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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: two-Disc Deluxe Edition
R3 - Hong Kong - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Graeme Tuckett & Noor Razzak (7th December 2005). |
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The Film
 Most of us have favourite actors and actresses, performers whose films we will always see, good or bad (Billy Bob Thornton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Al Pacino and David Morse have never let me down), but a true movie nerd also has favourite directors; filmmakers whose movies are unmissable because their personalities will be up there on screen, visible and recognisable through the performances, settings, shots and tone of a film. Of the filmmakers working in the mainstream today, I’ll never miss a film by the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan), David Lynch, Robert Altman, Jane Campion, Terry Gilliam, and especially, Tim Burton. Burton is a marvel, probably the most unique and instantly identifiable filmmaker on the planet. From his debut feature “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985), through “Beetlejuice” (1988) and “Batman” (1989) to “Edward Scissorhands” (1990), “Mars Attacks” (1996) and “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), Burton has carved out and maintained a reputation for producing surreal extravaganzas, full of jaw dropping set design, unsubtle but indelible characterisations, and an absolutely irrepressible sense of fun and mischief. Burton’s only "bad" film was his remake of “Planet of the Apes” (2001), for which he was just not the right director. “Planet of the Apes” sits alongside David Lynch’s, “Dune” (1984) as an example of how badly a brilliant director can fail when he’s forced to follow someone else’s play book. Since that debacle, Burton has directed the good but comparatively restrained (by his standards) “Big Fish” (2003), and now this film...this almost indescribably bloody wonderful “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. This is a film that only Burton could have got right. Who else could have pictured a chorus line of colour coded Oompa-Loompas synchronised swimming beneath a water fall of chocolate, or worked a bizarre nod to Stanley Kubrick into a film about kids and lollies, or imagined just how a 10-year-old girl might look in the moments before she is mugged by a gang of squirrels (yes, squirrels...)? Maybe there’s a writer on the planet who can do this movie justice, but it’s not me. I find myself reduced to superlatives and adjectives. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is a delirious, pyrotechnic, psychedelic, carnival ride of a film. From the warm-glow sentimentalism of its opening scenes, to the certifiably insane excesses of the climactic glass elevator ride, this film is both instant classic and instant cult. After seeing it I couldn’t get the grin off my face with a crowbar. I’ve heard criticisms ("the flash backs aren’t in the book", is the most common). Too bad, Judged on its own terms, or standing alongside the book and the earlier film, Burton’s movie is a triumph.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1, this anamorphic transfer is just splendid, much like all of Warner Brother’s recent releases the transfer is solid, sharp as a razor and the colours are simply lush. Especially for a film such as this, where it’s a veritable wonderland of colours and sights, the film is virtually flawless. I couldn’t spot a single blemish in this terrific widescreen print.
Audio
The film includes two optional audio tracks both in Dolby Digital 5.1, they are in Cantonese and English. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its original English soundtrack. Much like the flawless transfer the sound is equally impressive, the dialogue is extremely clear and distortion free. The surrounds are immersive making full use of the 5.1 sound space, the sound design is rather impressive enveloping you into Wonka’s weird and wonderful world. The music is the real treat, each of the Oompa-Loompa songs are mixed perfectly within the soundtrack and are key elements in the enjoyment of the film. Warner Brothers have done a magnificent job with this soundtrack. The film also includes optional subtitles in English and Chinese.
Extras
Warner Brothers have released this film as a 2-disc Deluxe Edition, the extras include a series of featurettes, a handful of interactive games, a theatrical trailer, a soundtrack spot and some DVD-ROM contents as well, all these extras include optional subtitles in Chinese, Korean, Thai and Bahasa Indonesian. Below is a closer look at each of these extras per disc: DISC ONE: The first extra we have on this disc is the film’s original theatrical trailer, which runs for 2 minutes 26 seconds and is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. Following that is a soundtrack spot which runs for 39 seconds and features music highlights from the film. DISC TWO: This disc is where the majority of extras are housed, they are split into two sections “Features” and “Activities” The first section “Features” we have a series of featurettes, the first of which is entitled “Attack Of The Squirrels” which runs for 9 minutes 45 seconds and looks at the training of the squirrels for this scene, the any months it took to since these animals are not the most responsive to commands. We also learn that other techniques where used to make it seem like there were over 200 in the scene, these include animatronics and also computer generate squirrels for when they drag Veruca Salt into the garbage chute. The second featurette is entitled “Fantastic Mr. Dahl” and runs for 17 minutes 35 seconds, this brilliant piece focuses on the life and work of author Roald Dahl and features interviews with friends and family as they reminisce. We also learn about his writing style and the origin and development of some of his most beloved characters. The next featurette entitled “Becoming An Oompa-Loompa” runs for 7 minutes 15 seconds and focuses on the actor Deep Roy who portrayed all the Oompa-Loompas in this film, we take a look at the exhausting and complicated regiment of learning the dance choreography and instruments in order to portray the famed little people that populate Wonka’s factory. The piece also includes interviews and behind-the-scenes clips from the rehearsal process. Following that are a series of additional making-of featurettes housed in a sub-section entitled “Making The Mix” The first piece we have in this sub-section is “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chocolate Dreams” which runs for 6 minutes 50 seconds, this is the standard EPK featurette that focuses on the production from scripting, the influence of the original book, Tim Burton’s vision for the film as well as creating the Wonka character and much more. The piece includes interview footage with the main cast and crew as well as clips from the film. Next we have the “Different Faces, Different Flavors” featurette that runs for 10 minutes 35 seconds and focuses on the casting of the film. Dahl’s widow and executive producer Felicity Dahl talks about how perfectly cast everyone was for this remake. Burton also chimes in with comments about the cast and also some of the cast themselves discuss their characters and how much fun it was to play them. Following that we have the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sweet Sounds” featurette that runs for 7 minutes 15 seconds, here we get a look at the creation of the score by long time Burton collaborator Danny Elfman especially the different Oompa-Loompa songs and the importance of making them all feel "Oompa-Loompa like" but encompass different musical genres. Next up is the “Designer Chocolate” featurette which runs for 9 minutes 33 seconds and takes a look at the enormous job of the production designer on this film. We get a peek at the building of the chocolate room set on the 007 stage in England. A lot of sets for this film were built and almost every single on of them was extended with the use of CGI matte paintings/extensions and also miniatures were used to create the city in which the factory resides. Finally the last featurette is entitled “Under the Wrapper” and runs for 6 minutes 55 seconds. This piece takes a closer look at the special effects for the film, includes is a look at the CGI effects and green screens used, especially for the boat ride scene. We also learn a lot of practical effects were also used to create the chocolate as well as make-up effects that include prosthetics and a fat suit for the character Augustus. The second section of this DVD is entitled “Activities” here is where you’ll find all the interactive games. The first is entitled the “Oompa-Loompa Dance” here you have the chance to learn two of the dances from the film, the Augustus Gloop dance and the Violet Beauregarde dance. In this game you learn the steps, once you’ve done that you can play the game by using your arrow keys on the remote to select the steps that correspond to what you see on the screen. The next game is entitled “The Bad Nut” here you must help the squirrels sort the good nuts from the bad nuts, you have three lives, and you must use your arrow keys to sort the nuts as they fall from the pipe. If you get one wrong you lose one of your three squirrels. Next up is “The Inventing Machine” game, here you have 12 flavors to choose from, you can mix two to come up with your own concoction. Once mixed an Oompa-Loompa will try it out to humorous effect. Finally we have the “Search for the Golden Ticket” game. Here you must help Charlie, Mike, Violet, Veruca and Augustus find each of their golden tickets. There are 5 challenges that correspond to how they found their tickets in the film, if you find the ticket, you win the challenge. Rounding out the disc’s extras are some DVD-ROM features that include a demo to the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” video game and also web links to the Warner site as well as the Charlie site. Overall I was a little disappointed with the extras, there was no commentary which was a major let down and the featurettes were short and left quite a lot to be desired, Warner’s have released some mighty nice Special Editions in the past but this one seems a bit thin, additionally although the games are meant for children there wasn’t anything there worth a second attempt at.
Overall
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is a wonderful updated adaptation of the classic children’s book, Burton has captured the tone and fun of the original and at the same time has made this film uniquely Burton, it’s certainly worth checking out. The DVD includes a breathtaking image and sound transfer however the extras leave this Deluxe Edition feeling a little thin.
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