Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Insomnia strikes again, so I give you Family adventures at the movies!
I took the kids to see Charlie and Chocolate Factory last night. First off, I should mention that CaCF was one of my favorite books as a child, and I’ve always been rather fond of the previous film version. So I was really looking forward to seeing the remake and I thought it would be the perfect thing to take my 5-year-old daughter to. My 3-year-old son is along for the ride. It’s his first trip to the movie theatre. We are a little nervous about him. *ha*
We arrive at one of those fancy new cineplexes that are springing up around downtown. We must ride up two escalators before we even reach the ticket counter. There’s lots of chrome and loud ‘splody noises (arcade games litter the lobby) The children are in awe. Huge murals of famous movie scenes adorn the walls.
Son: R2! R2! *points to mural of R2-D2 and C-3PO* I don’t suppose you remember our adventures watching Star Wars. He still loves those robots.
My daughter and I settle into our fancy stadium-style seats, while my husband handles the concessions. We then spend the next ten minutes furiously defending our two saved seats from several very persistent people despite the fact that movie theatre is half-full. Seriously. One woman gave me an earful because she walked all the way up the stairs to find I was “hording them” Ah, but there were two seats in front of me that were empty, which I pointed out. Not good enough and she huffs away and sits elsewhere.
My husband arrives during the trailers with enough popcorn and soda to feed a third world country.
Trailers: My daughter who doesn’t flinch during the King Kong trailer despite the all screaming, the marauding giant ape and all the dinosaurs running rampant. (This is important later) Sidebar: Were there dinosaurs in the other two King Kong movies, because I had a big WTF moment there.
They show the same dull GoF trailer that’s been on the internet for the last two months. Needless to say, I’m under whelmed. I decided TPTB are too busy styling the Death Eaters as the Wizarding KKK and cutting Draco out of the script to actually make decent trailer!
On with the film shall we?
Okay, I’m a huge Tim Burton fan, and I wasn’t disappointed. The sets were whimsical, as you would expect, the humour was pretty sharp and they did right by casting the world’s cutest little boy as Charlie Bucket. (I have this mad secret fantasy of Burton directing one of the Harry Potter movies. I would love to see what he would do with Hogwarts).
Son and daughter seem to be enjoying the film. We meet the four other Golden Ticket winners, all well cast, I thought. We meet Willy Wonka. We meet Johnny Depp portraying Michael Jackson portraying Willie Wonka. Now, I happen to love Johnny Depp, but I have to say Gene Wilder owns this role.
Our first hiccup. Augustus Gollup falls into the river of chocolate
Daughter: thinks he drowning
Me: The giant tube is going to suck him out of the chocolate. Yeah, that goes over well.
Daughter: Watches with abject horror
Son: Is enthralled.
Me: It’s pretend. He’s going to be fine.
Daughter: I don’t like this chocolate factory
Oompa Loompas: Do a little dance. Get down tonight.
And then we get to Violet Beauregard. She turns into giant blueberry. Funny? Ah… not to some.
Daughter: Has moved to my lap.
Son: Still enthralled.
Me: Tries to find a way to explain this blueberriness is only temporary
Oompa Loompas: Play that funky music, white boy.
Daughter: I want to go home
Husband: Takes daughter for a walk, presumably to ride the shiny escalators.
Just me and the three-year-old now. Veruca Salt gets attacked by a bevy of squirrels. This I could see being frightening to children.
Me: Looks nervously at son
Son: Munches popcorn. Still looks in enthralled.
Veruca: Bye-bye Veruca. Down the chute she goes!
Son: (first comment during whole movie) Mommy! Mommy! she fell down the hole, said loudly during a quiet moment. The audience starts to laugh.
Oompa Loompas: They call me mellow yellow
Daughter returns and is quiet for the rest of the movie. Apparently Mike TeeVee’s adventures in television frighten her not.
Postscript: Concerned that I have turned my daughter off from yet another one of my favorite books. (She hates Harry Potter) I dig out my ancient copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and begin reading it to her at bedtime. So far, so good.
On another note, I drabbled for the first time in months:
Another Saturday Night Written for Malfoy100's the Muggle world challenge.
I took the kids to see Charlie and Chocolate Factory last night. First off, I should mention that CaCF was one of my favorite books as a child, and I’ve always been rather fond of the previous film version. So I was really looking forward to seeing the remake and I thought it would be the perfect thing to take my 5-year-old daughter to. My 3-year-old son is along for the ride. It’s his first trip to the movie theatre. We are a little nervous about him. *ha*
We arrive at one of those fancy new cineplexes that are springing up around downtown. We must ride up two escalators before we even reach the ticket counter. There’s lots of chrome and loud ‘splody noises (arcade games litter the lobby) The children are in awe. Huge murals of famous movie scenes adorn the walls.
Son: R2! R2! *points to mural of R2-D2 and C-3PO* I don’t suppose you remember our adventures watching Star Wars. He still loves those robots.
My daughter and I settle into our fancy stadium-style seats, while my husband handles the concessions. We then spend the next ten minutes furiously defending our two saved seats from several very persistent people despite the fact that movie theatre is half-full. Seriously. One woman gave me an earful because she walked all the way up the stairs to find I was “hording them” Ah, but there were two seats in front of me that were empty, which I pointed out. Not good enough and she huffs away and sits elsewhere.
My husband arrives during the trailers with enough popcorn and soda to feed a third world country.
Trailers: My daughter who doesn’t flinch during the King Kong trailer despite the all screaming, the marauding giant ape and all the dinosaurs running rampant. (This is important later) Sidebar: Were there dinosaurs in the other two King Kong movies, because I had a big WTF moment there.
They show the same dull GoF trailer that’s been on the internet for the last two months. Needless to say, I’m under whelmed. I decided TPTB are too busy styling the Death Eaters as the Wizarding KKK and cutting Draco out of the script to actually make decent trailer!
On with the film shall we?
Okay, I’m a huge Tim Burton fan, and I wasn’t disappointed. The sets were whimsical, as you would expect, the humour was pretty sharp and they did right by casting the world’s cutest little boy as Charlie Bucket. (I have this mad secret fantasy of Burton directing one of the Harry Potter movies. I would love to see what he would do with Hogwarts).
Son and daughter seem to be enjoying the film. We meet the four other Golden Ticket winners, all well cast, I thought. We meet Willy Wonka. We meet Johnny Depp portraying Michael Jackson portraying Willie Wonka. Now, I happen to love Johnny Depp, but I have to say Gene Wilder owns this role.
Our first hiccup. Augustus Gollup falls into the river of chocolate
Daughter: thinks he drowning
Me: The giant tube is going to suck him out of the chocolate. Yeah, that goes over well.
Daughter: Watches with abject horror
Son: Is enthralled.
Me: It’s pretend. He’s going to be fine.
Daughter: I don’t like this chocolate factory
Oompa Loompas: Do a little dance. Get down tonight.
And then we get to Violet Beauregard. She turns into giant blueberry. Funny? Ah… not to some.
Daughter: Has moved to my lap.
Son: Still enthralled.
Me: Tries to find a way to explain this blueberriness is only temporary
Oompa Loompas: Play that funky music, white boy.
Daughter: I want to go home
Husband: Takes daughter for a walk, presumably to ride the shiny escalators.
Just me and the three-year-old now. Veruca Salt gets attacked by a bevy of squirrels. This I could see being frightening to children.
Me: Looks nervously at son
Son: Munches popcorn. Still looks in enthralled.
Veruca: Bye-bye Veruca. Down the chute she goes!
Son: (first comment during whole movie) Mommy! Mommy! she fell down the hole, said loudly during a quiet moment. The audience starts to laugh.
Oompa Loompas: They call me mellow yellow
Daughter returns and is quiet for the rest of the movie. Apparently Mike TeeVee’s adventures in television frighten her not.
Postscript: Concerned that I have turned my daughter off from yet another one of my favorite books. (She hates Harry Potter) I dig out my ancient copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and begin reading it to her at bedtime. So far, so good.
On another note, I drabbled for the first time in months:
Another Saturday Night Written for Malfoy100's the Muggle world challenge.