Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
book — UK — 1964

7.5
This was the first time I went into the territory where Roald Dahl doesn’t write scary stories on taxidermists and butchers but switches to children instead. After having watched the film less than 24 hours ago I probably am no qualified enough to compare what Dahl wrote to what Tim Burton did. In terms of character development there’s a significant difference between the film and the book. While Dahl’s Willie Wonka is just an eccentric fellow Burton makes him a creepy man with a twisted mind. But that doesn’t necessary mean that one of the two Wonkas is better than the other. The ending is also different, and it has a lot to do with Wonkas character – here he simply invites Charlie and his whole family over to the factory so they would live with him and doesn’t do any nonsense. I got to admit that the film ending was better (apart from the meeting the father scene). Although I can imagine why Roald Dahl has become a classic in the genre of books for children, I can’t really see myself a fan of his. Why not? This fairytale has a storyline much to linear and an ending much too trivial for my taste. Ok, the whole factory was designed in Dahl’s mind perfectly, so was Charlie’s family, and the archetypical characters were really good. So I don’t know why I’m so critical about it. Probably the best choice would be just finishing the review and run away like a sissy.
2005-10-04
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