I am not going to make comparisons to the original Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder is a comedic genius and a great actor. His performance in that movie supports that 100%. But it is a different movie, from a different time with different technology. It stands alone and should stand alone. Oh -and if you haven’t seen it, you should.

If you haven’t read the Original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory you should do that as well. One thing you will notice that this quirky book isn’t all sunshine and light-heartedness. Dahl, like many who wrote adolescence books at that time wrote books that dealt with tough issues and didn’t pull punches. Look at the books for adolescents today -they represent the times we live in and are accordingly grim.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory lives up to all the slightly dark quirkiness that made Dahl’s books a favorite of my youth. (Potential Spoiler Alert) Wonka shows himself to be a troubled child in a man’s body -for reasons that are explained in the movie. His reasons for loving candy are simple and pure. And his conversations with Charlie regarding family are brilliant in their simple directness. I will admit that there is a slight semblance between Wonka and a home schooled Michael Jackson sans pedophilia, but I assure you it all works in the context of the story.

The acting in the movie is great. Deep Roy -acting as all the Umpa Loompas is genius. I mean, the effects are nice, but Roy’s actual performances stand out. The music scores are spot on -and serve to support the movie’s overall oddness. The special effects are great and fit seamlessly into the story.

Go see this movie, especially if you are Dahl fan, or a kid at heart.