Inside the great glass elevator are JOHNNY DEPP as Willy Wonka; FREDDIE HIGHMORE as Charlie Bucket and DAVID KELLY as Grandpa Joe in Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy adventure Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. ©2005 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.

With his previous films, which include “Edward Scissorhands,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Ed Wood,” Burton has earned a reputation as a director who tells unique and heartwarming tales. Unfortunately, there’s little uniqueness in Burton’s newest release, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

The film, adapted from Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book, seems to have taken more from the 1971 Gene Wilder film, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” In fact, the first 80 minutes of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” feels like a modernized blueprint of the original film.

Freddie Highmore, who broke moviegoers hearts in “Finding Neverland,” stars as the title character, Charlie Bucket. Charlie lives with both his parents and his four grandparents in a one-room house that, from the outside, appears to be caving in. The house should be a landmark in the modern town because of its unique shape and undeniable age. And yet, for the Bucket family it’s just a run-down shack that they call home.

Charlie’s father (Noah Taylor) was recently laid off from his job at a toothpaste factory and his four grandparents share a king-size bed all day. It seems as though Charlie has little to dream about, but he does have one dream: Someday he will be able to visit Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory. His Grandpa Joe (David Kelly), who once worked for Willy Wonka, shares the same dream.

But it’s just tha—a dream. No one has been allowed to enter the chocolate factory’s gates in the past 15 years, ever since Willy Wonka shut the place down to fend off spies. And with little known about the happenings inside the factory, it appears that Charlie’s dream will never come true. That is, until one surprising day when Willy Wonka announces that the gates will be opened to five lucky children who find golden tickets in their Wonka Bars.

The only problem is that Charlie only gets one Wonka bar a year, so his odds seem next to none. However, Charlie is determined that he has as much of a chance as anyone. Whenever he obtains enough money, he rushes to the nearest grocery store with hopes of pulling out a golden ticket and, as the title suggests, Charlie does eventually win a trip inside Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

The other four children who find golden tickets are characterized similarly to their 1971 incarnations: Veruca Salt is a spoiled brat who treats her wealthy father like a magic genie with unlimited wishes. Violet is a snotty, gum-chewing champion who takes after her equally snotty mother. Mike Teavee is a know-it-all videogame addict who “mumbles” too much for Wonka’s liking. And then, there’s Augustus Gloop, the chocolate-loving heavyweight who stumbled across a golden ticket while eating one of his many chocolate meals.

One character that is very different than the previous version is Willy Wonka (this time played by Johnny Depp). Roger Ebert recently compared Depp’s Wonka to Michael Jackson, which seems like a fair comparison. Wonka, with his pale white skin, high-pitched voice and awkwardness around crowds, seems to be closely based on Jackson’s persona.

Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka was lovable, but creepy, because he was mysterious. Depp’s Wonka is creepy because he appears to be the kind of guy with whom you wouldn’t want to leave your children alone. He is troubled by childhood flashbacks that seem to suggest that he has never been loved, or in love. Wonka’s childhood flashbacks are interesting and they do provide some much-needed originality in Burton’s remake.

Perhaps Burton’s greatest achievement with “Charlie” is visible when we first enter the chocolate factory. Alex McDowell’s production design shines with glimmering, green grass and a chocolate waterfall—of which Wonka is obviously very proud.

Each scene sparkles, even if the story feels repetitive. The scenes that take place inside the chocolate factory will seem very familiar to anyone who has seen “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” We watch as the four spoiled children, one by one, are taken away because of their wrongdoings. In between each exit is a modern music number from the Oompa Loompas (each played by Deep Roy with varying amounts of makeup). The music numbers are Burton’s attempt as a music video director, but he’s only moderately successful. The musical acts feel a bit awkward and the songs are catchy at best. I much rather prefer the catchy tunes that were found in the original “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Although “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is not a bad film, I prefer nearly every quality of the magical 1971 film version over Burton’s ambitious remake. Then again, Burton’s modernization feels appropriate in the sense that the overall quality of movies seems to have diminished since reaching a creative peak in the early and mid-seventies.

There’s the old saying: “They just don’t make them like they used to.” With the recent release of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” this saying appears to be more evident than ever before.