I was curious about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because Billie likes the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory very much. As expected from a kiddie and family movie, it was bright, wondrous, and feel goody. Several [mostly annoying] kids won trips to a tour of The Chocolate Factory. Somewhere in the middle of the movie there was a shade of darkness as they encountered the singing burning dolls (creepy), and meet the mysterious Willy Wonka who seemed to be hiding something (creepier). Then the kids started disappearing one by one, hinting of something sinister going on. If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought that the Oompa Loompa’s are cannibals (Wonka mentioned something about cannibalism before the first kid disappeared) or that the secret ingredients for Wonka’s yummy chocolates were kids (shades of Soylent Green). But then those dark twisted thoughts of mine would have come to naught as this is a kiddie and family movie after all. As expected, in the end the missing kids turned up more or less fine and things got brighter and happier. Great for a family outing.
Rating: 3/5