Yesterday I took a second out on the house and packed the kiddies up for the movies. It cost $20 for three of us to get into a matinee! It was another $20 at the snack bar. Ah well....
The movie was great. It is nothing like the Gene Wilder film. I'm not saying it is better or worse, just different. Of course, I grew up on the original so it has special meaning to me. But the new one with Johnny Depp....excuse me, I'm having a Johnny moment. I have a lot of these. Anyway, Johnny...man, there I go again...is very good. He does "oddball" so well. Freddy Highmore, the boy who plays Charlie, is soooo cute. I want to adopt him. It is definitely a Tim Burton film, so it has a dark feel to it, but my kids got a real kick out of it. The sets are cool and Johnny...sigh...does such a good job of being weird and childlike at the same time. I will definitely be picking this up on DVD when it comes out. My 5 year old daughter has decided she wants to be Veruca Salt. Hmmmm......
Other things of note...
I posted an article I wrote about the joy of writing a query letter over on the Villa in Tuscany blog. So if you are looking for yet another query letter writing article, there you go.
9 comments:
It's been a long time since I read it, but I think the book was a lot darker than the original movie. And I read somewhere (or saw it on TV) that Johnny :fanning Rene: and Tim Burton drew a lot more closely to the book for this one.
Ahh, Johnny. He is so versatile. Love that man.
Johnny Depp. He's does the off the wall characters SO WELL. Must see the movie. LOL...well probably when it comes out on DVD...
So was it at all scary for your 5yo? My 5yo is kind of a movie wimp, so I haven't decided whether we should take him or not.
Tori, my son just read the book (about 3 times in a row) and he said the movie wasn't like the book, however it was closer to the book than the original film. They added a father to the movie who didn't exist in the book.
Amy, my 5 year old doesn't get scared in movies. My 5 year old rides roller coasters. She saw "Revenge of the Sith" and didn't blink an eye, so she is not a good comparison. However, I don't think there is anything that would scare your son. Johnny's Willy Wonka is not sinister at all. Remember Gene Wilder was kind of sinister in parts of the old one? It's dark more in the feel and ambiance, but there really isn't anything scary and you do see the "bad" children leaving at the end. What I did like about this film is how much they concentrated on Charlie's family.
There are a couple of bits of adult humor kids won't pick up. Willy comes out of the factory and greets the people by saying "Good morning starshine, the eart says hello." Well, I was raised on the soundtrack to "Hair" so I picked it up pretty quick.
The Gene Wilder version is the one I grew up with as well, so I'm wondering if it would be distracting? Sometimes remakes are wonderful and sometimes they're just the same-old, same-old. I can't wait for the remake of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. That one looks wonderful.
I can't look at Johnny Depp in that movie without thinking he looks like Michael Jackson....
LOL, Suzanne! You're not the first to say that. *g* And I agree!
I've seen the first half and enjoyed it.
My daughter had been BEGGING to go--she is reading the book too.
I thought I could make her happy and see Johnny Depp--win/win!
My 4-year-old son was scared though when Violet became a blueberry and we had to leave.
(Yup! Some creepy scenery, flashbacks and people--my son is afraid of a giant fruit.)
(We won't be seeing James and the Giant Peach!!!)
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