liz Smith Eileen Essell David Morris Nitin Ganatra Shelley Conn Chris Cresswell Phil Philmar Tony Kirwood Todd Boyce Nayef Rashed Menis Yousry Harry Taylor Hubertus Geller Francesca Hunt

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Willy Wonka Charlie Bucket Grandpa Joe Mrs Bucket Mr Bucket Mrs Beauregarde Mr Salt Oompa Loompa Dr Wonka M Teavee Mrs Gloop Violet Beauregarde Veruca Salt Mike Teavee Augustus Gloop Little Willy Wonka Grandma Georgina Grandma Josephine Grandpa George Prince Pondicherry Princess Pondicherry Prodnose Slugworth Finckelgruber TV Reporter Moroccan Market Vendor Moroccan Market Trader Mr Gloop German Reporter Mrs Salt

The Crew Directed by Tim Burton Adapted from the book by Roald Dahl Screenplay by John August Produced by Brad Grey and Richard D Zanuck Original Music and Songs by Danny Elfman Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot Film Editing by Chris Lebenzon Casting by Susie Figgis Production Design by Alex McDowell Set Decoration by Peter Young Costume Design by Allan McCosky and Gabriella Pescucci Makeup Designer Peter Owen Animatronics & Special Makeup Effects by Neal Scanlan Unit Production Manager Nikolas Korda Run Time 115 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Warner Bros Entertainment - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved