I know this has been sort of done before, but I’m coming at it from a different angle - I’ve seen both movies (well, most of the second one), but I’m only now reading the book for the first time. For the purposes of brevity, the first film will be referred to as WCF (because the person named in the title of the first film was Wonka, not Charlie) and the second as CCF. So we’re starting with a chapter of the book and examining how much of it was represented (and how accurately)
So: Chapter 1:
I think the essential elements of chapter 1 are most faithfully reproduced in WCF; That the chocolate factory is within sight of the Bucket household is not readily apparent in WCF; that Charlie’s dad works in the toothpaste factory is also quite faithfully rendered in CCF, but not mentioned at all in WCF (in fact does Charlie’s father even appear in WCF?).
My initial surprise at the similarity in the way the grandparents are depicted occupying the bed is answered by the illustrations in the book, as well as the description. Charlie’s bed being next to a hole in the roof is a nice touch in CCF that is resonant with the description of the draughty house with only one proper bed.
So my judgment is that chapter 1 is more faithfully rendered in CCF than WCF.
OK; it isn’t that I’m a slow reader or anything, it’s just that I’m reading the book a couple of chapters a night with my kids. Anyway:
Chapter 2
Nice description of the family; probably equally well-rendered by either movie. Then a lengthy dialogue between Charlie and Grandpa Joe that is very faithfully reproduced in CCF - more or less word for word, right down to the descriptions of some of Wonka’s products, This conversation doesn’t appear in any recognisable form in WCF.
Chapter 3
The Indian Prince - the story is a continuation of Grandpa Joe’s descriptive conversation; in CCF, this is portrayed visually (and very accurately to the book) with GJ narrating; it is entirely absent in WCF.
Chapter 4
More waffle from GJ about the history of the factory, the workers, the industrial espionage, the mysterious re-commencement of operation. Again, very faithfully rendered in CCF, not very faithfully, if at all, in WCF. The book does not mention (or has not yet mentioned) that GJ used to work at the factory, but if this is and embellishment in CCF, it’s a wholly reasonable one, given GJ’s in-depth knowledge of the factory and its operation.
Chapter 5
The Golden Tickets - I’d day that both films are pretty level pegging for this chapter; all of the important points, plus much of the dialogue, is recognisably present in both movies. CCF adds a spoiler about a ‘special prize for one child only’ that is not mentioned in the book.
I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while but it seemed too trivial for it’s own thread so I hope Mang doesn’t mind. For all those with copies of the book, could you please post the value of the money that Charlie found on the street, whether it was a note or a coin, how much a chocolate bar cost and the change he was given as well as the date and place of publishing?
I distinctly remember when I was young that it seemed like every version of the book I read was different. I think the earliest versions had him finding a crown note and the bar costing sixpence. The one I have in front of me now has Charlie finding 50 pence and the bar costing 5 pennies. I think I remember another version with a dollar note but I’m not sure…
It’s fifty pence in my copy, but it’s a fairly recently published one - I think I may have top seek out an older copy somewhere.
Anyway: Chapter 6:
Good description of Augustus Gloop (no mention at all of his nationality - did he have an accent in CCF? - I can’t remember)… otherwise - dialogue probably slight better preserved in CCF, but both movies get the plot elements as close as each other for this chapter. Interestingly, the fake ticket is mentioned at this point, whereas both movies save this plot element (that is, the discovery of the fake) until later, when Charlie unknowingly has the winning bar in his hand. At the moment, Mr Salt’s character (mostly the way he is described as speaking) seems closer to WCF
Chapter 7
Details (such as the name of the chocolate variety) more accurate in CCF; neck and neck for basic plot elements though. CCF embellishes the story, having Charlie insist that the chocolate is shared out; can’t remember if WCF does this too.
Chapter 8:
the introduction of Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee; both characters are more accurately rendered in WCF. CCF has changed them (and their vices) a bit. WCF also takes the mark for more or less spot on dialogue.
Chapter 9:
Here, Grandpa Joe gets Charlie to rush out and secretly buy another bar of chocolate; both movies get this about as close to the story as each other (which is pretty close) WCF is a tiny bit closer on the suspense buildup to the bar being opened, I think.
FWIW, I remember getting the impression reading the novel that all the kids were supposed to be British. At the very least, I recall believing that all the kids were from one country, and that it was NOT America.
it doesn’t say where the story is set, only ‘the town where Charlie lived’, but as Dahl was a Brit, and (I think) the earliest copies of the book refer to UK currency, it’s safe to infer that the story is set in Britain. The fake ticket arises in Russia, but so far, there’s been no mention of the nationality of the genuine finders. For them all to be British though would be a massive fix, as Wonka promises the five golden tickets may be found “in any shop on any street in any town in any coutry in the world” - or could this be a plot hole?
Chapter 10
A bleak start, describing the awful poverty and hardship endured by the family; neither film really portrays this adequatelky, but I’m going to have to give CCF the point for having Mr Bucket laid off from the toothpaste factory (in the book, the factory closes down though). It is confirmed here that both films get it wrong when they show Charlie and family eating the chocolate bars in previous scenes - the birthday bar and the one from Grandpa joe are described as having been ‘nibbled away’ over an extended period.
Charlie finds the money; WCF is closer on this small detail (as it is a coin, not a note as in CCF), otherwise it’s neck and neck for the second half of this chapter.
Chapter 11
Here, Charlie buys a chocolate bar, and another that then turns out to have the winning ticket; the dialoge is more accurate in CCF, but the action is closer to WCF. As previosly mentioned, both movies postpone the dicsovery of the fake ticket until this point, but the book didn’t bother doing anything other than mentioning it in passing a couple of chapters back. The adults attempting to buy Charlie’s ticket are accurately preserved in CCF, but absent in WCF, but nothing in this chapter is seriously distorted in either movie.
Nitpick: It is different in different versions of the book. I think the original had Charlie find a note as it was described to be “damp” which doesn’t really fit if it’s a coin.
Dunno; the one I’m currently reading (which says it’s a 50p piece) describes the coin as (something like) damp, dirty and covered with snow.
Interestingly, in my copy, the found money is a fifty pence piece (a post-decimal UK denomination) and the money given to Charlie by Grandpa Joe is a silver sixpence (a pre-decimal denomination). The first of these references must have been revised, as the book was first published in 1964; 50p coins did not exist (or at least were not in circulation) until 1971 - coincidentally the same year that WCF was filmed.
Chapter 12:
Charlie returns home triumphant with the ticket; WCF cannot ever be fully accurate to this chapter, because Mr Bucket is in it. CCF again inserts the dumb and annoying spoiler in the ticket blurb to the effect ‘and one child will get something really special’. Apart from those things, both movies are pretty close to the dialogue, action and atmosphere in this chapter. We could give WCF extra marks for the ‘I’ve got a golden ticket’ musical routine, as the book says Grandpa Joe seized Charlie by the hands and danced around the room - a description that his lame little dance in CCF doesn’t really satisfy.
Chapter 13:
Outside the factory gates on the big day; CCF renders the weather accurately (snow on the ground), which WCF does not. otherwise not much to choose between the two.
I would give points for the number. It captures the excitement of the moment and more importantly, the reawaking of Grandpa Joe…some of WCF’s musical numbers suck (“Cheer Up, Charlie”), many are neutral (“The Candyman”, “Oompa-Loompa”) but a few (“Pure Imagination”, “I Want It Now”) add to the piece and this is one, IMO.
Chapter 13:
This is the part I’ve been itching to get to; the chapter where we meet Wonka!
OK… where to begin… The physical (i.e. bodily) description of Wonka is roughly equidistant from either of the movies; the clothing is about right in both; he has a beard that is absent in both movies; His hat is the wrong colour in WCF, his gloves the wrong colour in CCF.
Both movies depart from the manner of his initial entrance; the book has him appearing in a twitchy, jerky sort of exploratory way; like a squirrel. The Wonka Character: OK, I gotta say, the Wonka portrayed in CCF (for this chapter) is just hardly recognisable - the book explicitly portrays him as a frantically energetic, explosively talkative eccentric; Depp plays the part of a distantly withdrawn fop. Wilder gets it almost spot on, I’d say; even the dialogue and stage direction is particularly well rendered in WCF - right down to the handshakes and welcomes - which the CCF version of Wonka simply can’t manage to do.
Four of the children are accompanied by both parents; Charlie only has Grandpa Joe; both movies change this, oddly in exactly the same way, so that the kids only have one parent with them… hmmm…
Little detail; Wonka asks them to hang their coats up; WCF does the same; in CCF, Wonka tells them not to hang up their coats (they throw them on the floor).
Inside the factory, WCF continues to get Wonka’s character pretty well; CCF continues to get it rather badly wrong; he’s shouting and commanding and exclaiming; Wilder really does this, Depp really, really doesn’t.
They disappear into the bowels of the factory; both films are about the same on this.
That’s it for today; I really didn’t expect to be this struck by the characterisation of Wonka - I’m trying really hard to consider this dispassionately, but Wonka is abundantly described (in this chapter at least) as energetic, vociferous and eccentrically gesticulative, and Depp simply ain’t it.
(PDF Link)