Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
First, I have to admit that I only vaguely remember being shown the 1971 version of the movie then titled, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Second, I went to see Charlie & The Chocolate Factory to escape the heat and figured that a Johnny Depp movie seemed like a good cure. My initial reactions to the movie were on its color, tone and how Tim Burton-ish it was. Hours later, looking back over my scrawled notes, I have begun to appreciate it, as one might savor a rich chocolate—and that seems to be the point!
Willy Wonka reopens his factory and sends out five gold tickets, as anyone who has seen the trailer will recognize, but the tickets follow a midlife crisis by the big-hearted recluse, played to the hilt by Johnny Depp. His first four recipients are the glamorous antitheses of our hero Charlie Bucket ( Freddie Highmore), whose only selfish act is to buy his last candy bar out of hunger. [Even Grandpa Joe has more of an agenda than adorable Charlie, who would opt to sell the ticket to buy his parents and four grandparents food.]
The drive behind the Wonka fortune appears through a series of flashbacks with the formidable Christopher Lee as dentist Wilbur Wonka. The excesses of Halloween candy are forbidden to his overly protected son, and the darkness of Wilbur’s home is only matched by the puritanical joy he seems to take in depriving his son. When Willy runs away, Wilbur promises to not be around if he should come back, moving the whole house to prove a point. If Roald Dahl’s signature character is an orphaned boy, then Willy is that boy: Charlie, our hero, is loved completely and absolutely, in the midst of the Bucket family poverty.
The Oompa-Loompas (one and all played by Deep Lot) appear prepared for the four ‘naughty’ children and their sugar-coated demises. While each child appears to use their free will to succumb to their temptations, the reclusive Willy Wonka and his henchmen seem prepared for what happens next. One by one, the characteristics of the first four cause them to fall. Charlie appears simply happy to be there, with no temptation to fall into, just soaking up the radiance that the factory’s internal activity provides. Here is a picture of heaven and hell: the location is the same but the results are drastically different. One set of people (the greedy children) get exactly what they desire but fall dangerously when allowed to get what they want. The other set (Charlie) live through the same experience, but ‘stay on the path’ that leads to an offer by Willy.
Faced with his greatest temptation, Charlie chooses family over control of the factory, much to the dismay of Willy. Family is important to Charlie but Willy can’t understand that—if all fathers are like Wilbur, then why would Charlie want to stay? I found myself asking the same questions about faith and church. If I had an abusive relative, would I look differently at God the Father? If I had been beaten down by a legalistic representation of faith in church, would I eagerly run to the next meeting of faith?
The beauty of the Chocolate Factory is that it brings Charlie and Willie together. Drawn back to Charlie, Willie finds encouragement to reunite with his father and make peace. Still further, the two lovers of chocolate share in the love that the Buckets have, transplanted within the factory. Apparently, you can have both chocolate and family, just like I was treated to entertainment and values. Once again, there are side notes on does and don’ts within the movie, but the overriding theme is that of community, and that of love.
MOVIE
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
BOOK
—Review: WonkaMania
—Blog: Kevin Miller
—Blog: Tom Price
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
First, I have to admit that I only vaguely remember being shown the 1971 version of the movie then titled, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Second, I went to see Charlie & The Chocolate Factory to escape the heat and figured that a Johnny Depp movie seemed like a good cure. My initial reactions to the movie were on its color, tone and how Tim Burton-ish it was. Hours later, looking back over my scrawled notes, I have begun to appreciate it, as one might savor a rich chocolate—and that seems to be the point!
Willy Wonka reopens his factory and sends out five gold tickets, as anyone who has seen the trailer will recognize, but the tickets follow a midlife crisis by the big-hearted recluse, played to the hilt by Johnny Depp. His first four recipients are the glamorous antitheses of our hero Charlie Bucket ( Freddie Highmore), whose only selfish act is to buy his last candy bar out of hunger. [Even Grandpa Joe has more of an agenda than adorable Charlie, who would opt to sell the ticket to buy his parents and four grandparents food.]
The drive behind the Wonka fortune appears through a series of flashbacks with the formidable Christopher Lee as dentist Wilbur Wonka. The excesses of Halloween candy are forbidden to his overly protected son, and the darkness of Wilbur’s home is only matched by the puritanical joy he seems to take in depriving his son. When Willy runs away, Wilbur promises to not be around if he should come back, moving the whole house to prove a point. If Roald Dahl’s signature character is an orphaned boy, then Willy is that boy: Charlie, our hero, is loved completely and absolutely, in the midst of the Bucket family poverty.The Oompa-Loompas (one and all played by Deep Lot) appear prepared for the four ‘naughty’ children and their sugar-coated demises. While each child appears to use their free will to succumb to their temptations, the reclusive Willy Wonka and his henchmen seem prepared for what happens next. One by one, the characteristics of the first four cause them to fall. Charlie appears simply happy to be there, with no temptation to fall into, just soaking up the radiance that the factory’s internal activity provides. Here is a picture of heaven and hell: the location is the same but the results are drastically different. One set of people (the greedy children) get exactly what they desire but fall dangerously when allowed to get what they want. The other set (Charlie) live through the same experience, but ‘stay on the path’ that leads to an offer by Willy.
Faced with his greatest temptation, Charlie chooses family over control of the factory, much to the dismay of Willy. Family is important to Charlie but Willy can’t understand that—if all fathers are like Wilbur, then why would Charlie want to stay? I found myself asking the same questions about faith and church. If I had an abusive relative, would I look differently at God the Father? If I had been beaten down by a legalistic representation of faith in church, would I eagerly run to the next meeting of faith?
The beauty of the Chocolate Factory is that it brings Charlie and Willie together. Drawn back to Charlie, Willie finds encouragement to reunite with his father and make peace. Still further, the two lovers of chocolate share in the love that the Buckets have, transplanted within the factory. Apparently, you can have both chocolate and family, just like I was treated to entertainment and values. Once again, there are side notes on does and don’ts within the movie, but the overriding theme is that of community, and that of love.MOVIE
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
BOOK
—Review: WonkaMania
—Blog: Kevin Miller
—Blog: Tom Price
2 Comments:
From the perspective of a Christian, I have one problem with the book and the 2005 film version (less so the 1971 version): this is a story in which hope for redemption after human fallibility does not exist.
Charlie was born sinless, behaves sinlessly, and wins his factory sinlessly.
The naughty children are raised by wicked parents, conform to the expectations of their wicked parents (note how Veruca's father constantly reinforces her spoilt nature), and then are punished without hope of redemption for having done as their wicked parents have trained them to do.
Charlie is good from the start, and while he stands up against temptation, having never fallen in this film he has no need for redemption.
The naughty children are permanently disfigured for flaws which are far less their fault than the fault of their horrible parents. At such a young age, they are told there is no redemption, no mercy, and no hope -- only retributive violence. When they fall, with their parents' encouragement to fall, there is no offer of redemption during or after their fall. Instead, their fall is made permanent.
Now, admittedly, this is a fable, and many fables never offer redemption.
But what bothers me is that no one seems to comment on the lack of redemption in such a world.
The parents are adults, not children -- if there must be punishment, they should have been the ones punished. And redemption should still have been there, waiting for them.
Hi, progressive Christian! I agree that we are not shown redemption for the first four kids but I think redemption IS present. Charlie's pure spirit provides a world of healing to the lives of his family AND Willy Wonka. As the main driving relationships in the movie, they receive the most focus: we'll have to wait for a sequel to see how our four ill-intentioned kids and their families react to their troubles.
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