Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 musical fantasy comedy film directed by Tim Burton and written by John August, based on the 1964 British novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket. The storyline follows Charlie, who wins a contest and, along with four other contest winners, is led by Wonka on a tour of his chocolate factory, the most magnificent in the world. Development for a second adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (filmed previously as
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) Palin (as well as the other three Monty Python members) had all previously expressed interest in playing Wonka in the 1971 film adaptation. Johnny Depp was the only actor Burton considered for the role, although Dwayne Johnson was Burton's second choice in case Depp was unavailable. Depp signed on without reading the script under the intention of going with a completely different approach than what Gene Wilder did in the 1971 film adaptation. Depp said regardless of the original film, Gene Wilder's characterization of Willy Wonka stood out as a unique portrayal. Depp and Burton derived their Willy Wonka from