What do we want out of aRoald Dahladaptation?
Clearly, it’s not an easy balance to pull off.
Indeed: 15 years later,Tim Burton’s darker, moodier re-adaptation ofCharlieseems like a discarded curio.
Credit: Everett Collection (3)
(One gets the sense thatCharlie’s financial success had more to do withWilly Wonkathan with Dahl.
Like Dahl, Burton, and Selick, Henson never shied away from giving kids a good scare.
(This writer avoidedThe Dark Crystalfor years after being spooked by the trailer at a young age.)
And even when the fit is right, there remains an impulse to leaven the material.
Withmany more Dahl adaptationsto come, one hopes their creators keep this in mind.
Perhaps the third trip down the chocolate river will be the charm.
