[Jane Sherwood]

I used to love James and the Giant Peach when I was eight, both the book and movie. I can't remember much about it now, but I think I loved the Centipede...at least in the movie, I think his shoe thing in the book pissed me off a bit.

I started reading Charlie in the Chocolate Factory last night, but didn't get very far before my sleeping pill kicked in and everything started getting...weird*, and I couldn't read anymore.


(*Weird = the words started dancing and I passed out.)

[rock_dash]

VD:  Ok...now I'm just a little scared...
Ok, now I want to rewatch that movie, childhood trauma aside, just to see that bit again because I can't remember it!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That reminds me of something weird that happened to me involving this movie. I watched it pretty much everytime it ran on TV, but then one night when it was on, this scene played that I swear to god I had never seen before. The one where Charlie is at his house and says, "I did! I got the winning ticket!!" and his family is excited and then he turns around and says in a voice devoid of any emotion whatsoever, "I fooled you, didn't I?"

WTF?!

[kdogg]

I used to love Roald Dahl when I was young. There were so many good books: George's Marvleous Medicine, Danny the Champion of the World, The Twits, The Magic Finger. Did The Witches freak anybody else out?

[Slade]

Maybe a little. There was also Mathilda!

If he wasn't dead, he'd be rolling in royalties.

[Jane Sherwood]

I remember seeing that movie and loving it...then reading the book and getting pissed off.

[Chyld]

Man oh man oh MAN! Why did I get here so freaking late?

*engages Fanboy Mode*

Roald Dahl, my friends, is the childs author of our time. By comparison, JK Rowling is merely a fanfiction writer. The man was a genius. I believe he lived a town over from where I live down South.

And then Hollywood came along and all but assfucked the poor man. Matilda was set in Little Missendon. Little fucking Missenden, a tiny little village. Not some fucking giant American metropolis! AARGH! PAIN HATE DEATH! That film, by comparison to the book, is not fit to wipe the arse of a leper. And the adaption of the Witches... the version read word-for-word on tape I had, had me hiding under things, but no, it needs a freaking happy ending for American audiences! Not realising that they've buggered up Dahl's original ending (mouse-boy creeps into Witch-castle, turns all the Witches within into mice, then steals their big ol' address book)

I did like James and the Giant Peach, however. It missed out shedloads of the book, but it was a nifty adaption.

But onto the meat and potatoes of the thread, the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I could have sworn blind that the speech on the boat was in the book, but I don't have a copy to hand, so I can't tell. That aside, the original was quite good. I'm quite sure the Oompa Loompas didn't start singing until The Great Glass Elevator in the book, but I still could be wrong. But I mean dear gods, where did that thing with the bubbles come from? The tractor? The shady-looking bloke from the other chocolate factory? What is all of this doing? No wonder Roald Dahl hated it.

But a new version, we say, actually faithful to the original book? I'll believe that when I see it. I'm going to see it, however, for the same reason as the Hitchhikers... - rampant fanboy syndrome.

My last word on the matter is that no film, not one, not any, could be as good as actually cracking open a copy with Quentin Blake's illustrations. I don't care if you have to sell your kidenys to do it, but do it!

One last thing: VD calm the hell down boyo! Even Icey isn't that freaking enamoured! The fact that Jane's scared scares me, and I'm also scared because you're scary! Its like a crazy cycle of scaring things!

[Slade]

BOO!

[Heccubus]

No no, Chyld, THE children's author of our time is Dr. Seuss. Few people could make a book about turtle stacking and successfully stuff it full of social commentary on class structure. Dr. Seuss is God.

[J m HofMarN]

I would go for Dr. Seuss.

[civilian_number_two]

Hey, JM: Dr Seuss was born in the twenties. You know what that means ...

[A Link to the Past]

Dawn of the Dead makes me hate remakes.

[BadKarma]

Sorry I'm a bit late to this party....
I don't like remakes much either. I also love the sinister Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder.
BUT, the thought of Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman and Tim Burton joining up again.. if they can make a dark Sleepy Hollow style CatCF, it's gonna be F'ing awesome.

[Jane Sherwood]

All right, I've read the book and loved it, and now I've seen the new trailer.

Engage fangirl mode. Recommend that all people within a six hundred mile radius cover their ears and stay away from any windows or glass objects.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!



I can't wait for this thing to come out! This is no mere remake, this is something all new! And it looks closer to the book than I ever expected! I'm not even taking into consideration that it's a Johnny Depp movie anymore, I'm sold!

ADDITIONAL: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was one of Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments list. Who isn't surprised?

[Despondent]

ONe thing that many people forget about the original movie is HOW MUCH FRIGGIN' TIME WAS SPENT NOT IN THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!  The beginning was SO BORING.  It felt like 2/3 of the movie was spent with Charlie's creepy family that slept in the same bed.  I used to just fast forward through that part screaming, "GET ON WITH IT, ALREADY!!  GET TO THE PART WHERE WILLIE WONKA PRETENDS TO FALL DOWN THEN DOES A SOMMERSAULT SO THE GOOD STUFF CAN START!!"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(That's how I used to feel at the movies during the jawas capture/deliver the droids portion.)

That family in the bed.

[Jane Sherwood]

Since the movie is now out, I feel it's a good idea to give this a little bump back to the front page. Now, I've just come back from seeing it for the first time, so excuse me if I leave a damn good chunk of stuff out in my excitement.

Key Response: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And that's not just because of Johnny Depp.

It was absolutely brilliant.

Brilliant and wonderful and brilliant!

I swear, if I was four years old and watching this like I did the first movie, this would be the nightmare fuel that would traumatize me for years! But as I am fifteen years older and it takes quite a bit more to keep me awake at night than the fear that tiny creepy men will turn me into a blueberry, I just have to say. This. Movie. Rocked.

Some parts where they deviate from the book can be seen as a bit dubious (but hey, at least they stuck with the book!), like giving Willy Wonka a backstory, the issues with family and parents, and the altered and prolonged ending, but I loved every second of it (of course, that could just be because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff)!

I'd talk about Johnny Depp's performance of the character, but I fear I wouldn't be able to form more than two sentences without being reduced to fangirlish shrieks of love and deep approval. So to keep it short and simple and shriek-free: BRILLIANT!

Much, much, much, much, much love for this movie.