Buy it... if you've been awaiting the day when Danny Elfman would trade in the electric bass for a large bass string section and return to the magic of his early works.

Avoid it... if a certain continuation of schizophrenia in Elfman's styles, especially in the inclusion of songs featuring human kazoos, leaves you waiting for another chance to hear more consistently raw emotional power from Elfman.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: (Danny Elfman) Despite Tim Burton's best intentions to once again enter the imaginative world of a child, the release of his remake of the famous Roald Dahl book happened to coincide with the spotlight of Michael Jackson's 2005 child molestation court case. And, of course, it doesn't help that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is about a reclusive adult who creates a neverland (in the form of a chocolate factory), invites select kids into his playground, and, oh yeah, seems to have the same wardrobe designer and make-up artist as Michael Jackson himself. Nearly everything about Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a success, including the faithful adaptation of the book and the spectacular visuals, and the film steamrolled to tasty financial delights for the studio. But then there was Johnny Depp, so suspiciously similar to Michael Jackson in appearance, mannerism, and setting... No matter how many times he and Burton assured audiences that his Willy Wonka was only coincidentally similar to Jackson, there remained the cloud of Jackson's own Neverland over this film for adults. Children likely wouldn't care, for the film tackles Dahl's material in the same general, enticing musical form as the 1971 Gene Wilder film adaption of the book. The collaboration between Tim Burton and Danny Elfman has now spanned three decades and nearly a dozen films, and there is no doubt in any critic's mind that these two men are operating on the same creative wavelength. Both men enjoy portrayals of reclusive, alienated, or otherwise troubled characters in abnormally colorful and outlandish surroundings, and Wonka's world is well served by both. Elfman roots the musical center of his score and songs in the Oompa Loompas, the freaky army of workers loyal to Wonka's operations, and when not producing chocolate, these little guys seem to have been studying Hollywood musicals in their free time. It is their songs that open the album, and their jungle-like music that occupies the flair in the albums' latter half.

The opening song on the album, written originally for a trailer to the film, is a "happy worker" Pee Wee-inspired piece that, if not for the elf-like manipulation of multiple Elfman voices, would remind of the "be happy" music from THX 1138 (now there's a creepy thought). The following four songs represent the four children who are to be punished by Wonka throughout the tour, and as they are performed in rock band numbers by the Oompa Loompas, these songs also feature Elfman as the sole performer. The structure of the songs varies appropriately for each character's flaws, from the big band number for the gluttonous kid, the Bohemian rhapsody for the video gamer, and modern street-cool dance piece for the competitive gum-chewer, to the overly simplistic chord progressions of the ballad for the spoiled brat. Since the Oompa Loompas are played by the same actor and therefore should have multiple performances of the same voice in various counterpoints, Elfman's performances all exist in the same sort of whiny pitch that is best described as a "human kazoo." While necessary, the most unfortunate aspect of these performances is the fact that we never hear Elfman's fantastic natural singing voice, and the human kazoo effect is extremely annoying at times. Thus, however clever the songs are in structure, the vocal performances cause them to become unbearable in pitch. Using such songs as an accent piece, as was the case in Flubber, can work wonders with Elfman's score material, but in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the songs traverse far too close to the poppy Spy Kids culture of cross-genre wildness that detracts from the score. Then again, as needs be mentioned with both this score and Corpse Bride later in 2005, an admiration of Elfman's talents is a basic given in these projects. In this film, it is the score that will keep his fans more entertained than the genre-busting songs. Any opportunity for Elfman to score a film that contains a sense of magic is an opportunity not to be missed.

In his score material for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Elfman's fans will not be disappointed. Even without the lengthy expressions of raw emotional power that made scores like Edward Scissorhands such an attraction, this music is a fine work of execution that contains just enough harmony to hold the interest of even casual Elfman collectors. His title theme for the factory is robust, appearing several times throughout the large-scale orchestral score. In the titles, the theme is unfortunately partially blocked out by the electronics, kazoo vocals, regular vocals, and light percussive tinglings used as counterpoint (perhaps a few more horns would have helped), but subsequent performances are a little more transparent. After delving into the musical worlds of East India (the sitar in "The Indian Palace" stands out) and the jungle drum rhythms of the Loompas (in which these guys really do sound like stereotypical island natives, complete with clanging metals while they're rowing on the river), Elfman reduces the use of slurring electronics and the electric bass in favor of straight forward orchestral action in the latter half. The second "River Cruise" cue has distinct rhythmic elements from Jerry Goldsmith's work, and don't be surprised if the strings in this cue remind you of The 'Burbs. A new technique for Elfman is the slurring of his electronics in "Chocolate Explorers," a move that adds a seemingly appropriate edge of mechanical mystery to the proceedings. The magical high-range chorus is combined with factory rhythms of deep brass and snare to often form outstanding crescendos of harmony rarely heard in recent Elfman scores. The finale cue may not feature Elfman's best culmination of emotional power --Family Man still proves superior in this area-- and a few of the chord progressions are remarkably similar, but the tenderness is neatly satisfying. The end credits feature the instrumental backgrounds for the five songs at the start in snapshot succession, with an abrupt stop and a giggle at the end.

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Overall, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a very strong effort from Elfman, with an increase of quality as the album progresses. His niche in this fantasy genre has never been more strongly affirmed, and further collaborations with Burton should be eagerly anticipated. Still, there are several flaws, including Elfman's continuing loss of the ability to present his schizophrenic styles in convincing fashion to the older score collectors, with perhaps his replacement of bass strings with an electric bass serving as the symbolic divider (when he does use deep bass strings in this score, it begins to flourish). The electric bass for Elfman sounds best for projects of modern funk like Men in Black and sucks some of the magic out of cues when used in the more classical applications of fantasy. Both are used here, but the bass strings take over for all the pertinent, fully orchestral statements of theme. Because of the mechanical nature of the factory, the score is once again a rhythmically driven affair, leaving the long strokes of heartbreaking themes waiting for another day. Both "Charlie Declines" and "Finale" go through all the motions of Elfman's preparations for a massive crescendo of theme, including tingling piano, bells, and plucked strings, but they never transcend to the levels his fans want to hear. Additionally, despite the technical ingenuity, the songs are a difficult listen, and they present some big unanswered questions. For instance, where's Charlie's song? Certainly, his character would be right up the alley for a softer song of lament that Elfman loves to write. Doesn't this seem like a major omission? Also, why aren't the themes from these songs more clearly evident during the character-specific moments in the underscore? The connection between songs and score is weak at best. Don't let the advertisements of the songs fool you... In the case of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it's the substance of the underscore that carries all the weight when the music is separated from the film.

Music as Written for Film: ****
Score as Heard on Album: ****
Songs as Heard on Album: **
Overall: ***

Bias Check:

For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.14 (in 42 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.28 (in 93,536 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.