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30 comments
6 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 7/29/2009
If I could repeat this choice a thousand times, I would. 1971, 1971, a thousand times 1971.
on 9/2/2009
Gotta go with Gene Wilder's Wonka. Less menacing, more humorous. And no daddy issues.
on 11/6/2009
The remake sucks!!!!!! Bad!!!!!!!!!!
on 11/12/2009
The original, no contest. The music is just catchy and amazing and the colours used are abstract and fun.
on 11/17/2009
Gene Wilder > Johnny Depp
on 12/3/2009
I echo the sentiment of the user above me. And the Oompa Loompas in the remake. Don't get me started.
on 12/9/2009
If anyone in the world prefers the Burton version, I never want to meet them. I love Depp, but his Michael Jackson-like Wonka is just creepy and not at all what Roald Dahl had in mind when he wrote it. Gene Wilder made this role impossible for anyone else to take on in years to come.
on 12/27/2009
I honestly don't think there's anyone in the world who would prefer Burton's version over the original. That's crazy talk. The sense of wonder and emotion from the original was stripped down in Burton's version and replaced with a creepy Michael Jackson character and awkward moments.
on 1/15/2010
I was scared by the 1971 version, so there is no competition for me!
on 1/21/2010
No Contest
on 2/28/2010
As a kid, I loved the book. Since Burton's version more accurately portrays the story of the book, I have to go with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
on 3/3/2010
Gene Wilder is the preferable Willie Wonka. Tim Burton's version is kind of mean and reminded me of Michael Jackson and Neverland.
Original. Liked better the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka than Johny Depp's.
on 3/4/2010
I never liked the original version, Burtons movie is much more colorful and more freaky
on 3/9/2010
Is it strange that I find them both really, really, creepy?
on 3/23/2010
Your a loser "Marvelboy888". You don't even deserve to rank this. Grow a pair!
on 5/3/2010
Really quickly, I will say that I really liked Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket in the Burton film, probably better than the original. The other kids were quite good. But Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka absolutely blows Depp's out of the water. And the father/dentist backstory was just silly.
on 5/6/2010
Ugh, sucky remake 101.
on 6/4/2010
At long last, these two up against each other. While I thought the 2005 version was a fun movie, there simply is no beating the classic Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.
on 7/20/2011
What's with all the hate on the 2005 one? It's not a bad movie! Even if I do prefer the 1971 version, I still love Tim Burton's adaptation, it was very unique.
on 8/6/2011
I like the remake but I have to go with the original.
on 10/16/2011
The original. Better acting and more layered characters.
on 12/4/2011
Old Willy Wonka easily. Even though it's more true to the book, it feels like every other Tim Burton movie that he does with Depp
on 12/5/2011
Johnny Depp = pedophile. That's what C&CF taught me, meanwhile Gene Wilder was brilliantly deadpan. What an awesome film. ...no contest
on 12/11/2011
Wilder is classic in the original. Depp just felt contrived and silly and acted like a 5 year old. Wilder was truly amazing. And the boat scene in the original is great.
on 1/23/2012
The original, by far!! It's superior in every way, especially the casting, music, story, visuals and atmosphere. Burton's version was awful. A completely unnecessary remake. He sucked all the charm out of the Oompa Loompas. The songs weren't memorable. And Gene Wilder's Wonka beats Johnny Depp's any day of the week. Depp was plain weird, but Wilder was more subtly creepy, menacing and intriguing. The 1971 movie more accurately captures the spirit of the book, especially it's charm and humour.
on 5/27/2012
Excellent matchup for debate here! Incidentally Jeremy James-Taylor, Tim Burton's Casting agent visited our school to try and find people to play Charlie and Veruca but he only talked to short people since most of us were too old. Anyway, I was impressed (for the most part) by how faithful the new version was to the book in comparison to the old version, but the old version captured the essence and spirit of the book much better. Tim Burton's film is far too Tim Burton-esque for my liking, plus the whole subplot about Willy Wonka's father was completely phoned in and the idea of Willy Wonka being some sort of Michael Jackson character (though hating children too much rather than loving them too much) did NOT fit the film at all. So for me, it has to be the original; a classic film growing up, one of my favourite family films as a child.
on 10/14/2012
The original, not even close. Charlie isn't a bad version of the story but Johnny Depp just doesn't compare to Gene Wilder.
on 4/3/2013
I'm pretty sure that most of the people who will pick the original are probably old folks who have seen it as children growing up and therefore have a strong sentimental connection with it. But the author of the book, Roald Dahl, said that they ruined his book with Willy Wonka. I'm a weird dude who's a Tim Burton fan so of course I think Charlie should win. Its more freaky and true to the original story. More creative. Better songs.
on 7/2/2013
The remake by a mile. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of the most joyously weird and hilarious films I've ever had the pleasure of seeing with gorgeous special effects, great acting (including my personal favorite performance from Depp), and marvelous songs written by Dahl himself. The original is fine, but unspectacular. Certainly no where near the genius remake.
on 11/2/2013
Idk, the classic
on 1/5/2014
damn i think i'll go with tim burton on this one only because it's the first one i saw and enjoyed as a kid
on 4/10/2014
Willy not Charlie but Willy
on 11/4/2014
1971 Willy Wonka is a classic. 2005 Charlie was just awful.
Willy 1971
on 11/5/2014
Willy. Wilder > Depp
on 6/19/2016
I like that Dahl's original lyrics were used for the songs in the Burton version, and that's the only positive thing I have to say about it. It was totally charmless, and Depp was a terrible Wonka.
on 9/9/2016
Yes it is true that author Roald Dahl didn't like Gene Wilder's interpretation of the beloved Willy Wonka, and yes Tim Burton kept to the original Dahl story, however Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a far superior film in almost every way possible including character development, pace of story, music score, and even the set was more visually appealing.
on 2/22/2017
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory all the way. (i like both tho)
on 4/7/2020
I like the Gene Wilder version better.
on 1/27/2021
I love the later version's stupid comedy, but it's no competition. The original all the way
on 1/29/2021
I like a lot of Tim Burton's films but his version is ugly, pretty boring and Johnny Depp is just awful. I'll take Gene Wilder any day, the original and it's not even close.
