The 2005 film has an equally grand introduction, but it’s not Wonka who provides the theatrics. Choral music plays and a crane shot pushes in on Charlie (Freddie Highmore) and the others invited to enter Wonka’s factory, rendered here in brutalist gray concrete. An intimidating voice booms over loudspeaker, “Come forward,” compelling them to walk into the building’s shadow.
“Welcome to my factory,” intones the voice. “Who am I? Well…” In answer, a factory wall opens to reveal a red curtained, brightly lit puppet show wherein the marionettes sing a sprightly ditty about the wonders of Willy Wonka! Despite the dolls’ aggressive cheer and painted on smiles, Burton and cinematographer Philippe Rousselot highlight the unsettling falseness of the puppets, underscored by cutaways to the baffled onlooker and foregrounding the fears of animatronics that would make Five Nights at Freddy’s such a Gen Z hit.
At the end of the song, the display bursts into flames, leaving everyone bewildered, save for the purple-clad Willy Wonka, who vigorously claps before moving in front of the visitors to formally welcome them.
According to behind-the-scenes legend, Wilder came up with the idea of faking a limp as a way to prepare the audience for his character in the ’70s classic. Right from the beginning, Wilder wanted to plant a seed of doubt in the viewers’ mind, making them unsure of anything his character does. To that end, Wilder plays the big reveal like he’s a magician, a consummate showman who’s never not performing for his audience.
By contrast, Depp’s Willy puts on a literal show, even though he’s not a performer. It’s a point underscored when he awkwardly greets the crowd by reading lyrics from “Good Morning Starshine” from Oliver!, a 1960 hippie-dippie take on Charles Dickens that would have been outdated to even viewers of Willy Wonka.
As with Wilder’s take, the introduction of Willy Wonka here tells the audience everything they need to know about this version of the character. He has no connection to the rest of the world. He lives in a sealed-off wonderland built around his own designs. Wondrous as this seems to the visitors, it’s clear that Wonka himself finds longing for more, even if he doesn’t know how to connect with others. Throughout the movie, his odd asides, his occasional combativeness, his general discomfort all speaks to a man raised in a world that seems to be made for him but ultimately leaves him empty—a feeling not unfamiliar to those bombarded by algorithmically-designed media and commercials promising happiness.