Johnny Depp is Willy Wonka by Tim Nasson
With “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Johnny Depp marks his fourth outing with director Tim Burton. His first, the classic 1990 film “Edward Scissorhands,” until now, was his best. “Ed Wood,” the autobiographical film, in which he donned a wig and heelswas great but more of an art house film. And “Sleepy Hollow,” well, it looked great but lacked the heart and soul of “Scissorhands.” With “Charlie,” the remake of the 70s cult classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” Tim Burton and Johnny Depp make magic.
“When Tim asked me to star as Willy,” says Depp recently, “I didn’t even need to look at a script. I said ‘yes’ before a word was written.” Depp teams up with “Finding Neverland” co-star, Freddie Highmore, who plays ‘Charlie,’ and the two ignite on screen. Helena Bonham-Carter, Tim Burton’s wife, stars as Charlie’s mother, and David “Waking Ned Devine” Kelly, takes a turn as Charlie’s grandfather – the relative who accompanies Charlie to the Chocolate Factory.
Some may get a sense of “Michael Jackson” in Depp’s portrayal of Wonka and/or the subtext of the “Willy Wonka” story – kooky, kabuki older man, with childlike voice, luring pre-adolescents and their gullible caregivers to his palatial digs – but don’t think for a second that Depp buys into that.
“The story was written decades ago, and was filmed once before when Michael Jackson himself was the age that the kids in the story of ‘Willy Wonka’ are,” laughs Depp. “This is just a retelling and update of the story. The fact that it resembles Michael Jackson is coincidental and freaky in its own right but if anything, it is Michael Jackson who is impersonating slick Willy.”
“I have always liked making movies for kids and families,” recounts Depp. “With ‘James and the Giant Peach,’ [another film, like ‘Charlie,’ based on a Roald Dahl children’s book], and ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ I thought, ‘these movies are perfect for repeated viewings for children and their parents.’ The same I hope will hold true with ‘Charlie.'”
Depp, now done with “Charlie” and his fifth Tim Burton film, “The Corpse Bride,” another children’s movie – this one animated, a la “Nightmare Before Christmas” – which opens in September, is hard at work on two sequels to “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The two films are shooting simultaneously. “I really think I will be able to convince Keith Richards [of Rolling Stones fame] to play my father in the films. Wouldn’t that be great?” beams Depp.
Will Depp earn his third Oscar nomination in a row for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?” Time will tell, but the chances are great. He based his creepy character, he says, on “Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Green Jeans and Mr. Rogers all combined, with a little bit of Wink Martindale, the game show host. They were all so fake they were creepy,” laughs Depp. “I hope that kids get a little creeped out by my voice and looks, just as I was creeped out growing up watching Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo.”
