Willy Wonka May 2003, Burton immediately thought of Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka, who joined the following August for his fourth collaboration with the director. Burton and screenwriter John August worked together in creating Wilbur Wonka, Willy's domineering dentist father. "You want a little bit of the flavor of why Wonka is the way he is," Burton reasoned. "Otherwise, what is he? He's just a weird guy." Warner Bros. and Burton held differences over the characterization of Willy Wonka. The studio wanted to make Willy Wonka the idyllic father figure Charlie Bucket had longed for his entire life. Burton
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) channeling Keith Richards, which may have primed us to look for possible inspirations for this performance." Mick LaSalle from the "San Francisco Chronicle" found "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Burton's "best work in years. If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from Highmore, a gifted young performer whose performance is sincere, deep and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor." Peter Travers wrote in "Rolling Stone" magazine that "Depp's deliciously demented take on Willy Wonka demands to be seen. Depp goes deeper to