I've finally seen the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and understood why there was the huge backlash against Johnny Depp's version...

I've read the book when I was very young, but have never seen the film with Gene Wilder in it. I did watch the newer Johnny Depp version, and thought it was rather good and didn't understand why it got panned so much (truth be told, I love kooky Tim Burton films so I'm probably a bit biased).

Today I've finally decided to bite the bullet and watch the original. I now understand. Gene Wilder really brought the character from the book to life without going OTT, and the way the film was shot made it very realistic (e.g. when Grandpa Joe first got up from the bed) and engaging.

I guess the way I see it is Johnny Depp's version is the OTT dark reimagining of Dahl's story, but Gene Wilder's version is the purer and more realistic version that people identify with more.

Would like to see how others view these two films!