After the critical mauling he received for his remake of Planet Of The Apes, Tim Burton must have thought long and hard about taking on the challenge of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. While it may not be a remake per se of the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka film, comparisons are bound to be made. Fortunately, while not many would stand up and defend his Apes, this Factory has been extremely well put together and is superior to the earlier version in almost every way.

While the Wilder film is rightly considered a surreal children's classic and has inspired the likes of Marliyn Manson, it is also very 'of its time', which some rather campy sequences that don't really stand up today. That criticism can't be levelled at Burton's film, which has all his hallmarks and a timeless feel that still manages to makeit seem very relevant to today's audiences.

Whereas Apes saw Burton having to move away from his trademark gothic atmosphere, it is here in spades, particularly in whatever strange small town holds the ramshackle Bucket residence and the outwardly gloomy factory at opposite ends of the same road. However, where he really comes into his own is inside the factory, which unsurprisingly makes the earlier film look a bit unimaginative by comparison. The effect is slightly spoiled by seeing everything on the trailer and posters, but it's still impressive.

What Burton also does very well is make the most of the various creepy children and their creepy families, giving Mike Teavee and Violet Beauregarde more modern makeovers. Their appearances are also slightly cartoonish, especially Veruca Salt, whose ghastly grin is rather reminiscent of the smiles in Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun video. And then there's the Oompa-Loopmas, all 165 of them played by Kenyan actor Deep Roy, who must have been VERY busy in dance classes to learn the various boyband esque moves they perform during the musical numbers.

Obviously, it's a shame not to have the classic Oompa-Loompa songs, but the new ones - written and sung by long-time collaborator Danny Elfman - are pretty good, even if some of the vocals are difficult to make out. There's also some great visual gags to be had from hundreds of identical little people, with even the female Ooopa-Loompas played by Roy. As you'd expect from Roald Dahl being done by Tim Burton, there's always plenty going on in the background, which will no doubt reward repeat viewings.

One thing that looked like it could be a stumbling point for this film from seeing the trailer is the performance of Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder was so good as the eccentric chocolatier that simply copying him would have been a waste of time, but Depp's freakish Michael Jackson-alike character looked like he could be a disaster from initial appearances. Fortunately, Depp - as always - is more than talented enough to pull it off and he makes Wonka a touching and funny freak who always seems to know more than he is letting on.

However, in Depp's Wonka there is also a fairly major flaw in the way Burton has approached this story. There are several very obvious links between Wonka and Edwards Scissorhands, even including one shot of Depp holding scissors, and that inevitably draws comparisons with Burton's masterwork. Both characters are alone, with seemingly no mother and only dead/long-lost fathers (both played by legendary horror actors) and both are pallid and awkward but creative social misfits (basically Burton himself).

Unfortunately, this film does not have the emotional depth of Scissorhands, and we don't really get to care about Wonka at all, despite frequent and overlong flashbacks to his childhood. Therefore, the finale is a bit shallow compared to how we feel at seeing Edward left to live alone in his house on the hill while the love of his life grows old in the village below. This film is always better when it is concentrating on the factory rather than the backstories, and you can sense young concentrations starting to waver whenever young Wonka appears on screen.

Another minor complaint is the transatlantic nature of the film. Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) is clearly English, as are his family and most of the people in the story are English, but yet they deal with dollars and insist on calling chocolate 'candy', which no English person would ever do. It's not a major issue, but it is a niggling annoyance that distracts unnecessarily from what is mostly a triumphant success for Burton and a sign that 'remakes' aren't always a bad thing.

Showing at The Filmworks.