Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Movie

We finally caught the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last weekend and it was fun! My son and I had read the book while Daddy is just about to read it but we all thought the movie, featuring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore, was one of the most entertaining and better-made movies we've seen in a long time.

The movie is true to the Roald Dahl classic -- but in a sense, it isn't too. The film adequately captures most of the details and important scenes in the book but also adds a few new aspects here and there. The new things though give the story a little more heart and actually makes the original tale by Roald Dahl more interesting.

It is a joy or should we say it is a treat to watch the film. The magical world of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory comes alive with a whole lot of color and creativity. It's a movie that parents hope their kids will watch -- if only to make their jobs just a bit less challenging. It focuses on family, sharing and my husband and I really liked the part where Grandpa George talks to Charlie about opportunity and that "something as common as money."

We really liked the kids who played the different characters -- with my favorite brat being Veruca Salt. And the Oompa-Loompa? His song numbers and his characterization were truly enjoyable. We bought a P99 VCD, by the way, of the earlier movie featuring Gene Wilder -- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The songs were good and sweeter in the old version but story-wise and visuals-wise, the newer film takes the cake -- or should we say the chocolate?

Have you read the book by the way? If your kids haven't, please let them read it. If you haven't read the book yourself -- it's never too late. Read through the story and you shall see that Charlie is actually very Pinoy -- puwede ngang Caloy Bakit (or my husband says Balde for Bucket). Charlie is a good kid who lives with 2 sets of grandparents and his parents in a rundown house. Thus, there were 7 people in their rickety home -- with only the father having a job. There was never enough food on the table. (Don't a lot of Pinoys live that way?) Then, Charlie finds his Golden Ticket and the rest makes up one great story. In the movie, the narrator talks about Charlie being the luckiest boy or person in the world, he just doesn't know it yet. Parang Pinoy talaga. Generally, Filipinos are bright, kind, and hardworking -- with a strong sense of affection for the family. Like Charlie, we haven't gotten the lucky break just yet -- but one day, I know we shall find our own Golden Ticket and life in the Philippines shall be sweeter for all. =)