Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 musical fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by John August, based on the 1964 British novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, alongside David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Missi Pyle, James Fox, Deep Roy and Christopher Lee. The storyline follows Charlie as he wins a contest along with four other children and is led by Wonka on a tour of his chocolate factory.

Development for a second adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (filmed previously as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971) began in 1991, which resulted in Warner Bros. providing the Dahl Estate with total artistic control. Prior to Burton's involvement, directors such as Gary Ross, Rob Minkoff, Martin Scorsese and Tom Shadyac had been involved, while actors Bill Murray, Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Adam Sandler, and many others, were either in discussion with or considered by the studio to play Wonka.

Burton immediately brought regular collaborators Depp and Danny Elfman aboard. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory represents the first time since The Nightmare Before Christmas that Elfman contributed to a film score using written songs and his vocals. Filming took place from June to December 2004 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released to positive critical reception and was a box office success, grossing $475 million worldwide.

Plot
Charlie Bucket is a poor boy who lives near the Wonka Candy Company. The company's owner, Willy Wonka, has for long closed access to his factory due to problems concerning industrial espionage that led him to fire all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe. One day, Wonka announces a contest, in which Golden Tickets have been placed in five random Wonka Bars worldwide, and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate, while one ticketholder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour.

Wonka's sales subsequently skyrocket, and the first four tickets are found fairly quickly. The recipients are Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous German boy; Veruca Salt, a very spoiled English girl; Violet Beauregarde, an arrogant gum chewer, and Mike Teavee, an ill-tempered television and video game addict. Charlie tries twice to find a ticket, but both bars come up empty. After overhearing that the final ticket was found in Russia, Charlie finds a ten-dollar note, and purchases a Wonka Bar at a news shop. At the exact moment it was revealed that the Russian ticket was forged, Charlie discovers the real fifth ticket inside the wrapper. Charlie receives monetary offers for the ticket, but decides to keep it and bring Grandpa Joe to accompany him on the factory tour.

Charlie and the other ticket holders are greeted by Wonka outside the factory, who then leads them into the facility. Individual character flaws cause four children to give into temptation, be eliminated from the tour, and the Oompa-Loompas sing a song of morality after each elimination. During the tour, flashbacks reveal Wonka's troubled past; his father, a prominent dentist named Wilbur, strictly forbade Wonka from consuming candy due to the potential risk to his teeth, and also made Wonka wear extreme uncomfortable braces. After sneaking over a piece of candy, Wonka was instantly hooked, and ran away to follow his dreams. When he returned, both his father and their house were gone. After the tour, the four children leave the factory with an exaggerated characteristic or deformity related to their demise, while Charlie learns Wonka intended to find a worthy heir to his factory. Since Charlie was the "least rotten" of the five, Wonka invites Charlie to come live and work in the factory with him. Charlie, at first accepts, but then is told that the one condition is that he leaves his family behind, just as Wonka did. Charlie declines, as his family is the most important thing in his life.

Charlie and his family are living contently a while later; however, Wonka is too depressed to make candy the way he used to, causing his candy to sell poorly and his company to decline. He turns to Charlie for advice. Charlie decides to help Wonka confront and reconcile with his estranged father; Wonka finally realizes the value of family, while his father learns to accept his son for who he is, and not what he does. In the end, Wonka finally allows Charlie's family to move into the factory.

Cast

 * Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka
 * Blair Dunlop as Young Willy Wonka
 * Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket
 * David Kelly as Grandpa Joe
 * Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket
 * Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket
 * Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde
 * James Fox as Mr. Salt
 * Adam Godley as Mr. Teavee
 * Franziska Troegner as Mrs. Gloop
 * Christopher Lee as Dr. Wilbur Wonka
 * Deep Roy as Oompa-Loompas (with vocal work by Danny Elfman)
 * AnnaSophia Robb as Violet Beauregarde
 * Philip Wiegratz as Augustus Gloop
 * Julia Winter as Veruca Salt
 * Jordan Fry as Mike Teavee
 * Liz Smith as Grandma Georgina
 * Eileen Essell as Grandma Josephine
 * David Morris as Grandpa George
 * Geoffrey Holder as the Narrator