Heidi and I went to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Sunday afternoon. Both of us are fans of the original movie and were curious to see how Tim Burton would handle the remake. Of course, Heidi mostly wanted to see it because Johnny Depp is in it, but who’s surprised about that?

The biggest change in the whole movie is, of course, the Tim Burton effect. This movie is darker and stylized in that Tim Burton way. If that’s your thing, you’ll like the movie. If not, you might still like the movie but you’ll probably be weirded out by the Oompa-Loompas. Then again, the Oompa Loompas are pretty damn weird. In fact, if there’s a word that is this movie, it’s weird. The characters say it, you’ll say it when you watch, and the story is, well, a bit weird.

If you remember the earlier film with Gene Wilder, you’ll notice some differences in the overall story. There’s a new backstory about Wonka and his father. And it’s a weird little story. Not the general story, that’s pretty straightforward, but the particulars… for example, the father and Wonka both wear latex gloves. You hear the latex gloves squeaking throughout the movie. Or the obsessiveness by both, father with clean teeth and Wonka with candy. They’re just weird.

Beyond that, though, the story is very close to the book. There are a few changes here and there, but they’re mostly details. If you liked the first one or like the story, you’ll like this movie. It’s well done, the acting is good, and, most importantly, it all works.

Rating: 8/10