Film Adaptations Of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
...the Chocolate Factory. I will introduce the story itself and the characters then will move on to write about the Mel Stuart adaptation released in 1971, and finally the Tim Burton version released in 2005.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published in the United States in 1964 before appearing in the United Kingdom in 1967. It was a great success in both countries followed by other books, such as the BFG and Matilda.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is set in an industrial city, a “great town”, thus there is universality to the narrative. The only unique feature that distinguishes it from any other place is Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, an exquisite confectionery. After years of silence, Willy Wonka announces a contest: he has hidden five Golden Tickets in Wonka Bars, and the five lucky winners who find them will get the chance to tour his factory. Charlie Bucket, the main character has no distinct personality, but it is the reader who becomes Charlie, thus directly entering the story. The other children have behaviour problems, rather than characteristics/personalities. They symbolize various sins: Augustus Gloop, an obese boy with an extreme appetite for chocolate, symbolizes gluttony and lust; Veruca Salt, a spoiled rich girl, exemplifies selfishness, envy and greed; Violet Beauregard, a record holder in gum chewing, represents mindlessness and pride; and Mike Teavee, a television addict, personifies idleness. When they are punished the reader is satisfied, without feeling sorry for any of them. Another set of characters are the Oompa-Loompas. In the original story they were little black people from Africa, but after having been accused of racism, Dahl changed them: they became little people with long, wavy hair from Loompaland. They live and work in the factory, and after each of the four children is punished, they sing songs...
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