Depp brilliant as Wonka in ‘Chocolate Factory’

In theaters

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, directed by Tim Burton, written by John August, based on the book by Roald Dahl, 116 minutes, rated PG.

The new Tim Burton movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” has a few ideas about children, none of which are pleasant, most of which hit the mark.

Shocking as it may be, it suggests there are other things sweeter than a child, particularly if you’re dealing with a bratty child, a spoiled child, a greedy little sow of a child, or an overbearing, overachieving, gum-chewing monster of a child, as is the case here.

As written by John August from Roald Dahl’s 1964 book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” joins its 1971 predecessor, the classic “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” in that it’s designed to bring out the very worst qualities of children. In the meantime, it also highlights the very worst qualities of their parents, whose responsibility it is to reign in their little darlings lest they become pure forces of evil.

The idea here is that if you’re going to make a social satire about kids and their parents, it’s likely best to do so in a world where temptation, pitfalls and danger prevail. Once the groundwork is laid for that, stand back and let the mayhem ensue.

In this case, the groundwork begins with reclusive chocolatier Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) emerging from a self-imposed, 15-year exile to devise a lottery in which the children of the world will have the opportunity to win one of five golden tickets.

Tucked into unmarked Wonka bars, the tickets will allow them entrance into Wonka’s spectacular chocolate factory, whose exterior has the ominous chill of a Nazi prison camp, but whose interior is an oasis for the epicurean. There, in a world in which everything is succulent and edible (“Even me,” says Wonka, “though that would be cannibalism”), the winners will receive a tour and a surprise. But what surprise? Is it money? If so, how much? Those questions ignite a worldwide pandemonium, with people scrambling to get their hands on one of the golden tickets, even if it means – as it does in one scene – pawning the family pig.

For the title character, Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), a poor kid blessed with great parents (Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor) and grandparents, finding one of those tickets is a foregone conclusion. The movie isn’t called “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” for nothing.

Still, when Charlie does find that ticket, it’s as much a boon for him as it is for us. It allows audiences into one of the summer’s more imaginative and entertaining films, with Burton realizing his best movie in years and Depp somehow making Gene Wilder’s iconic performance in the 1971 version fade into the background. He is excellent here. With his blanched skin, clipped bob and weirdly perfect teeth, his Wonka looks like Anna Wintour by way of Barnum & Bailey. Throughout, he rides an edge of cruelty and incredulity, with his eyes cast into mean slits each time a child or a parent challenges him. Wonka doesn’t like children – you sense he would be the first to show up at the dinner table in “Hansel and Gretel” – and yet there is something about Charlie’s goodness that reaches him. Could it be that children, when raised well, are as sweet as one of his Everlasting Gobstoppers?

That’s difficult for Wonka to wrap his mind around, but not impossible. After all, stranger things have happened in his world, starting with the Oompa Loompas (all played by Deep Roy), a genial bunch of miniature creeps who have a taste for insects, a way with sugar, and a nifty gift for channeling Busby Berkeley in several grand musical numbers.

Grade: A-

On video and DVD

A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant, 135 minutes, rated R. In French with English subtitles.

The World War I drama “A Very Long Engagement” could only come from French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose 2001 film – the quirky, Academy Award-nominated “Amelie” – at last gave the director the right showcase for his unmistakable style and unusual worldview.

It also gave him an actress that allowed him to hover in the ether he favors: Audrey Tautou. And so in “Engagement,” director and star come together again, with fine results.

The film is about a young woman named Mathilde (Tautou) who knows in her heart that her fiance, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), is still alive in spite of fighting in the trenches against the Germans and new reports that he’s dead. Word has it that Manech, along with four other men, self-mutilated himself in an effort to be released from the war so he could go home. Banished by his superior officer to No Man’s Land – the area between French and German lines – the five men were naturally considered doomed when the Germans gamefully

opened fire on all of them.

Through the help of strangers and one peerless detective, Mathilde learns that Manech might not be dead after all. And so rises a mission that burns through the movie, with Mathilde cutting through a complicated plot filled with twists, clever touches, the wet, muddy horror of the first world war, and characters just colorful enough not to be overwhelmed by any of it. Of particular note is Jodie Foster as a soldier’s wife.

At first, her appearance is startling, particularly since she’s on a tear, speaking fluent French and having the sort of aggressive sex that tends to raise eyebrows. But then you realize how right she is for the role and the movie lifts. Tautou, as usual, fills the screen with the eyes of a silent-era star. She uses them like one, too – and she’s marvelous. This is Jeunet’s biggest production to date, but he holds true to what defines him – the sly bit characters given to the unexpected, the little human flourishes that place the film in real life, a dense story line that somehow weaves together at the end. And what an end.

Grade: A

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening and weekends in Television. They are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He may be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.