In anticipation of the release of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" we rented "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" starring Gene Wilder to see how our 5 year old would handle it. Based on his reaction and our discussions, we decided he had the maturity to see "Charlie." We enjoyed sharing "Charlie" with our son. Viewing the behavior of the children and the parents led to a wonderful discussion about the importance of manners, learning to deal with disappointment, valuing the possessions you have and treasuring family. Johnny Depp played the role of Willy Wonka wonderfully. He came off as an eccentric and reclusive man. I loved how he used the notecards when he was not sure what to say.

this movie didn't teach or "lead" any moral lessons like the first did. this movie also wasn't very "fun" to watch-my kids were bored most of the movie. I wouldn't recommend it-it was a strange, weird, slow adaptation of the first.

I thought the movie was super cool and my kids loved it.

I JUST FIND HEADGEAR REALLY SEXY!!!!!!!!!! AND THAT VIOLET BEAUREGARD IS REALLY HOT AS A BLUEBERRY!!!!!!! LOOOOOOVE JOHNNY DEPP!!!! HE IS AWESOME!!!

This was a clever rendition of an old classic. My only problem with it was the mother of Violet is portrayed sexually by the showing of too much cleavage. She is clearly dressed to show off her bust and the camera takes full advantage of this at times. Otherwise the movie was fine for me. Just be aware of this.

This movie is almost a perfect replica of Roald Dahl's original book. People call this one dark in relation to the original, but frankly I think it's the other way around. Gene Wilder hurtling through a scary tunnel of crawling bugs...just not my thing. There was some stuff added that wasn't in the original book, but it matches the flavor and tone of the book. This movie is colorful, hilarious, and you come out of it wanting to dance. Very uplifting. Many people may be disturbed by the way the children are treated (I was), but it's true to Dahl's style--the nasty children/people are always punished, the good ones always rewarded. (Check out Matilda, The BFG, and many others.) I appreciate that the story values the right things, like unselfishness and kindness and family. The theme of family life was particularly fantastic in this world of quickly degrading family life. The way that Wonka learns that family is what matters most will be especially meaningful and useful for teaching smaller children. Overall definitely worth seeing at least once for kids and adults--weird but lovely.

I have to admit, my daughter (17), son (5), and I, were all a bit disappionted by this version of the Roald Dhal story. The humour was cuttingly sarcastic at points- which of course my little on didn't like or understand, and Willy Wonka was much colder than we had expected, which none of us liked or understood the need for. I suppose it would be a wonderful experiance for anyone who hadn't read the book or watched the earlier movie adaption, but for all our anticipation we found it rather lacking the same amount of sheer joy that we had come to associate with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We took our two kids to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" last night. My husband was dead set against it since "Willy Wonka" was one of his favorite movies as a child, and a remake could only be sacreligious. He decided to go at the last minute, and I can honestly tell you, he was very happy that he did. The movie had a lot of very funny moments in it, not just for the kids, but for adults as well. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and comparing notes against the original later. The oompa-loompas were hysterical. Johnny Depp was amazing. The boy who played Charlie Bucket was terrific. The squirrels were extremely funny. Tim Burton did a wonderful job bringing this story to life. When they say "eye candy", they're not kidding...