My daughter took one look at Johnny Depp and said “He looks like a woman!”
My wife and I looked at the long dark hair, light face, and dark glasses and instantly thought “It’s Michael Jackson!”
All of which makes this movie interpretation even creepier than the earlier one. Certainly creepier than it needs to be.
Was this deliberate? Why did Burton do this?
Do you have a link to a picture? I’ve not seen any trailers or adverts yet?
I’ve seen the preview and the pictures go by so fast that I did not get the impressions of the original post. I’m gonna give the movie a chance, mainly because of Johnny Depp. Also, because they’ve said they are trying to adapt the book (which was creepy) more than remake the Gene Wilder movie.
Oh - and the trailer is up at various spots all over the net, but I don’t have a specific link right now.
Haven’t found a full pic yet, but look at the ;poster:
I thought his look was creepy, but of the androgynous Goth variety of creepy. Depp reminds me of Marilyn Manson, who was once rumored as the frontrunner to play Wonka. This is all fine with me, since I’m not a fan of the original movie, and I know Burton intends to adapt the book, not the Gene Wilder movie anyway.
Yeah, I’ve seen that. Looks a bit like a refugee from the Haight-Ashbury, circa 1969.
I haven’t found one with the dark glasses (as seen in the trailer, and which enhance the resemblance), but here’s a full-face photo:
http://www.countingdown.com/movies/1415/news?item_id=3642092
Well, if you really want to think about it, the name “Willy Wonka” is only a letter away from being pretty creepy itself. Maybe the Michael Jackson comparison isn’t too far off.
Oh, yuck! I have a feeling I’m going to hate Johnny Depp even more after this movie. trying…to…keep…open…mind…
I am not sure about this movie, because Gene Wilder played such a creepy Willy Wonka in the first movie. We’ll see what Tim and Johnny will add to it. I would’ve enjoyed Marilyn Manson as Willy Wonka more than Johnny Depp, I think. Johnny Depp can be really annoying. I am a big fan of Johnny Depp normally though.
I’ve posted this before, but… Emo Phillips crossed with Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange.
Cal Meacham’s link gives you the poster, which has a link to the trailer. In most shots, I didn’t anything Michaelish, but one brief shot looks dead-on glovish.
I really want to like this movie, but I’m worried about it.
Depp needs a director who can restrain him, and I don’t think Burton is the man to do it. Witness the travesty of Sleepy Hollow.
In the book, didn’t Willy Wonka have a long, bushy beard (I’ve not read it in years)?
If so, then Burton’s not being faithful to it after all. At least in this regard.
But he’s probably just trying to make Willy seem more child-like, as befits the character.
Willy Wonka is outright bat-shit insane. He just happens to be functionally insane in his own self-created world. I suppose that this could be thought of as MJ-like, but the creepiness isn’t from his attentions towards the “lucky” children. The collision of his insanity with the outside world, represented mainly by the parents of the kids, is creepy. From the trailer I’ve seen, it looks like Burton preserves this.
Depp does bat-shit but functional insanity well. I think he’s a good choice. I’m looking forward to it.
Not that I can recall, and I’ve read it several times in the past decade.
I saw the trailer last week, and spent the whole time poking DangerDad and whispering, “Look! It’s Michael Jackson! That is so creepy!”
I do think the appearance is very weird. In the book, he’s sort of small and fuzzy, with a beard. Sort of like a mad ancient grandfather. This is sort of a modern creepy version Gene Wilder, I though. I’m trepidiatious.
Nope. IIRC, in the illustrations in the book he had a pointy little goatee.
Come to think of it, Depp was also just in a movie called Neverland. Coincidence?
Looks more like Ensign Ro to me.