so in end did depps wonka remind me of
Sunday, 17 February 2008 | | |
So, in the end, did Depp's Wonka remind me of Michael Jackson?
A while back, based on the preview for "Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory," I wrote that Johnny Depp seems to have based his Willie
Wonka on Michael Jackson.
In fact, try Googling "michael jackson" "willie wonka" -- my post
comes up #1! Jeez, maybe Johnny's read my post.... Hi, Johnny!
Anyway, today I actually saw the movie, and my final take on it is
that Johnny Depp did not base his character on Michael Jackson. The
hair and makeup may have been modeled to some degree on Jackson, but
the voice was not at all like his. Jackson's voice is much higher and
has a sweet, ethereal quality. The two voices I heard, intermittently,
in Depp's characterization were Tommy Smothers and Carol Channing.
There was a certain light slurring -- especially saying the word
"little" -- that seemed both childish and a bit tipsy. Depp's Wonka is
clearly cracked, but he's not abstracted and frail like Jackson. He's
weird and confused, but still much more grounded than poor Michael.
Depp had a ton of comical and psychological ideas that he deploys in
this film. To have imitated Michael Jackson would have been a
one-dimensional stunt. Why would this brilliant, brilliant actor do
that? The answer is: he didn't!
By the way, the some of the best scenes don't have Depp in them at
all. Charlie's house and family, with the four grandparents in one
bed, made for some of the nicest scenes. Am I the only one who looked
at the grandparents and thought of Hamm and Nagg in "Endgame"? And I
adore Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Charlie's mother. There's the
beautiful Helena, wearing grimy poverty-teeth for this role. And
Freddie Highmore as Charlie is just perfect. Perhaps he is the
greatest child actor of all time.
But the greatest actor of our time... that's Johnny Depp!
Labels: chocolate, movies