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Wilder's Wonkavision On The Fritz
By
Rina Rina
Published Jun 3, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Rina Rina
Published Jun 3, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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It seems like not all is golden is Wonka-land. Everyone’s favorite confectionary madman spoke out against Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which he called a pointless money-making ploy. Gene Wilder told the UK Telegraph:
"It's all about money. It's just some people sitting around thinking: 'How can we make some more money?' Why else would you remake Willy Wonka? I don't see the point of going back and doing it all over again…. Right now, the only thing that does take some of the edge off this for me is that Willy Wonka's name isn't in the title."
Wilder’s public disapproval might just be backlash at Burton who told Empire Magazine he found the 1971 version "quite disturbing" and The Chicago Sun Times the film was a bit too “sappy” & failed to incorporate author Roald Dahl’s vision:
"It's sappy when it shouldn't be sappy and it's weird. Let's just say it's not one of my personal favorites. I'd rate 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' much higher… I responded to the children's book because it respected that children can be adults, and I think adults forget that. There can be darkness and sort of foreboding. Very sinister things are very much a part of childhood. I like that sort of humor and emotion put together."
While Gothamist is definitely interested in seeing Burton’s version we think rating a Dick Van Dyke flop higher than Willy Wonka is a bit - ok, really - harsh. True, the original bordered on sappy (“Imagination” song?) and weird (crazy-eyed Wilder rhyming “there's no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going”), but we always thought that was the film’s sentimental charm. Willy Wonka might be one the few films not in need of a tune-up, but we understand the remake: it differs from Dahl's tone and humor (which is more along Burton’s darker and quirkier style), the Oompa Loompa song could use a few more beats, and Johnny Depp is just a wee bit sexier than the Frisco Kid. Then again, we’ve trusted Burton to our classics before and received a defiled Planet of the Apes.
Warner Bros. just released the latest trailer and from the looks of it (thankfully, the oompa loompas don't look like Marilyn Manson mini-mes), we think it'll resemble Big Fish and Mars Attacks!, but we'll have to wait till July 15 for the so-called "pointless" movie.
Tagged
arts
Bang Bang
chicago
Chicago Sun
children
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
chocolate factory
film
gene wilder
humor
money
movies
people
Roald Dahl
Sun Times
The Chicago
tim burton
willy wonka
Rina Rina
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