agreed on most counts, but i'm surprised about the comment about the kids. the child actors in the new one are so damn incredible... i've never seen kids played so believably. the kids in the old one were so stiff and lost most of the time. then again, the new kids are much less likeable as human beings, but that's kinda the point. i don't know.

the old chants were a little catchier, but the new ones really grow on you and i gotta give mad props for using lyrics from the book and making it work so well. this is the first Elfman soundtrack that i've really loved in over a decade, and i'm a huge Elfman fan.

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by the way, what did you think of Grandpa Joe in the new one? i generally loved the new one, but thought that Gradpa Joe's actor gave a performance that was often literally painfully awful. they gave him so much backstory and motivation to work with, and he didn't use any of it. i wanted to cry. but then Johnny Depp would come back on screen and i'd be happy again. ^.^

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I think Burton portrayed the kids despicably well for this decade. I can't imagine these kids in the older version!

Good call on Elfman. I love his music a lot and he did a phenomenal job here. I was hearing an unnatural/electronic instrument(?) in the introduction that added an excellent effect to the piece. And yes, I was most amused with the umpa's songs and glad that Burton used lyrics from the book.

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A couple of uberspiffy facts for your cocktail parties:
- John August, who wrote the screenplay, was the same guy who wrote the screenplay for Big Fish. He admitted to never haveing seen the original movie and purposefully stayed away from it, following the novel as closely as possible (squirrels and Indian prince, etc., included).
- Johnny Depp hasn't seen the original movie version in years and also admitted he refused to even watch the Gene Wilder so not as to copy any behavior purposefully.
- Haven't seen it yet, but I'm glad you say Johnny's creepier: that was Dahl's original intent - this eccentric little man with a devilish personality, though his ultimate intentions are meaningful.
- Freddie Highmore (Charlie) is the same kid who co-starred with Depp in Finding Neverland.
- The "new" songs are lyrics taken directly from the original novel's lengthy Oompa-Loompa chant poems, boiled down for time but maintaining their original messages/lines.

I could share more, but I won't ramble. ;o) Hope you had a happy birthday, and see you soon! Drop me a line sometime! - B

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Thanks for the awesome facts! I'll call you sometime soon. Things are busy for I'm in my last week of research and I'm going to Vermont for a week right after that.

Cheers!

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