Tim Burton to direct Willy Wonka....

Joe McCabe · 12-04-2003, 05:58 PM

I am so tired of this idea of putting a "darker edge" to eveything that was once wholesome. If Elf should have taught Hollywood anything, it's that it's actually ok to not be dark, twisted, and immoral in a FAMILY film.

Burton should be removed from this project immediately. This type of mentality is really played out, and is the trademark of someone who just doesn't have any creativity left in them. In my opinion, Burton has already destroyed one classic film with his goofball "interpretations", in Planet Of The Apes, and now he's about to tarnish another one.

Here's his quotes: (copied from DarkHorizons.com)

The Chicago Sun-Times recently spoke with Tim Burton, who is currently on the promotional trail for "Big Fish", about how his planned adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's classic is progressing.

Most notably, the man is going to move away from the original film's cuteness and senitmentality - "Well, I don't want to crush people's childhood dreams, but the original film is sappy. It's sappy when it shouldn't be sappy and it's weird. Let's just say it's not one of my personal favorites. I'd rate 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' much higher".

Burton's desire has been to do the project for years now - "I responded to the children's book because it respected that children can be adults, and I think adults forget that. There can be darkness and sort of foreboding. Very sinister things are very much a part of childhood. I like that sort of humor and emotion put together".

As for Depp as Willy Wonka? "I just like working with him. He's always surprising and fun".

Ron-P · 12-04-2003, 06:05 PM

I completely disagree with you and look very forward to this remake.

Peace Out~

Marvin Richardson · 12-04-2003, 06:06 PM

Apparently you didn't read the article you quoted. The original film was not faithful to the original novel. He is not destroying a beloved family classic film, he is simply attempting to make a more faithful version of the original novel. The original Planet of the Apes has not been destroyed. In fact they are coming out with a new 2 disc set of it next year.
By the way, have you seen his new movie Big Fish? I'm thinking that this vaunted lack of creativity that everyone says he has because of one bad film has pretty much been proven false.

Nick Graham · 12-04-2003, 06:21 PM

Burton was once the man, with Ed Wood being his pinnacle, and Beetlejuice, Pee Wee, and to a lesser extent, Batman being all great. Mars Attacks had good humor, but overall I didn't care for it. Sleepy Hollow was decent, but he took a big crap on his legacy with POTA. Having said that, Big Fish looks good, and as a die hard lover of Roald Dahl, especially the two Wonka books, I am looking forward to this. We may even get that movie of the Great Glass Elevator I've been wanting since I was a kid. My only worry is that the studio behind it is WB, where a board full of witless execs will have control over it.

Count your blessings, Joe. When WB tried to get this remake off the ground a couple of years ago, Mr. Wonka was going to be portrayed by Nicolas Cage.

I'm willing to forgive Burton for the big cash-in that was POTA, and what he was going to do to Superman. Hopefully that was just a phase, now over....Big Fish seems to indicate it was.

Adam Lenhardt · 12-04-2003, 06:33 PM

Quote:

I am so tired of this idea of putting a "darker edge" to eveything that was once wholesome.

Have you read the original book? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has always had it's share of darkness.

**HTF Ads**

Lew Crippen · 12-04-2003, 06:37 PM

I agree with Ron and Marvin and Adam.

Joe, go read the book before you pass judgment. The title of the book is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The author Roald Dahl wrote a number of children’s books—and they are all full of imagination and humor. Most of them are also a bit cruel. Not unlike a story collected by the brothers Grimm.

Not that the makers of ‘Willy Wonka’ should not have made the movie they made—but if someone else wishes to make a version, perhaps closer to Dahl’s intent that won’t be a bad thing. We can only judge the film after it has been made. And aside from anything in the article Burton might well be the man to pull it off.

Tino · 12-04-2003, 06:38 PM

I think I will wait till I actually see the film before I pass judgement on it.

A novel idea, no?

JonZ · 12-04-2003, 06:54 PM

Im not a big Burton fan.

Ive said before, I think he has great ideas that dont become great movies.I dearly love Ed Wood and Nightmare Before Christmas (which he didnt direct but IS a Burton film)Im looking foward to Big Fish - which looks very promising.

But Willy Wonka is right up Burtons alley. With a (hopefully)decent script and Johnny Depp, Id go see it.

Carlo Medina · 12-04-2003, 07:10 PM

Excellent points about the original book. Now I liked the first Wonka film, but when I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I really couldn't believe that the movie was screenplayed by the author, it was that different in tone! (of course Dahl later says he wasn't happy with what he did or the way the first film turned out)

So yeah, while the "darker" spin may get tiresome (especially these days when everything is a Matrix/Batman clone as far as dark tones go) at least Burton has 1) a history of dark films, therefore not making him a copycat, and 2) is just trying to be more faithful to the book, something I would support. (don't even get me started on LoTR

)

John CW · 12-04-2003, 07:23 PM

Quote:

By the way, have you seen his new movie Big Fish? I'm thinking that this vaunted lack of creativity that everyone says he has because of one bad film has pretty much been proven false.

ONE bad film? IMHO Tim Burton has only ever made two GOOD films: Edward Sissorhands and Ed Wood. I know a lot of people also like Batman, too.

Beetlejuice, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow and finally, Planet of the Apes all pretty much cemented him as a director who couldn't tell a story (despite his films looking and sounding good).

I sure hope Big Fish is as good as the buzz, though!

~ John

David Rogers · 12-04-2003, 07:27 PM

I read the book when I was little, and hated it. While I'm definitely not a Gene Wilder fan, he made WW&tCF a magical and timeless opus of storytelling. The movie isn't sappy or 'too cute', it's very much a story of pure imagination.

Tim Burton is a hack if he thinks it was sappy. A dark Willy Wonka is way too much proof of his hackness, and I really wish he'd go back to hair dressing or whatever it was he did before someone gave him a camera.

Marvin Richardson · 12-04-2003, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Beetlejuice, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow and finally, Planet of the Apes all pretty much cemented him as a director who couldn't tell a story (despite his films looking and sounding good).

Yes, one bad film.

(out of

)

Big Fish (2003) (Haven't seen it yet)
Planet of the Apes (2001)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)