Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreAdventure, Comedy & Family
RatedPG
Runtime1 hr 55 mins
ReleasedJuly 15, 2005
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorTim Burton
StarringJohnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly
|
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Details | |
| Genre | Adventure, Comedy & Family |
| Rated | PG |
| Released | 07/10/2005 (Grauman's Chinese Theatre); 07/15/2005 (United States); 07/29/2005 (United Kingdom) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Budget | $150M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl |
| Country | United States, United Kingdom, Australia |
| Language | English |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Interests | |
| General | Golden tickets, chocolate rivers, squirrels, glass elevators, cabbage soup, a very crooked house. |
| Music | Danny Elfman, who also sings the Oompa-Loompa songs himself. |
| Movies | Wonka (2023). The young candy maker, back before he locked the gates. |
| Television | Nailed It. Big candy dreams, real kitchen results. |
| Heroes | Grandpa Joe. Has a Wonka story for every occasion. |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Crew | |
| Director | Tim Burton |
| Writers | John August |
| Producers | Brad Grey, Richard D. Zanuck |
| Cinematography | Philippe Rousselot |
| Music | Danny Elfman |
| Edited By | Chris Lebenzon |
| Production | Village Roadshow Pictures, The Zanuck Company, Plan B Entertainment, Theobald Film Productions |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Somebody decided Willy Wonka needed a sad backstory about his dentist dad, and that one choice turns a candy fever dream into a family therapy session. Johnny Depp plays Wonka like a pale kid who has never been outside, with a bob haircut and a laugh like a squeaky door. It’s a bold swing. It mostly misses. The stuff around him is great, though. Freddie Highmore is a sweet, quiet Charlie, the crooked Bucket house looks like a pop-up book, and the Oompa Loompa songs jump from one music style to the next like a radio with a broken dial. Each kid’s exit is staged like a fun little nightmare. $150 million reported budget, $475 million worldwide, 83% with critics. A 5.6 because the factory looks amazing but the guy running it feels like a stranger in his own movie. $503 says you hum the Augustus Gloop song while eating something chocolate tonight and don’t even notice.
What works: The Bucket family house, Freddie Highmore’s Charlie and the Oompa Loompa songs, which each switch to a totally different style of music.
What doesn’t: Johnny Depp’s Wonka is more off-putting than magical, and the dentist dad backstory drains the mystery right out of the character.
Who it’s for: Kids who like their candy movies a little creepy, and Tim Burton fans who want the look more than the heart.
Spoilers
The other four kids get pulled off the tour one by one by their own bad habits, and Charlie wins the factory. He turns it down until Wonka agrees to bring the whole Bucket family along, and Wonka finally makes up with his dad.
Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) lives in a tiny, tilted house with his parents and all four grandparents, eating cabbage soup in the shadow of a giant chocolate factory. Its owner, the reclusive Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp), has not let anyone inside in years. Then Wonka hides five golden tickets in his candy bars, each one good for a tour of the factory. Kids around the world start ripping open wrappers, while Charlie, who gets exactly one bar a year, waits for his birthday. Grandpa Joe (David Kelly), who used to work for Wonka, cannot stop telling stories. Tim Burton directs. One hundred fifteen minutes, sugar rush guaranteed.
Anyone who reads the candy wrapper before eating the candy. Keep your gum to yourself.
| Johnny Depp | Willy Wonka |
| Freddie Highmore | Charlie Bucket |
| David Kelly | Grandpa Joe |
| Helena Bonham Carter | Mrs. Bucket |
| Noah Taylor | Mr. Bucket |
| Missi Pyle | Mrs. Beauregarde |
| James Fox | Mr. Salt |
| Deep Roy | the Oompa-Loompas |
| Christopher Lee | Dr. Wonka |
| Adam Godley | Mr. Teavee |
| Franziska Troegner | Mrs. Gloop |
| AnnaSophia Robb | Violet Beauregarde |
| Julia Winter | Veruca Salt |
| Jordan Fry | Mike Teavee |
| Philip Wiegratz | Augustus Gloop |
| Liz Smith | Grandma Georgina |
| Eileen Essell | Grandma Josephine |
| David Morris | Grandpa George |
| Nitin Ganatra | Prince Pondicherry |
| Shelley Conn | Princess Pondicherry |
| Geoffrey Holder | Narrator |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (580,288 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (580,342 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $475M; Domestic box office $206.5M; Opening weekend $56.2M; Profit / loss (est.) +$12.5M; Rotten Tomatoes 83%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 83% (40 reviews); Metacritic 72 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (580,288 votes); movie.guru score 7.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.