11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005

Some may say it’s sacrilegious to prefer Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory over the 1971 original starring Gene Wilder, but Tim Burton’s style is perfectly suited for the story of a young boy who wins a contest to explore a mysterious candy maker’s factory. Tim Burton lovingly crafts Willy Wonka’s vast candy palace with built sets instead of CGI, filling them with bright, green grass, giant candy cane trees, and a chocolate waterfall. All the sweet goodies look glossy and almost too perfect to be real. Burton creates a striking contrast between the wondrous factory and the drab, industrial town in which it resides, with Charlie’s thatched house exaggeratedly leaning to one side.

With a lighthearted voice and fussiness, Johnny Depp creates a version of Willy Wonka that is less psychopathic than Gene Wilder’s. He’s funnier and has more emotional depth, more like a socially inept, overgrown child with daddy issues. We sympathize with him as we learn more about his traumatic childhood and strained relationship with his father, played by the great Christopher Lee.

Instead of the horrifying, hypnotic drone from the original, Burton’s Oompa-Loompa musical sequences are catchy and fun, using a variety of genres from heavy metal to hippie folk. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory uses pre-existing material that was perfect for the Burton’s brand of childlike wonder and weirdness.