..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Directed by Tim Burton
Warner Bros

The colors and textures and sounds of Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (*** ½) are marvels, but in John August's (Go, Big Fish) adaptation of Roald Dahl's book (while ignoring the existence of the inexplicably liked 1971 version starring Gene Wilder), there may not be enough story and heart for every audience to swoon. The title sequence shows us an assembly line of mechano-fly-type machines more fearfully efficient than War of the Worlds' tripod invaders, all the service of fabricating a simple bar of foil-wrapped chocolate. The frame is ever filled with doodles, such as a high angle shot of the bright red Wonka trucks making deliveries, their tracks a gentle traceries-like pattern of blooming, curved lines in fresh snow. Johnny Depp channels an unlikely combination of Howard Hughes and John Malkovich, playing a sniffy fop who fears all beyond the borders of his costume. (His persnickety, off-putting asides are at their best in a small bit of pile-it-on hipster-talk, after the style of the late, great 1950s scat-bebop comedian Lord Buckley.) Freddie Highmore, with Dumbo, Jr. ears, a fringe of spit-tipped bangs and pale blue eyes like a boy's and not a moppet's, makes an excellent observer to the mayhem that ensues as the other children are dispatched for their gluttony, vanity and greed. Each exit is accompanied by bright, choreographed musical numbers, with lyrics drawn from Dahl, sung by the Oompah-Loompahs. The entirety of their ranks is embodied by a single actor, a small, Indian man with the lovely name of Deep Roy who's appeared in other Burton movies, and whose middle-aged, dark-eyed face, a double for the composer Angelo Badalamenti is atop every shrunken worker in the factory. The 2001: A Space Odyssey homage goes on far too long, but it must be noted: Squirrels: twice as funny as penguins, with half the dignity.

- Ray Pride