I'll keep this short

I didn't hate the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was fine, I guess. It's incredibly appealing visually and, in fact, just on that basis alone it should have been a movie I loved. Stylized sets + saturated colors = Sarah's catnip. I also always like me a good cautionary tale. Neither of those (large) features, however, could win me over on this one. With this viewing, it's clear that I just don't get the whole Willy Wonka "thing." Here, he's a recluse who wants the spotlight. On top of that, we are expected to sit through these flashbacks to his childhood to see the "motivation" for.... I'm not sure what. None of them really clarify anything and it's just not that interesting. It just seemed a mess. Enjoyable to look gawk at, but it's still a mess. Kind of like my dashed-off thoughts. The squirrels are cool. Meh.