[mousepod]

OK, I've avoided this thread (and the reviews) until we saw the movie. We just came back from a well-attended matinee and well, I guess it was just alright.
I'm also a fan of the book, the original movie, Tim Burton (most of the time), Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman, etc. And yet, I somehow didn't feel any of the elation that I wanted to feel. The pre-chocolate factory scenes with Charlie and his family were touching - I felt myself choking up when Charlie and Grandpa Joe opened up the wrapper to the Wonka Bar - but once the tour started, I could start to count the disappointments.
I remember hearing Tim Burton say that the screenwriter hadn't seen the original movie - but I'll bet the set designer did! There were too many similarities to make me forget the original movie, which was a shame, because the dialogue, actors and plotline didn't bug me at all. In fact, I really liked all of those elements.
The blue screen effects looked cheesy and out of place, which really got in the way of the magic for me, and the shifting scale of the Oompa Loompas just seemed sloppy.
But my greatest disappointment with this film? The songs. Big time. Every time an Oompa Loompa song started, the film stopped. Elfman's overwrought parodies were distracting - and the crappy choreography just pulled me right out of the story. The sound mix pushed the vocals way down, and I found it a strain to make out the Dahl lyrics. In the original movie (which was a more standard "musical"), the non-Oompa Loompa songs were sung by individuals, and the camera focused right on them - when the group Oompa Loompa songs were performed, they cleverly put the lyrics right up on the screen, showing that they were as important as the rest of the visuals. Anyway, I'm still an Elfman fan, but I really think they missed the boat on that one.

I'm not sure what happened to Tim Burton. There was a time (before PotA) where he could do no wrong. Now, I'm not so sure. While I've been trying to get excited about Corpse Bride and not think of it as an attempt to cash in on the NBC fanbase, the trailer for it that we saw before Charlie - which featured the Nightmare music - didn't really help...