Summary

Elijah Wood believes Tim Burton's 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake should be eradicated from cinema history due to its lack of magic.
The actor expresses disappointment that Burton's version of Willy Wonka doesn't capture the purity and beauty of the original book and film.
Wood's criticism aligns with the movie's reception, earning a low score on Rotten Tomatoes, in contrast to the success of the recent adaptation.

For many fans, it doesn't feel like it has been over twenty years since Peter Jackson introduced his epic fantasy world of The Lord of the Rings to the masses. The live-action adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s massive trilogy would go on to change the face of how fantasy movies were once viewed, winning a slew of awards for the saga's mind-blowing cinematic techniques. With a cast of incredible actors, which includes Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and Andy Serkis, The Lord of the Rings is still as relevant as it was many years ago.

Elijah Wood, who played the iconic hobbit of the Shire who inherited the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins and started the whole adventure off, was only 18 years old when he touched down in New Zealand to begin filming for the movie. After many years of seeing his character on a quest to destroy the ring in the fires of Mount Doom, Wood knows a thing or two about what makes a great on-screen adaptation, and with many having hit the big screen since his time as Frodo, Wood believes that one particular Tim Burton movie should have been binned from cinema history.

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By Lucy Owens

Lord of the Rings Star Makes Bold Statement About Movie Remake That Should Never Have Been Made

During a panel show by Screen Junkies in 2017, which included Kevin Smith and other celebrities, the question was asked: "If you could permanently erase one movie from all of existence, which would it be?". When it came to Wood's turn, he wasn't too shy to give his opinion on one Tim Burton 2005 remake. Burton's version of the beloved children’s story, which starred Johnny Depp, "destroyed the book and destroyed the original film," referring to the 1971 movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. "The version of Willy Wonka in Tim Burton’s film is heinous and terrifying," said Wood. "There’s nothing pure or beautiful about it."

Wood states that directors usually want to "make something better than what came before, or at least add something to it" when creating a remake, but he felt that Burton failed to achieve that. The actor went on to say that the movie "contained no magic," and with a character like Willy Wonka, even though Wonka himself is somewhat strange in the original, the trust was there for the audience that, despite this, viewers would get something magical, but Burton's version of Wonka "missed the mark" completely.

The 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory wasn't a huge hit with its audience, scoring only 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it seems as though Wood might have a point. Thankfully, the third adaptation of Roald Dahl's book starring Timothée Chalamet did much better as it sits at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and made over $600 million at the box office globally. However, we have yet to hear Wood's opinion on how he feels about the most recent adaptation.

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