CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY [2005 / 2015] [10th Anniversary Special Edition] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] A Feast For The Eyes And Imagination!
What wonders await you in Willy Wonka’s factory? Sail along the Chocolate River in a pink sugar boat. Experiment with Everlasting Gobstoppers in the Inventing Room. Observe talented squirrels in the Nut Room, and travel to the Television Room via glass elevator. You’ll find a lot that’s funny, a little that’s mysterious and an adventure as sweet and satisfying as a Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight bar. This dazzling film of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel, and directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp [Willy Wonka] and Freddie Highmore [Charlie Bucket], is your Golden Ticket to a world so inventive and amazing, you won’t want to miss a delicious moment!
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 2005 BAFTA Awards: Win: Kids' Vote for ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.’ Nominated: BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature Film for Richard D. Zanuck and Tim Burton. 2005 Awards Circuit Community Awards: Nominated: Best Original Score for Danny Elfman. 2005 Golden Schmoes Awards: Nominated: Trippiest Movie of the Year. Nominated: Best Comedy of the Year. Nominated: Coolest Character of the Year “Willy Wonka.” Nominated: Best Line of the Year "Everything in this room is eatable..." 2005 Irish Film and Television Awards: Win: Audience Award for International Film Award. Nominated: Audience Award for Best International Actor for Johnny Depp. Nominated: IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film for David Kelly. 2005 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Win: Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Male Role for Freddie Highmore. Win: Best Original Score for Danny Elfman. 2005 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards: Nominated: Rondo Statuette for Best Film for Tim Burton. 2005 Satellite Awards: Nominated: Outstanding Cinematography for Philippe Rousselot. Nominated: Outstanding Youth DVD (2-Disc Deluxe Edition). 2005 SFX Awards, UK: Nominated: Best Director for Tim Burton. 2005 Teen Choice Awards: Nominated: Choice Summer Movie. 2006 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Achievement in Costume Design for Gabriella Pescucci. 2006 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical for Johnny Depp. 2006 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Production Design for Alex McDowell. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Costume Design for Gabriella Pescucci. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects for Chas Jarrett, Jon Thum, Joss Williams and Nick Davis. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Make-Up and Hair for Ivana Primorac and Peter Owen. 2006 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Freddie Highmore. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Music for Danny Elfman. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Costume for Gabriella Pescucci. 2006 Amanda Awards, Norway: Nominated: Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske kinofilm) for Tim Burton [USA]. 2006 American Cinema Editors: Nominated: Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film in a Comedy or Musical for Chris Lebenzon. 2006 Art Directors Guild: Nominated: Excellence in Production Design Award for Period or Fantasy Film for Alex McDowell (production designer). Leslie Tomkins (supervising art director), Kevin Phipps (senior art director), David Allday (art director), François Audouy (art director), Anthony Caron-Delion (art director), Sean Haworth (art director), Andy Nicholson (art director), Matthew Gray (assistant art director), James Lewis (assistant art director) and Kathy Heaser (assistant art director). 2006 Awards of the Japanese Academy: Nominated: Best Foreign Film. 2006 BMI Film & TV Awards: Win: BMI Film Music Award for Film Music for Danny Elfman. 2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Critics Choice Award for Best Young Actor for Freddie Highmore. Nominated: Critics Choice Award for Best Family Film (Live Action). 2006 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: Nominated: Best Original Score for Danny Elfman. 2006 Costume Designers Guild Awards: Nominated: Excellence in Fantasy Film for Gabriella Pescucci. 2006 Empire Awards, UK: Win: Best Actor for Johnny Depp. 2006 Gold Derby Awards: Win: Art Direction for Kevin Phipps and Peter Young. 2006 Grammy Awards: Nominated: Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for Danny Elfman and John August for the song "Wonka's Welcome Song." 2006 International Film Music Critics Award: Nominated: Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film for Danny Elfman. 2006 International Online Cinema Awards: Nominated: Best Art Direction for Alex McDowell and Peter Young. 2006 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Win: Special Silver Ribbon for Gabriella Pescucci for the costume design. 2006 Italian Online Movie Awards: Win: Best Art Direction (Miglior scenografia). Win: Best Costume Design (Migliori costumi). Nominated: Best Actor (Miglior attore protagonista) for Johnny Depp. Nominated: Best Soundtrack (Miglior colonna sonora). Nominated: Best Makeup (Miglior trucco). 2006 Jupiter Award: Nominated: Best International Actor for Johnny Depp. 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, USA: Nominated: Blimp Award for Favorited Movie. Nominated: Blimp Award for Favorited Movie Actor for Johnny Depp. 2006 London Critics Circle Film Awards: Nominated: Actor of the Year for Johnny Depp. 2006 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in a Foreign Feature Film for Eddy Joseph (supervising sound editor), Steve Boeddeker (sound designer), Alex Joseph (supervising foley editor), Colin Ritchie (supervising dialogue editor), Martin Cantwell (sound editor), John Warhurst (sound editor), Tony Currie (dialogue/adr editor), Simon Chase (foley editor), Peter Burgis (foley artist) and Andie Derrick (foley artist). Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Feature Film Music for Bill Abbott (music editor), Michael Higham (music editor) and Shie Rozow (music editor). 2006 NRJ Ciné Awards for Best Look (Meilleur Look) for Johnny Depp. 2006 Online Film & Television Association: Nominated: OFTA Film Award for Best Original Music Score for Danny Elfman. Nominated: OFTA Film Award for Best Production Design for Alex McDowell (production design), David Allday (art direction), François Audouy (art direction), Matthew Gray (art direction), Sean Haworth (art direction), James Lewis (art direction), Andy Nicholson (art direction), Kevin Phipps (art direction), Leslie Tomkins (art direction) and Peter Young (set decoration). Nominated: OFTA Film Award for Best Titles Sequence. 2006 People's Choice Awards, USA: Win: Favorited Family Movie. 2006 Teen Choice Awards: Win: Movies Choice Actor in Comedy for Johnny Depp. 2006 Visual Effects Society Awards: Nominated: Best Single Visual Effect of the Year for Ben Morris, Jon Thum, Nick Davis and Nikki Penny for the "nut room." 2006 World Soundtrack Awards: Nominated: Soundtrack Composer of the Year for Danny Elfman. 2006 Young Artist Awards: Win: Best Family Feature Film in a Comedy or Musical. Nominated: Best Performance in a Feature Film in a Comedy or Drama for Leading Young Actor for Freddie Highmore.
FILM FACT No.2: Principal photography for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory started on the 21st June, 2004, at Pinewood Studios in England. Director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman found filming somewhat difficult because they were simultaneously working on ‘Corpse Bride.’ The Wonka Factory exterior was coincidentally constructed on the same backlot Burton had used for Gotham City in ‘Batman’ (1989). The ceremonial scene required 500 local extras. The Chocolate Room/River set piece filled Pinewood's 007 Stage. As a consequence of British Equity rules, which state that children can only work four and a half hours a day, filming for ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ took six months, ending in December 2004. The architecture of the Bucket family home was influenced by Tim Burton's visit to Roald Dahl's writing hut. Like the book, the film has a "timeless" setting and is not set in a specific country. "We've tried not to pinpoint it to any place," production designer Alex McDowell explained. "The cars, in fact, drive down the middle of the road." The town, whose design was shaped by the black and white urban photography of Bill Brandt, as well as Pittsburgh and Northern England, is arranged like a medieval village, with Wonka's estate on top and the Bucket shack below.[8] The filmmakers also used fascist architecture for Wonka's factory exterior, and designed most of the sets on 360° sound stages, similar to cycloramas. Burton biographer Mark Salisbury wrote that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "melds 1950s and '70s visuals with a futuristic sensibility that seems straight out of a 1960s sense of the future." The "TV Room" was patterned after photographs from the films ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ ‘Danger: Diabolik,’ and ‘THX 1138.’ ‘Danger: Diabolik’ also served as inspiration for the Nut Room and Inventing Room.
Cast: Geoffrey Holder (Narrator), Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Missi Pyle, James Fox, Deep Roy, James Fox, Christopher Lee, Adam Godley, Franziska Troegner, AnnaSophia Robb, Julia Winter, Jordan Fry, Philip Wiegratz, Blair Dunlop, Liz Smith, Eileen Essell, David Morris, Nitin Ganatra, Shelley Conn, Chris Cresswell, Philip Philmar, Tony Kirwood, Todd Boyce, Nayef Rashed, Menis Yousry, Harry Taylor, Hubertus Geller, Francesca Hunt, Garrick Hagon, Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Roger Frost, Oscar James, Colette Appleby, Debora Weston, Annette Badland, Stephen Hope-Wynne, Robert Boas (uncredited), Lucy-Anne Brooks (uncredited), Elena Buda (uncredited), Rene Costa (uncredited), Ray Donn (uncredited), Julie Eagleton (uncredited), Laine Edwards (uncredited), Danny Elfman (Oompa Loompa voice) (uncredited), Aiko Horiuchi (uncredited), Stephen Humby (uncredited), Jynine James (uncredited), Hollie Kemp (uncredited), Michelle Kernohan (uncredited), Sara Kirkpatrick (uncredited), Brigitte Millar (uncredited), Georgina Minter-Brown (uncredited), Valery Richardson (uncredited), Nikky Smedley (uncredited), Georgie Smith (uncredited), Brian Teles (uncredited), Caroline Thielemann (uncredited), River Thompson (uncredited), Ray Verma (uncredited), John Warman (uncredited) and Tracy Yarkoni (uncredited)
Director: Tim Burton
Producers: Brad Grey, Bruce Berman, Derek Frey, Graham Burke, Katterli Frauenfelder, Liccy Dahl, Lorne Orleans (IMAX version), Michael Siegel, Patrick McCormick and Richard D. Zanuck
Screenplay: Roald Dahl (book) and John August (screenplay)
Composer: Danny Elfman (music)
Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color By DeLuxe / Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Audio
English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio,
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio [Dubbed in Quebec]
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and French [Quebec]
Running Time: 115 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Warner Home Video
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Tim Burton’s ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ [2005] magical version of Roald Dahl’s classic is as weird and twisted as you might expect, but it still far surpasses the original film in every sense. Deliciously dark and packed with candy-coloured visuals, Tim Burton's adaptation of Roald Dahl's “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” book is an intoxicating endorphin rush. Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket is engagingly winsome as one of five children who find a ticket to the world's most magnificent chocolate factory. But it's his ‘Finding Neverland’ co-star Johnny Depp who steals the show as the oddball chocolatier Willy Wonka. While the story is a little soft in the centre, his take on Willy Wonka is a richly layered treat.
Screenwriter John August embellishes Roald Dahl's story with carefully pitched flashbacks to Willy Wonka's traumatic childhood and gives Johnny Depp a slight edge over Gene Wilder's 1971 portrayal, but despite this I still love and cherish the Gene Wilder version. The backstory lends a darker tone, but strangely for Tim Burton, the idea of the four "rotten children" who disappear one by one on the factory tour lacks a palpable sense of menace. Tim Burton’s greatest strength is in creating a seductive but slightly off-kilter wonderland rippled with chocolate rivers and where marshmallows grow on shrubs harvested by pygmy-like Oompa-Loompas (all played by Deep Roy). With some awesome garnish of zingy dialogues, especially like "Don't touch that squirrel's nuts, it makes him crazy!" It is a return to form for Tim Burton, this is a delight from start to finish, it’s a hugely enjoyable, brightly coloured children’s fantasy, with a terrific central performance from Johnny Depp. In a word, delicious!
It’s safe to say that Tim Burton’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” book is one of the most much loved films of the year of its release in 2005. It’s generally accepted that the director’s collaborations with Johnny Depp are his best films and this delightful confection is thankfully no exception, it’s easily Tim Burton’s best film since ‘Ed Wood’ and a sure-fire contender that should have been awarded one of the best films of 2005.
Young Charlie Bucket that lives with his loving parents Mrs. Bucket [Helena Bonham Carter] and Mr. Bucket [Noah Taylor] and grandparents Grandpa Joe [David Kelly], Grandma Georgina [Liz Smith], Grandma Josephine [Eileen Essell] and Grandpa George [David Morris], in a ramshackle house in the shadow of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
After years of secrecy, the mysterious Willy Wonka [Johnny Depp] announces that he will open the gates of his famous factory to five lucky children, who will be randomly selected by finding a Golden Ticket inside one of Wonka’s chocolate bars. The children include: chocoholic Augustus Gloop [Philip Wiegratz], overachieving Violet Beauregarde [AnnaSophia Robb], spoiled brat Veruca Salt [Julia Winter], videogame addict Mike Teevee [Jordan Fry] and, to his wide-eyed amazement, Charlie Bucket [Freddie Highmore] himself. But what he finds in the factory exceeds even his wildest dreams.
The actors are really wonderful and full of character. Freddie Highmore is perfect as Charlie Bucket, there's an impressive naturalism and maturity to his performance, which contrasts well with the madness around him. David Kelly is good value as Grandpa Joe and the child actors are all superb. There’s also strong support from the likes of James Fox as Mr. Salt and Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde as the children’s’ parents and an astonishing range of performances from digitally-reduced actor Deep Roy, who plays all the Oompa-Loompas and recorded separate movements for each one.
However, the film unquestionably belongs to Johnny Depp. He makes the most out of every line and gets several laughs just from the looks he shoots people. It's an extremely mannered performance but Tim Burton and Johnny Depp make it clear that Willy Wonka himself (who hasn't been seen in public for 15 years) is nervously playing a part for his audience, to the point where he frequently reads his own lines off his personal cue cards.
There are some wonderful throwaway lines, "You're really weird" (especially James Fox being a particular highlight), some literal throwaway gags, especially tossing James Fox's card over his shoulder and a great running gag where he keeps accusing Mike Teavee [Jordan Fry] of mumbling.
The sets, many of them actually built rather than CGI, are terrific and wonderfully colourful, in stark contrast to the snowy landscapes that characterise Charlie's "real" world. The factory sets are breathtakingly beautiful, but there's wonderful colour and detail in the other sets too, e.g. the toothpaste factory that Charlie Bucket's dad works in and the Wonka Shop from Grandpa Joe's flashback.
Danny Elfman’s film music score is extremely good and the songs are all very imaginatively staged, although the lyrics are occasionally difficult to hear. On a similar note, purists may complain about the Americanisation of the film, as well as the amusing flashbacks Tim Burton gives Willy Wonka, involving a perfectly cast Christopher Lee, who has sadly passed away, as Willy Wonka’s strict dentist father, presumably the nearest Tim Burton could come to casting Vincent Price, who of course has also now sadly passed away.
The film is frequently hilarious and can sometimes be slightly funnier than the previous filmed version with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, which again is also a great favourite of mine. It’s also brimming with lots of inventions, especially there are tons of fabulous sight gags and Tim Burton makes terrific use of Stanley Kubrick's ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and Alfred Hitchcock's ‘Psycho’ during the Mike Teavee sequence.
To sum up, ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ is utterly fantastic in every sense of the word. The sets and music are great, it’s perfectly cast and it’s thoroughly entertaining. But sadly Tim Burton was robbed of not getting the Best Director Oscar nomination in 2005 and there is no justice. This is a totally unmissable film for all generations.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY MUSIC TRACK LIST
Mr. QUIET (Written by RaVani Flood, Gardner DeAguiar, Jesse Shaternick and Manuel Ignacio) [Performed by Technical Difficulties] [Video clip courtesy of Derek Frey]
WONKA’S WELCOME SONG (Music by Danny Elfman) (Lyrics by John August and Danny Elfman) [Vocals Performed by Danny Elfman]
GOOD MORNING STARSHINE (Written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado and Gerome Ragni)
AUGUSTUS GLOOP (Music by Danny Elfman) (Lyrics by Roald Dahl) [Vocals Performed by Danny Elfman featuring The Alleyns School Brass Ensemble]
VIOLET BEAUREGARDE (Music by Danny Elfman) (Lyrics by Roald Dahl) [Vocals Performed by Danny Elfman]
VERUCA SALT (Music by Danny Elfman) (Lyrics by Roald Dahl) [Vocals Performed by Danny Elfman]
MACERANA (Bayside Boys Mix) (Written by Antonio Romero, Rafael Ruiz, Carlos Alberto de Yarza and Mike Triay) [Performed by Los del Río]
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Written by Richard Strauss) [Performed by Wiener Philharmoniker] [Conducted by Herbert von Karajan]
Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs and Orchestra (Written by György Ligeti) [Performed by Das Symphonie-Orchester Radio Frankfurt] [Conducted by Michael Gielen]
MIKE TEAVEE (Music by Danny Elfman) (Lyrics by Roald Dahl) [Vocals Performed by Danny Elfman]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ is presented with a brilliant 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a stunning 1080p high-definition transfer is colourful affair. There are some artificial moments in the softening of faces and effects, yet they all add to the Wonka’s stage. Details are crisp and the colours looking bolder and deeper than ever seen before are wonderfully imaginative. The palette of colours is finally perceived with the VC-1 encode provided by Warner Bros. There is a marvellous depth to the picture that was never there before; witness the garden of chocolate delights if you ever need proof of HD power. Even the coolness of the “most important room in the factory” looks stunningly new and layered with marvellous colours and strong black levels.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The Blu-ray disc has a robust 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track as well as a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Music-Only Track, which showcase Danny Elfman’s film music score and you also get very good dialogue levels and is an all-around dynamic track with good and impressive depth. I will mention, as with the old Warner discs, the main audio track is the 5.1 Dolby Digital Master Audio, so you will have to select via the menu with the audio options button on your remote control to select the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track. Yet, again trying to steal the picture’s marvellous thunder is the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD sound mixes that carries Danny Elfman’s score and songs. It is a wonderful testament to surround sound and makes the lyrics, which were sometimes lost in previous mixes, are loud and clear.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director Tim Burton: Here we get to hear Tim Burton extol why he wanted to film ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY,’ because he respected the author Roald Dahl and it was one of Tim Burton’s first book he ever read, that galvanised his imagination to make this fantastic film, and Roald Dahl’s books can be read by all ages. Tim Burton was so pleased to have Danny Elfman as the composer, as he brings the film to the right pitch in bringing Roald Dahl imagination to fruition and spectacular ambience, and Tim Burton feels he has really brought the book to life and that Roald Dahl would have been pleased with the results, which is also stated by Roald Dahl’s family. But when it came to showing the chocolate palace in India, he used a lot of CGI effects, but with the close up images, they actually tried to find the right constitution to make the actual set look like a real chocolate palace, and Tim Burton felt it was much more fun to shoot and have the actors enjoy the experience of actually being in a real Chocolate Palace. With the actual filming, 95% of it was filmed in the Pinewood Studios, which made for a really satisfying experience, especially to keep everything contained and especially mention his enjoyable and fond memories of filming the Batman movie in the same studios and especially travelling around in his golf cart. Tim Burton felt he wanted to be true to the book, regarding the family unit, which was very important to portray in this film. Tim Burton reflected the fact that he always enjoys model building and the sets, as he feels the CGI effects would not look realistic. Tim Burton informs us that the young female actress who plays Veruca Salt was one of his favourite characters, and was totally fresh, but also had the look of a character out of the horror film ‘Village of the Damned.’ Tim Burton said that when James Fox came onto the set, he knew it would give some gravitas to the film and also gave some humour to the film. But Tim Burton also tells us he was worried that the Dahl Family would reject his view of the book to film, but the whole Dahl Family gave it the thumbs up and said that Roald Dhal would have loved his interpretation of the book. So to sum up, the whole audio commentary experience was a well worth experience, with total satisfaction. But of course I have only given you a sample of the audio commentary, but please give it a whirl, as it is well worth it, as it will give you a great insight into the filming. Happy viewing!
Special Feature: IN-MOVIE EXPERIENCE! Tim Burton takes you through the mouth-watering creative process that brought this elaborate production to the big screen, as you watch the film! Here you get now and again little video screens appear either side of the TV screen with extra behind-the-scene extolling fantastic information relating to the making of the film. Also now again the actor Deep Roy, who served as all the 165 Oompa-Loompas pops up on the screen to give some interesting information of certain scenes you view while viewing the film. This is presented in Television Chocolate and what is also marvellous about this particular extra, is you also get lots of funny sound effects and lots of silly anecdotes, which are very amusing and is a most enjoyable viewing experience.
Special Feature: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chocolate Dreams [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:56] Discover Tim Burton’s vision for the film, plus the process of adapting the story with Screenwriter John August. Here we get to see lots of clips from the film, as well as in-depth behind-the-scene filming. Contributors include: Tim Burton [Director], Felicity Dahl [Executive Producer], Johnny Depp [Willy Wonka], Richard. D. Zanuck [Producer], Helena Bonham Carter [Mrs. Bucket], Brad Grey [Producer] and John August [Screenwriter].
Special Feature: Different Faces, Different Flavors [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [10:38] Learn about the actors who played each pf the film’s principle characters, especially from Willy Wonka to Augustus Gloop. With this particular extra, we get an intimate and informative chats with the likes of actors. We also get a nice bonus with seeing lots of clips from the film, plus extra behind-the-scene filming, which is a very nice extra bonus. Contributors include: AnnaSophia Robb [Violet Beauregarde], Christopher Lee [Dr. Wonka], Deep Roy [Oompa-Loompa], Felicity Dahl [Executive Producer], Johnny Depp [Willy Wonka], Adam Godley [Mr. Teavee], Liz Smith [Grandma Georgina], Richard D. Zaznuck [Producer], Tim Burton [Director], David Kelly [Grandpa Joe], Brad Grey [Producer], Freddie Highmore [Charlie Bucket], Noah Taylor [Mr. Bucket], Eileen Essell [Grandma Joesphine], David Morris [Grandpa George], Philip Wiegratz [August Gloop with English Subtitles], Jordon Fry [Mike Teavee], Missi Pyle [Mrs. Beauregard], Julie Winter [Veruca Salt], James Fox [Mr. Salt] and Helena Bonham Carter [Mrs. Bucket].
Special Feature: Designer Chocolate [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:36] Explore the film’s ambitious and colourful production design. Once again we get an intimate behind-the-scene of the film and especially seeing all the beautiful set designs. We also get to view some of Tim Burton’s personal drawings. Contributors include: Alex McDowell [Production Designer], Tim Burton [Director], Richard D. Zanuck [Producer], Brad Grey [Producer], Felicity Dahl [Executive Producer], José Granell [Model Unit Supervisor], Liz Smith [Grandma Georgina], Leslie Tomkins [Supervising Art Director], Helen Bonham Carter [Mrs. Bucket], Peter Young [Set Decorator], Gabrielle Pescucci [Costume Designer with English Subtitles], Lindsay Pugh [Costume Supervisor], Philippe Rousselot [Director of Photography], Jordon fry [Mike Teavee], Julie Winter [Veruca Salt], Freddie Highmore [Charlie Bucket], AnnaSophie Robb [Violet Beauregarde] and Johnny Depp [Willy Wonka].
Special Feature: Under the Wrapper [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:58] Discover the fascinating array of special and visual effects used to bring Willy Wonka’s factory to life on screen. Here we go on a journey to see all the talented people who brings all the fantastic array of special effects and especially the extensive use of the CGI effects to the finished film and it also shows you the tricks of the trade. Contributors include: Joss Williams [Special Effects Supervisor], Nick Davis [Visual Effects Supervisor], Tim Burton [Director]; Leslie Tomkins [Supervising Art Director]; Joss Williams [Special Effects Supervisor]; Alex McDowell [Production Designer]; Johnny Depp [Willy Wonka]; Nikki Penny [Visual Effects Producer]; AnnaSophie Robb [Violet Beauregarde] and Neal Scanlan [Animatronic and Prosthetics Creative Supervisor].
Special Feature: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sweet Sounds [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:16] Learn how Composer Danny Elfman created each of the Oompa-Loompa songs. As soon as this extra starts, we get to see actor Deep Roy [Oompa-Loompa] in different scenes, with the combination of funny sound effects. But the bonus is we get to see Danny Elfman [Composer] talking about all the difficulties he encountered. But we also get contributions from the likes of Tim Burton [Director], Deep Roy [Oompa-Loompa] and Francesca Jaynes [Choreographer]. But what is also very nice about this particular extra is how Danny Elfman shows off the process he went through in bringing all the songs together, plus we get loads of extra behind-the-scenes of mainly all the dancers going through their routines and of course you also get lots of clips from the film.
Special Feature: Becoming Oompa-Loompa [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:16] How did they ever turn one man into hundreds of Oompa-Loompas. But what is really fascinating about this extra, is all the technical wizardry that went into making Deep Roy into the hundreds of Oompa-Loompas and how Deep Roy had to learn many new skills and how he enjoyed the whole experience. Contributors include: Julia Winter [Veruca Salt], Tim Burton [Director], Jane Karen [Lip Sync and Vocal Coach], Nick Davis [Visual Effects Supervisor], Danny Elfman [Composer], Francesca Jaynes [Choreographer], Deep Roy [Oompa-Loompa], Nikki Penny [Visual Effects Producer] and Neal Scanlan [Animatronic and Prosthetics Creative Supervisor].
Special Feature: Attack of the Squirrels [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:48] A Look at the how squirrels were trained. Here we go straight into this extra with a clip from the film and we get to see behind-the-scene with the trainers and some of the real cute squirrels who originally came from England at a Squirrels Rescue Centre and all of them have individual names. We also get to see the monumental task of trying to get the squirrels to do their stuff on command, as they don’t like to be touched. But it is totally fascinating to see the trainers go through a pains taking job to get the squirrels to do what they are told. But what I really like with this extra, as when you get up close-ups with the grey squirrels, they make you smile and it was also fascinating all the hard work the trainers put in to get the grey squirrels to see the finished effects in the film. Contributors include: Tim Burton [Director], Michael Alexander [Head-Animal Trainer], Oliver Hodge [Supervising Prop Modeller], Julie Winter [Verruca Salt] and Neal Scanlan [Animatronic and Prosthetics Creative Supervisor].
Special Feature: Fantastic Mr. Dahl [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [17:42] Learn more about the life of the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is an actual British Television Documentary entitled ‘Imagine...Fantastic Mr Dahl’ [2005], that was originally shown on BBC One and presented by Alan Yentob, and it goes behind-the-scene on the life and times of Mr. Roald Dahl, and as we journey into the prolific authors contributions to children’s fantasy books and we get to see interviewed with people like Valerie Eaton-Griffith [Neighbour]; Sophie Dahl [Granddaughter], Roald Dahl [Author], Luke Kelly [Grandson], Tessa Dahl [Daughter], Amanda Conguy [Neighbour], Theo Dahl [Son], Felicity Dahl [Widow], Quentin Blake [Illustrator], Stephen Roxburgh [Dahl’s Publisher], Brough Girling [Friend], Murray Pollinger [Dahl’s Literary Agent], Liz Attenborough [Dahl’s Publisher], Ophelia Dahl [Daughter] and Sir David Weatherall [Dahl’s Doctor]. Despite not seeing the full 60 minute documentary, you do get to see lots of personal Home Cine Film and Ronald Dahl with his family and also in his private shed.
Special Feature: Pre-visualisations Augustus Gloop Dance [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:32] This is a compilation of rough computer images, plus live behind-the-scene rehearsal filming. But why you view this you get the full music soundtrack of the Augustus Gloop Dance.
Special Feature: Pre-visualisations Mike Teavee Dance [2005] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:54] This is basically a Promotional Music Video, where you get to see Deep Roy in a big white room, watching a small TV screen with scenes from the film ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.’ But suddenly you get fantastic colourful images coming out of the TV screen to fill the 16:9 aspect ratio of your TV screen with colourful explosions, plus the Mike Yeavee Dance Music track from the film, which has been remixed and is certainly a totally brilliant fun promotional music video. I bet the technical bods had a fantastic time putting this brilliant video together, as they have certainly have gone over the top with a wild kaleidoscope of amazing colours and images. Happy viewing!
Special Feature: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Music-Only Track: Showcasing Danny Elfman's Score and Songs.
Special Feature: Fun + Games [2005] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:54] Club Reel as seen in clubs across Europe. This is most confusing, as all you get in this extra is a repeat of the Promotional Music Video.
Theatrical Trailer [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:25] This is one of the worst film trailer I have seen in a very long time for ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ as the quality is really bad and with this 10th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray release, you would of thought they could of found a much more pristine print.
BONUS: New to this release are the print materials. In the stunning Blu-ray case, is housed in a beautiful printed new slipcase. You get included a beautiful stunning colourful exclusive Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Photo Book that has an amazing 34 pages of all the main characters from the film, which you will treasure forever. Another nice extra bonus included is a really nice special single sheet of the Director’s personal message, where he gets to tell you that it is hard to believe how much time has passed since he filmed ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’at the renowned Pinewood Studios near London, but if you want to read the rest of this really nice special leaflet, you are going to have to purchase this 10th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray disc release. It’s too bad there aren’t any new special features to mark the decade anniversary, but this edition does offer ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ in a somewhat fancier package.
Finally, this 10th Anniversary release of ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ is merely a repackaging with commemorative Exclusive Photo Book and the Director’s Letter. It is about time that Tim Burton’s ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ got an extra special edition release on Blu-ray with some real special features. Many wrote the film off because it was so different from the original. While the differences are obvious they are intentional. ‘CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY’ is not a remake of the original ‘Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory’ film with Gene Wilder, but a new, and possibly truer, interpretation of Roald Dahl’s great book. The new special edition offers again the chance for audiences to embrace this distinction and see the film for what it is and not for what some think it is or wished it should be. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
