Charlie Wonka Movie Comparison

Charlie and the Chocolate factory is one of two film adaptations of Roald Dahls 1943 children’s book. This 2005 rendition, directed by the eccentric Tim Burton, infamous for his dark fantastical works in film, is said to be most loyal to the book versus the 1971 version entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory . Like the book, the film conveys a heavy theme of morality and family. The motif throughout the movie is bad children are punished while good children earn the coveted rewards. In this case, an entire chocolate factory. The film explores the effects of unscrupulous behavior and the gains of selflessness, kindness, and being family centered. The plot centers around Charlie Buckets portrayed by Freddie Highmore, a dirt poor young boy who values his family above all. Charlie’s (Highmore) character is thoroughly filled out in the first thirty minutes of the film. It is easy to feel empathy for Charlie and sympathize with him because he is so poverty-stricken yet he is always concerned for others more than himself. Due to competitors sending in espionage to steal his secrets, Wonka fires his entire staff and shuts down the factory. Mysteriously business resumes after so many years but, no one is ever seen going in or
Unlike in the book, we meet a Wilbur Wonka. He is Willy Wonka’s father and ironically a dentist and plays the antagonist in Wonka’s dream to be a famous chocolatier. Throughout the film Wonka has flashbacks of his own tortured childhood at the mention of key family words. In one of the flashback scenes Willy has gone trick or treating and arrives back at home only to have all his sweets thrown into the fire by his obsessive dental hygenist of a father. This and other events like played a significant role in Willy Wonka’s disregard for family which is a minor theme in the film as well. Wonka turns into somewhat of a self-centered recluse with little concern for