# Johnny Depp and Willy Wonka. Yeesh! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013 "2005-06-05T16:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/21 "2005-06-06T03:16:07Z")
I am boycotting this movie on general principle. Wilder is, was, and always will be Wonka as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/22 "2005-06-06T03:27:41Z")
I have no intentions of boycotting this movie, but I sure hope the makers of the trailer were pandering to the youngest demographic in their selection of snippets. I fail to see how anyone older than 7 would accept that swooning, sighing twit (_thank_ you, **Myrnalene** ) as Willy Wonka. At least Narnia looks cool. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/23 "2005-06-06T03:39:45Z")
I thought Gene Wilder was just fine in the role of Willy Wonka, except for the fact that he was far too young form the role. I heard once that Fred Astaire was supposed to play the role back in 1970, and that Gene Wilder took the role only after Fred dropped out. I’m not sure that’s true, but Astaire would have been the right age to play Wonka. Remember, he’s looking for a child to take over his factory precisely BECAUSE he’s getting too old to do it himself. While I think highly of Johnny Depp as an actor, he’s ALSO way too young to play Willy Wonka. And based solely on trailers, he seems to be playing Wonka as an effeminate nitwit, not as a mysterious, quirky-but-dangerous sort. Early rumors had the role going to Christopher Walken… and I now suspect Walken would have been a much better choice. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/24 "2005-06-06T03:44:35Z")
I’m looking forward to the new version. Gene Wilder was great but the rest of the previous version makes me gag. I much preferred the book, and was terribly disappointed by the film. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/25 "2005-06-06T03:46:16Z")
> [@Myrnalene](#): > > Are they?? Do you happen to know which critics? Because the only thing I had heard on this subject was a bit on the Internet Movie Database where the screenwriter described his work as _less dark_ than the original, which seemed very worrisome to me. The trailer (which looks like ass) seems to bear that out - goofy, not creepy. Wilder’s Wonka was an evil genius. Depp’s Wonka looks like a twit. I don’t agree about Wilder’s version. Quirky, maybe, but not evil IMO. [From the Tim Burton Collective](http://www.timburtoncollective.com/articles/catcf1.html) > [@](#): > > ‘I responded to Charlie & The Chocolate Factory because it respected the fact that children can be adults,’ says Burton. ‘I think adults forget that. It was one of the first times you had children’s literature that was a bit more sophisticated & dealt with darker issues & feelings. It showed there can be darkness \* foreboding. Very sinister things that are part of childhood.’ > Johnny Depp agrees. ‘Roald Dahl’s novels can be fun, but they’re dark at times. Some of his stuff you wouldn’t want to read to your kids. In Charlie there are these dark, subtle messages. Tim Burton & Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.’ ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/26 "2005-06-06T04:29:59Z")
Gene Simmons ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/27 "2005-06-06T05:43:18Z")
I remember early rumors that Marilyn Manson was going to play Willy Wonka. _That…_ would have been _interesting._ ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/28 "2005-06-06T07:06:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Johnny Depp agrees. ‘Roald Dahl’s novels can be fun, but they’re dark at times. Some of his stuff you wouldn’t want to read to your kids. In Charlie there are these dark, subtle messages. Tim Burton & Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.’ Er, having read Factory and the Great Glass Elevator since young, I failed to find anything unsettling about them. Yeah, the Knids (is that what they were called) were kind of upsetting, but in Factory, it just doesn’t seem that bad. Anyone mind spoiling me just why the story is considered ‘dark’? Spoiler tags, of course. At any rate, I wasn’t too thrilled by the trailer. The mysterious factor workers in orange/red jumpsuits? Wonka looking somewhat like Michael Jackson? He seems to be more aloof and disaffected than pleasantly distrubed (like the Wily of the original book). I must also question if the ‘modern updates’ to the movie would work. Yeah, they up the TV watching kid to a video-game manic. and all the stuff, instead of looking like the steel/cogwheel kind of thing, have become somewhat of a children science-fic story. It is not how imagine it is from the books. But…I am looking forward to the movie nonetheless! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/29 "2005-06-06T12:01:36Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I am boycotting this movie on general principle. Wilder is, was, and always will be Wonka as far as I’m concerned. I wish I had your strength. I tell myself I’m going to this movie so I can bash it more effectively. And, that said, I’m going to try to give it a fair shot, but Og, it doesn’t look good. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/30 "2005-06-06T12:06:07Z")
> [@ExtraKun](#): > > Er, having read Factory and the Great Glass Elevator since young, I failed to find anything unsettling about them. Maybe not that novel, but have you read his short stories? Talk about unsettling! ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/31 "2005-06-06T12:23:53Z")
Dahl’s short story “The Man From the South” (made into an \*Alfred Hitchcock Presents \* episode and then adapted by Quentin Tarantino for his segment of the anthology film _Four Rooms_) was pretty disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/32 "2005-06-06T12:48:04Z")
I saw the trailer and I have to say, I had no impressions either way. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/33 "2005-06-06T13:22:27Z")
The more of the movie that I see, the less enthusiasm I have. Depp seems to be playing Wonka like he was some sort of lovable halfwit. Wilder played it nice most of the time, but you knew that he could snap and mess you up at any moment. He had an edge that Depp seems to be lacking. I’d also heard that the screenwriter for the new movie hadn’t seen the old one. When he did, he was surprised at how dark it was. Anyone else remember that? ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/34 "2005-06-06T13:26:28Z")
> [@ExtraKun](#): > > Er, having read Factory and the Great Glass Elevator since young, I failed to find anything unsettling about them. Yeah, the Knids (is that what they were called) were kind of upsetting, but in Factory, it just doesn’t seem that bad. Anyone mind spoiling me just why the story is considered ‘dark’? Spoiler tags, of course. I think it mostly stems from the extremely casual way in which each of the kids is disposed of and Wonka’s apathy about it. They ARE brats, however, which is why it probably doesn’t register that there are a bunch of kids in the book that have pretty horrible things happen to them. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/35 "2005-06-06T14:11:39Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > I wish I had your strength. I tell myself I’m going to this movie so I can bash it more effectively. > > And, that said, I’m going to try to give it a fair shot, but Og, it doesn’t look good. That’s about how I’m approaching it, too. As noted above, trailers try to make a movie look good… but from what we’ve seen of Depp’s portrayal of Wonka, I’ve got a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad feeling about this. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/36 "2005-06-06T15:18:29Z")
Trailers can be misleading. I’m with the “witholding judgement til I see the movie” camp. ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/37 "2005-06-06T16:16:46Z")
I have vivid memories of watching Wilder’s movie in elementary school and on into middle school. I still enjoy watching it on tv on occasion. When I heard Depp and Burton were teaming up for this, I did a hop-skip and a jump for joy. I think this is a dynamic duo who can get things done! I can’t see Burton taking this anywhere but dark. I mean don’t forget, what’s-her-face from Fight Club is in it too. So this isn’t exactly Sesame Street. I think the previews are being light weight to avoid scaring people off. I think the pre-advertising is going to begin to darken as we near release date, but as of now they’re making it seem corny and cute and such. My only concern is that some parents won’t know the story and will be unpleasantly surprised by it… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/38 "2005-06-06T16:20:52Z")
Interesting. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are also in _The Corpse Bride_, Tim Burton’s second movie this year. FWIW, Christopher Lee also has roles in both movies. ---
**Author:** ![chefjef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@chefjef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefjef)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/39 "2005-06-06T16:25:59Z")
Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket - that’s what I read. Now remind me who Mrs. Bucket is? I was dissapointed wtih the trailer too but - will definitely see it. I like Depp and I typically like Tim Burton films. I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised… ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013/40 "2005-06-06T16:35:29Z")
> [@chefjef](#): > > Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket - that’s what I read. Now remind me who Mrs. Bucket is? Charlie’s mother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-depp-and-willy-wonka-yeesh/307013.md?page=3)