Posts Tagged ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’
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In my previous post, I mentioned that there was no surprise to watching the bratty children of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory being dispatched one by one. Pointing out the only exit that differed was that of Veruca Salt and her coveting of a highly-trained squirrel instead of a gold egg-laying goose.
People have since pointed out to me that the squirrels were in the original Roald Dahl book – of which I was not aware, because I never read the original book.
And before you jump down my throat for not reading the book, remember that I am a ∗movie∗ fan first.
I’m reminded of a quote from comedian Jim Gaffigan. “Whenever someone tells me they liked the book better than the movie, here’s what I always say: ‘What I enjoyed about the movie? No reading.‘”
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Would Johnny Depp be any less attractive if he had the words “PUPPY KICKER” tattooed across his forehead? I dunno. You tell me.
I have to admit that I was a little bit terrified to do today’s comic. I’ve been suffering a wicked bout of writers block. I think it’s because I’m so preoccupied with the house and the move right now.
We’ve tied up most of the loose ends. Our new refrigerator was delivered today (we sold the old one with the old house), so now we can store food and eat properly again. Yay!
All the same, it felt good to draw again. I’m not as rusty as I feared. I kind of like how it turned out, even if the posing of the characters is a bit pedestrian.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory was one of the two movies I saw last weekend. And what can I say, except that I left the theater a little underwhelmed.
It’s disapointing because I’m a big fan of both Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, but this pairing just didn’t do it for me. Depp’s version of Wonka is probably the least interesting thing in the movie. That’s not to say his performance was ∗bad∗, mind you. Just that there is so many visually appealing things in the film, Depp’s performance seems perfunctory. He’s competing against the scenery, and that’s not a good thing.
It probably isn’t a good thing either that I found the scenes with Freddie Highmore’s Charlie and his family outside the factory much more interesting than what was going on inside the factory.
I’ll give points to Burton for adding depth and dimension to the Bucket family when their appearance was something I hated most about the original film. But the movie isn’t called “Charlie and His Four Grandparents Who Share A Bed” for a reason.
Some of the things the movie did right were the Oompa Loompas – here digitally replicated from the single performance of Deep Roy. I also enjoyed seeing what happens to the bratty kids AFTER they leave the factory. It’s good to see their comeuppance extended whereas in the original they were sort of whisked away, never to be heard from again.
However, something I didn’t like about the film was it’s over-reliance on CGI – especially during the boat ride. The main garden of the factory looked good. Tactile and approachable. But at the same time, oddly striped of any kind of fantastic charm. Instead, it seemed to communicate “Look what our big budget could buy!” but maybe that’s just me.
Overall, I felt there was very little reason to remake the film beyond the fact that the spoiled children who seem to think they know everything and are given everything they demand are perhaps more relevant with todays generation raised by Grand Theft Auto. Otherwise, there’s nothing much it adds to the table. Watching these children be dispatched one after the other holds no surprise. Veruca Salt’s exit being the only one that even slightly differs from the original. Instead of wanting a Golden Goose, she demands a nut-cracking, highly trained Squirrel. Way to go out on a limb there, Burton.
At any rate, I have hopes for The Corpse Bride when it comes out in September. Obviously it plays stronger to Burton’s visual sense. And it’s refreshing to see him return to original material rather than remaking things.
I’ll have another blog later thanking everyone who contributed to this last round of guest strips. In the meantime, be sure to swing by Alien Loves Predator. I did a guest strip of my own for Bernie as he and his wife are celebrating the July 7 birth of their twins. Wish them your best!
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If I had my own clone, in all likelihood I would be overly critical. What a lousy father I would make.
Today’s comic is short on the lengthy exposition. Partially due to time constraints in my personal life, I set out to see if I could write an economical punchline.
Theater Hopper – Now with 20% less fat!
Personally, I think Tom’s complaint in the last panel holds water. There have been an unusual number of remakes this summer even without counting the quasi-meta Bewitched. Don’t forget the sequels, either. Batman Begins and Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith could be considered guilty parties since they’re also peddling the same characters and stories we seen before.
Does anyone in Hollywood remember how to write an original screenplay anymore? The Oscars only give out 5 nominations in this category every year. Not because five is some kind of pre-determined cap. But because there were literally only five movies last year that had an original idea. Concepts that weren’t mined from a book, television show, or previous film.
To be fair, Hollywood has been strip mining other mediums since the invention of celluloid. If it wasn’t Gone With The Wind they were adapting, it was some Broadway musical or Vaudeville act.
But all of these recent remakes are really turning me off. There have been all these reports that box office numbers are down from last year (as has been the trend since about 2001) and analysts can’t figure it out. Even with rising ticket costs, overall sales are down.
I suggest the industry put itself under the microscope and realize that people by-in-large aren’t willing to spend $10 to see The Dukes of Hazzard when it hits big screens in August because they already had enough of the television show 20 years ago!
Of course, true cinemaphiles like myself will go out of plan curiosity. But the Mother with 3 kids and no time to spare? The cash-strapped college student? The casual movie-goers? It’s no wonder they’re saving their money when Hollywood keeps trying to pass off old as new. It’s insulting!
Something else that is insulting is not thanking all of the guest comic artists who helped me out last week like I said I would on Wednesday. So it’s time to amend that mistake right now.
Big thanks to Beefy, Vic Taplin and Ding, The Bros. Porter, Phil Khan, Ali Graham, Dan Beeston, Krishna Sadasivam and Dave Buist for their contributions. Without them, things would have been pretty dire around here while I was moving to my new house and totally without internet access for the week. Be sure to show them your appreciation by visiting their web sites and sending them many hugs and kisses.
Something else I don’t want you guys to forget is that I will be attending Wizard World Chicago on August 4-7 with a bunch of really cool people.
In fact, my table is smack in the middle of an awesome sandwich as I am sitting in between my friends Joe and the Digital Pimp Online crew, Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey and Mitch Clem from Nothing Nice to Say.
What? I like an extra slice of bread on one end of my sandwich!
All of us will be on Artist’s Alley, so you should certainly plan on visiting us if you’re in the area. It will be a good time.
Sidebar: I keep forgetting to post what my table number will be. Gotta remember to put that up in the near future. I want as many of you to visit as possible.
Sidebar #2: I’m planning on taking every t-shirt I have in stock to the convention, so if you’re on the fence about wanting to buy one from the store right now, I would get off the fence and make your purchase if I were you. I can’t promise that when I come back from Chicago that I won’t be totally sold out of merchandise. Just a little head’s up.
Also, if you’re in town for the convention, I’m informally trying to set up a little excursion to one of the local theaters on Friday or Saturday night. It’s been the tradition of Zach, Mitch and myself to see a movie whenever we get together for a convention. I think it would be a real trip if we tried to pull together as many of our fans as possible so we can all go as one giant web comic mass of nerd! So when people see us strolling through the lobby, they’ll ask “Who are they?” And we can respond, “We read web comics!”
Oh, yeah. So nerdy.
Anyway, swing by our booths the day of the con for the details. Like I said, we’ll probably play it by ear.
Everyone have a good weekend!
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…and, of course, everyone remembers that Tim Burton and Mark Wahlberg last collaborated with each other in 2001’s disastrous remake of Planet of the Apes.
Before I begin with this rant, let me say that I love Tim Burton and I love Johnny Depp. I think they are two of the most interesting and idiosyncratic artists working in Hollywood today.
That said, regarding their myriad of collaborations, I think Depp is the one who is going to walk away with his reputation in tact when it’s all over. Because, unlike Burton, he actually works with other people from time to time. He’s still a risk-taker. He’s still viable.
Meanwhile, Burton has been stuck in a loop for almost a decade. Big Fish was the last time Burton worked with anyone who wasn’t Johnny Depp and that was in 2003. He’s made 4 films since then and each of them feature Depp as a pasty, googlely-eyed weirdo.
I mean, it makes sense that Burton would continue to the well so many times. The formula works. When Burton and Depp last collaborated in 2007’s Sweeny Todd, it resulted in huge box office receipts and Oscar nominations. It’s hard to turn your back on that. I understand that.
My problem with the pairing is that Burton has branded himself as an inventive Hollywood outsider whose singular vision and creativity simply cannot be contained. But his track record reflects and artist who has become complacent and predictable. Not only is this exemplified by his partnership with Depp, but with his reliance on Helena Bonham Carter and Danny Elfman as well.
Certainly I understand the value of a director who prefers to work with specific artists. Scorsese had DeNiro (now, DiCaprio). Steve Spielberg uses John Williams’s music in nearly every movie he makes. These elements become part of a director’s style and help audiences to easily identify their work.
But when it comes to Burton, I don’t look forward to his movies anymore because they all feel exactly the same.
I think if you had told me Burton was going to do a version of Alice in Wonderland 10 years ago, I would have been over the moon. The subject matter fits perfectly inside his wheelhouse. What is Burton if not a modern-day equivalent to Lewis Carroll? A fanciful dandy bursting with imaginative visions trapped by insecurity? Burton has carried Carrol’s flag for a long, long time. There is no other living director that could possibly do Alice in Wonderland justice like Burton could.
But now, with so many “dark” and “twisted” fairy tales under his belt, I feel like Burton is incapable of bringing anything new to Alice in Wonderland. Certainly not to the extent that it could overcome what is probably most widely considered the strongest visual reference point for the book – that being Disney’s 1951 animated version. At least, that’s what I first think of when I first think of Alice in Wonderland.
At this point, any addition arguments I make would just be me circling back on myself. Like I said, I GET why Burton and Depp continue to work with each other. There’s clearly an audience for it and I understand why audiences would be invested in it. Who hasn’t felt like an outsider at some point in their lives? Burton and Depp speak to this explicitly.
All I’m saying is that Burton’s brand as an inventive film maker doesn’t really hold water under scrutiny because he makes the same movies over and over again.
So, in my opinion, he should either stop adapting the work of others and go back to telling original stories or he should work with different actors to at least create the ILLUSION that he’s branching out.
Because if you aren’t growing as an artist, what’s the point? If it’s just about the paycheck, you might as well be McG.
What are your thoughts about Alice in Wonderland? Are you looking forward to it? Am I wrong about Burton? Leave your comments below!
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