Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – IMDb: 6.6 Starring: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter

Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a visually dazzling adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved novel, bringing the whimsical world of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory to life. The story follows young Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who wins a golden ticket to tour the fantastical chocolate factory, where he encounters the eccentric, and slightly strange, Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp). Alongside him are several other children who each face the consequences of their greed, bad behavior, and selfishness as they make their way through the factory’s magical and often dangerous rooms.

Burton’s gothic style and quirky visual flair perfectly complement Dahl’s fantastical story, making for a vibrant and surreal adventure. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Willy Wonka adds an eccentric, and sometimes unsettling, twist to the character, creating a darker tone than the original 1971 film. The movie is both a cautionary tale and a celebration of imagination, with unforgettable scenes and a memorable soundtrack that brings the magic of the factory to life.

Charlie, Violet, Veruca, Mike and Augustus get another big-screen chance to win a chocolate factory, 40-plus years after Roald Dahl created them for his book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Of course, there’s no surprise in who comes up with the big prize in the end. It’s the kid with the soul. The kid with the heart. The kid with the four bedridden grandparents. It’s Charlie Bucket, the kid who only has enough money to buy one candy bar a year—on his birthday. Grandpa George tells him there’s no way he will ever find that fifth golden ticket, but Charlie and Grandpa Joe are irrepressible. And irrepressibility, at least in Roald Dahl stories, is always rewarded.

So Charlie and his bratty, impertinent, greedy, stuck-up comrades waltz into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. And in so doing their story lives on for a new generation of young fans who hopefully, after watching, will become slightly less bratty, less impertinent, less greedy and less stuck-up than they were before.