Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Wonka vs Charlie

This is topic Wonka vs Charlie in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/writers/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002720

Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :

Justification: No, it's not writing a short story or novel, but in a sense there was a script that uses some of the same guiding principles. In the end, it's story telling, which is what it's all about. I think it illustrates an application of MICE.

Hands down, the original movie wins. The story, the music, the humor, the way Wilder brings Willy Wonka to life. Sure the effects are 1970's, but the story and acting is so good, who notices?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is supposed to be more like the oringal book, which I've never read, or if I did, it was so so long ago I can't remember. And I kinda feel embarassed going into the children's section and rumaging for it in the library.

Going off a six months of memories, I guess the difference is in the original movie, Willy Wonka is Willy Wonka, was Willy Wonka, will be Willy Wonka. He is the same at the beginning of the movie as he was at the end, he's eccentric, but there's a wisdom to his madness, an all-knowingness, always in control. Almost a godlike figure in a way.

In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka is a flawed person with origins. We discover these origins and in doing so, so does he. The person he is at the beginning of the movie is not the same person he is at the end. He is a transformed character. His eccentric manner is not good or benign, it is a flaw. He hates the idea of family stemming from his past, but in the end he is reconiclled and becomes a good or better character.

In the MICE quotient, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a millieu story, it explores the Chocolate Factory, the beginning is the setup of how all the kids got to tour the factory, and the end happens when the tour is over, there is no possiblity to explore more. The characters, both Wonka and the kids are the same in the beginning as they were in the end.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, however is a character story, there's some setup that is nessacary to be introduced to Willey Wonka, and we see a very eccentric fellow, but as we explore the factory, we explore some of his past, and after the tour, we go back further, until Wonka is reconcilled to his father. By the end, Willey Wonka is a changed man.

While the later has its points, the original couldn't be topped. At least, in my book.

Posted by DotcomRefugee (Member # 3088) on :

Yeah, but the Oompa-Loompas Mark II were cooool!

The book seemed like a great candidate for the Tim Burton treatment. I know to some, this is sacrilege. But it worked quite well, I thought. Then again, I didn't really get into the first movie much, so I don't have fond memories to be shattered.

Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :

Was anyone else disappointed that the Mark II's didn't sing the traditional (if updated) "Oompa-Loompa" songs?

Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :

I was. I didn't find the new tunes catchy or even understandable. But then, I'm not into modern music.

Posted by DotcomRefugee (Member # 3088) on :

Not really disappointed in the songs. Yeah, hard to understand them sometimes. But why re-do the songs the same as they were in the original movie? If I wanted the original, I'd just rent it. But you're right, they weren't catchy at all.