Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an inspired tour de force of comic insanity, retribution, and an enormous place that makes the most luscious sweets around. Suffice it to say that the soundtrack to this movie must live up to this insanity, which it complements to a tee.

One of the funniest, most surprising things about this movie is the Oompa Loompa's music, which, coincidentally, is a hallmark in the first movie as well. The Oompas Loompas sing to each child as they "get it" in the factory, sending them off with a bit of jabbing and barbing their lesson. Danny Elfman took the words from the actual book, and put them to music. Each child has a different "theme" of music, which becomes almost as comical as the actual song. Combined with inspired choreography, it makes for a laugh-sterical time.

The opening song on the CD is quite catchy and frivilous, which greets the kids and parents as they enter the factory. Most have compared it to a TV show theme, which is very true. Try leaving the theater without that song stuck in your head.

The rest of the CD is magical with music from the movie, and it's typical Elfman fare. It's amazing how much alike his music sounds from one movie to the next, yet each is brilliantly unique.

The first Wonka movie had it's own music, which is indelible and memorable. This movie and music is not meant to replace that classic, but to add a new chorus into an amazing story. You won't regret buying this soundtrack!

Danny Elfman is truly a genius. He is up there with the likes of John Williams and Howard Shore, in my opinion.

This album is *BRILLIANT*! Let me write a brief review of each individual lyrical song, and then an overview of the instrumental score....

1) Wonka's Welcome Song -- This song is awesome. It gives one the feeling of listening to "It's A Small World" or "Welcome to Duloc". Couple that with the visuals we've seen in the trailers, and we've got ourselves a truly disturbing, but very fun song. It's creepy, it's annoying, and it serves its purpose well! You'll have this song stuck in your head for *days* (even Tim Burton himself mentioned that he couldn't get it out of his head.)

2) Augustus Gloop -- This song will have you tapping your toes and humming along (or singing, if you know the words, like many fans of the book do). It is catchy, fun, and upbeat. Pure Bollywood. Danny Elfman provides the voice for all the Oompa-Loompas, in all of the kids' song.... But you would *never* be able to tell! It's so hard to describe how great this is!

3) Violet Beauregarde -- This one makes you think of "Kung Fu Fighting" or those Mad TV parodies of '70s cop shows with the pimp-type music, girls with afros, and bellbottom polyester pants. Danny brilliantly rearranged Dahl's words to make this song all about Violet, and it works perfectly. This one, too, will have you itching to get up and dance!

4) Veruca Salt -- I love this song. I'm a huge fan of ABBA, and you can tell Elfman was influenced by them for this song. There is one point in the song where it sounds almost *exactly* like an ABBA song (I'm blanking on which one at the moment). It's brilliant! Dahl's lyrics are put to very good use (a fishnet cut from a halibut; an oyster from an oyster stew), and makes this song seem like an ABBA-style Dr. Demento song ("Fish heads! Fish heads! Eat 'em up, yum!"). It's awesome!

5) Mike Teavee -- This one is my second favorite behind Augustus'. This one uses a wonderful mixture of '80s hair bands, then goes into an obviously Queen-influenced bit... And then it goes into a Sgt. Pepper's-era Beatles-influenced part. It is catchy and fun and just all-out great!

As for the score of the film. Well, it's just pure and brilliant Elfman all the way through.

The use of the sitar in Track 8: The Indian Palace, which is for the Prince Pondicherry scenes, immediately recalls me back to Sgt. Pepper's yet again...

Track 13: Loompa Land is very catchy and it's the kind of music for a movie that you'd want to put as the background music for a fan website or something. The River Cruise tracks and The Boat Arrives are brilliant as well; the use of the drums and Oompa-Loompa chanting really gives us a feel of them being a primitive race of people from the jungle, just like in the book!

The only small, small part I didn't like was the very end of Track 7: Wonka's First Shop, because it goes very briefly from sounding like Danny Elfman music to sounding like John Williams music. It's brief, but to me it stuck out like a sore thumb. And it isn't that I don't like Williams' music; he's another of my favorite composers, but it just didn't fit in with Elfman's score very well....

But, the entire score is just brilliant and touching and it's just great! Oh, and the End Credits are 7 minutes long and include instrumental-only versions of the Wonka Welcome Song, and the four kids' songs. It's a great way to end a perfect soundtrack!

This movie soundtrack gets 5 out of 5 stars. Danny Elfman is a genius!

Joy

I knew as soon as I heard Tim Burton was doing an adaptation of the book that is was going to be quite trippy and would very likely give Danny Elfman a chance to write some music in the style of Pee-Wee and Beetlejuice. What surprised me(and it shouldn't have)is that while it does feel like those scores, it also fits right in with Elfman's more recent music.

I was also glad that the songs don't sound like He ripped off his own songs for Nightmare Before Christmas. The Wonka Welcome Song I had obviously heard before in the trailers but I was surprised by the direction he took for the songs concerning the four nasty children. The lyrics are taken with mild alteration from the poems in Mr. Dahl's book, but Agustus Gloop sounds like a conga line, Violet's song sounds like 70's funk, Veruca's a Beatles song, and Mike TeeVee has a song that sounds like some moronic Queen song(which suits a song about television very well.)

Then we go into the score. The Main Titles sound rather nasty in a whimsical way. I absolutely enjoyed the Marketplace music during "Wheels in Motion" and then it goes into Elfman's patented "Consumer Music" that He writes so well."Loompa Land" is another standout with the zany African chant style music.

I don't know if this is an homage to the original Oompa Loompa songs from the Gene Wilder version or not but throughout the songs and the score you can hear the words Oompa Loompa being chanted in the background.

I thouroughly enjoy this CD even though I know it is not for all tastes(sorry, bad pun).

i wouldn't put this up there with edward scissorhands, but i'm not sure it's that far away either. it is a mix of oingo boingo, tiki-sounding forbidden zone moments, scissorhands/big fish fairy tale flavor, and even a dash of mars attacks! it's probably his most melodic work in years. so if you've gotten restless by elfman's recent work (more layered and chaotic), then this will be a welcome treat. i will discuss each track:

1. wonka's welcome song is great in a god-awful way. it's deranged, cheeky, and just way too happy! it's exactly what it needs to be. and it's a perfect way to open the album; will certainly frighten many unsuspecting listeners.

2. augustus gloop is the best track on the album; beyond catchy. it's a mix of over-the-top musical and oingo boingo. has a great sound: the brass and percussion sections are fantastic....something that shouldn't surprise elfman fans. (the song is slightly cut short in the film, by maybe 10-20 seconds)

3. violet beauregaurd is the weakest of the songs, but is still really fun. on the album, it's quite great....but on film, it seems inappropriate. plus it's really hard to make out some of the vocals on this one. sounds like the 'worm guy' theme from men in black 2....but with lyrics that is.

4. veruca salt is very beatles sounding.....and the juxtaposition of the sound with the lyrics is great. it's basically a song about garbage and trash.....but has the sound of a light-retro pop song. this is used beautifully in the film....but once again, it is reduced in length just a tad (in the film i mean).

5. mike teavee is probably the most bizarre/freakish. it's the most oingo boingo'ish....with a heavy metal slant. this is a really fun track....if you can stand being assaulted with this type of gonzo sound.

6. main titles is yet another amazing elfman credits sequence that somehow creates a sound that is almost impossible to describe (beetlejuice, men in black, hulk, and planet of the apes are other good examples of this). as far as i can tell, it's a mix of treatening factory pulses and gizmos, mixed with a bizarro sound of deranged vocals and weird alarm-sounding synths.....set to a constant forward momentum beat. it's mars attacks meets men in black...but even more out there!! it instills a feeling of danger....that whatever is coming, might not be safe. yet it beautifully ends with charlies theme which brings about feelings of security and warmth (very scissorhands-like). what a fantastic five minutes....bravo!! the second best track on the album.

7.wonka's first shop is light, then turns very epic. the use of the organ is very appropriate...evokes the image of dracula....and considering this is the first time we get a good look at wonka; it is oddly perfect.

8. the indian palace is a bad title. this track covers the indian palace/the factory spies/and the factory closing. the beginning needs no explanation; it fits just so. the second piece is great; it's the closest we will probably ever get to an elfman composed bond film.....very retro-spy like. the third piece gets wimsical, then extremely tragic. very scissorhands/big fish'ish.

9. wheels in motion is quite expansive. begins with the charlie theme (the use of the piano really brings in the big fish feel)....then we go into the chocolate factory theme. but not as deranged; just the basic beat......then all heck breaks loose as the world tries to find the golden tickets. this is represented musically as magical, then caotic.

10. charlie's birthday bar is a very quite, magical track. it almost feels as delicate as charlie himself. it manages to be sad and warm all at the same time. great stuff.

11. the golden ticket/factory is another really strong track....even sounds like a few tracks from batman returns. 50 seconds in, it takes flight. it makes you feel like things are progressing; that something big is happening. the second half of the track is used to build anticipation. this sounds like what would play in a child's head as he races to the christmas tree to find his presents. very awe-inspiring and magical. this track is a pretty good example of why elfman is as popular as he is.

12. chocolate explorers is surprisingly mysterious and dark....considering this is when we enter the heaven that is the chocolate room! but it somehow works. it also features a very odd appearance of the green goblin theme 1:18 minutes into the track....go figure. then we are introduced to the tiki-ish sound of the oompa loompas...sounds like humming or a kazoo.

13. loompa land is a big break in the flow, but a good one. for anyone who has listened to elfman's forbidden zone music, this should be a nice surprise. the second half gets more dramatic, but it retains its charm.

14. the boat arrives makes me think of classic hollywood epics, but as seen through elfman. really fun, but heavy-handed fun!

15. the river cruise should actually be combined with track 14....it sounds like a continuation of the same idea. in other words, more fun.....and more of that strange humming!!

16. first candy is probably the only weak track on the album. in the film, it works great. but here it doesn't really add up to much. but don't get me wrong...i'm glad it's here. it's better than getting some of these scores that are only 30 minutes long and cut out practically everything. atleast give us the choice of hearing it. thank you.

17. up and out starts out very violently; almost red dragon like. then it goes into some bizarre mars attacks territory. not neccisarily an easy listen, but it goes beautifully with the scene (the glass elevator and the mutated children).

18. the river cruse part2 is more of track 15....not a bad thing at all! but it's placement is a bit strange.

19. charlie declines sounds similar to track 10, but this time it's just sad. a beautiful piece.

20. finale is pure scissorhands magic. but that's not to say it's just same old, same old. this is probably the strongest version of the charlie/family theme. the whole piece is great, but the ending in particular has a wonderful story-book feel to it that's really as warm and cuddly as you can get without making one ill. another really strong track, and a perfect way to end the score.

21. end credit suite is an almost lyric-less version of all five songs. so if you liked the songs, you'll probably like this. and after the really sweet ending, it serves as a perfect reminder that the film you were just watching is infact.......twisted to no end.

i need a nap.....

Using Roald Dahl's original lyrics and a different musical style for each song was a stroke of genius. The only problem is that whether in the mixing or the recording the lyrics have become overpowered by the music and I had a hard time understanding them. It's a shame too since the lyrics are very clever.

As for the score, it's one of Elfman's finest mixing dark, whimsical, mysterious and fantasy elements. It reminds me a lot of his work on Batman Returns and Edward Scissorhands. The Main Titles and Loompa Land are sure to be remembered for years to come. Highly recommended for Elfman and film score fans.