Who better to bring Roald Dahl's adored children's story to life than the mastermind behind inventive films like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE? From Tim Burton's opening shot--against Danny Elfman's eerie score--this CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is recognizably darker than the Mel Stuart-directed 1971 version starring Gene Wilder. Though the mysterious chocolate factory has been closed for 15 years, it continues to produce and ship candy all over the world. When a contest promises a tour of the plant to the lucky finders of five golden tickets hidden inside wrappers, no one is more excited than Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), an impoverished boy whose family lives mere steps from the factory. Though he can barely afford even one candy bar, fate intervenes, and Charlie finds the last golden ticket.

Joined at the gates by a group of despicable brats named Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop, and Mike Teavee, Charlie and his Grandfather (David Kelly) venture inside proprietor Willy Wonka's (Johnny Depp) delightful factory for a wild adventure. Each room is a feast for the eyes, and more importantly the taste buds--a sugarcoated dreamland where everything is edible. One by one, however, the children meet unfortunate fates, until only Charlie remains in the company of Wonka and his curiously small workers, the Oompa Loompas (all played by Deep Roy, whose image is multiplied with CG). Sporting a severe bob, and talking in a high-pitched voice, Depp makes his Wonka even weirder than Wilder's. While Burton adds some amusing contemporary touches (like the musical Oompa Loompa routines), and an elaborate back story, he also preserves the charm of the original book. Overall, Burton's visual innovation succeeds in capturing the vividness of a child's imagination--but whether this version trumps the beloved '71 film is for viewers to decide.

Theatrical Release Date: July 15, 2005

DVD Features:

Region (unknown)
Keep Case
Full Frame
Audio:
Dolby Surround EX 5.1 English
Dolby Surround EX 5.1 French
Dolby Surround EX 5.1 Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Documentary - Becoming Oompa-Loompa: How Did They Turn One Man into Thousands of Oompa-Loompas.
Interactive Features:
Challenges - Oomp-Loompa Dance Machine

Distributor Notes: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Fantasy Adventure. Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, 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. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing and enduring story.

Source: Warner Home Video

Johnny Depp: American Actor - SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STR
Freddie Highmore: Actor, TWO BROTHERS (2004)
David Kelly: Irish Star, began in early '60s, WAKING NED DEVINE (1998)
Helena Bonham-Carter: British Actress
Noah Taylor: Australian Actor/"Flirting"
Missi Pyle: Actress, JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS (2001)
Christopher Lee: British actor, DRACULA (1958)
James Fox: British Actor
Deep Roy: 
Adam Godley: British Actor, COR BLIMEY (2000)
AnnaSophia Robb: Star, SAMANTHA: AN AMERICAN GIRL HOLIDAY (2004)

Tim Burton: American director

Brad Grey: Producer
Richard D. Zanuck: Producer

John August: Writer: 'Go'

Danny Elfman: Score composer

Chris Lebenzon: Editor, XXX (2002)

"Those Oompa-Loompas are the beat, and soul, of Burton's finest movie since ED WOOD: a madhouse kiddie musical with a sweet-and-sour heart."
"Wondrous....[The film] moves, like Dahl's original, in a straight line from one inspired set piece to the next..."
"Tim Burton surrounds Depp with miraculous visuals of spun sugar and creeping menace. Their missionary lunacy is a treat for twisted children of all ages."
"[I]t's very much Burton's vision: the modern fairy tale town, kitsch musical number and 'gothic' Edward Gorey-inspired design."
"Depp's Wonka is both flamboyant and reserved....He can be plaintive...or hilarious..."
"Depp deserves kudos for fashioning an original and outlandish if occasionally menacing character in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY....[The film is] a marvel of rich, colorful design and flair."
Included in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten Films Of The Year -- "[A] delectable sweet-and-sour madhouse kiddie musical..."
Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "The colors on the two-disc DVD are tempting and toxic. Dahl would approve."
"[I]t's movie candy: an optical endorphin rush."
4 stars out of 5 -- "This is a dazzling confection for the senses..."