¶ … Charlie and the Chocolate Factory For many fans, there are few things that entertain and inspire as much as those films that include Johnny Depp. Each of his characters portray unique, and often bizarre qualities that never fail to make fans come back for more. In "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Depp portrays Willy Wonka, the somewhat eccentric owner of a chocolate factor. While Willy Wonka is definitely one of the stranger characters in the film, there is no shortage of these, including the "Oompa Loompas" and at least four of the five children with somewhat exaggerated traits who visit the factory with Charlie. Through the elements of the bizarre, the film demonstrates the value of family love and the importance of respect to obtain what one wants in life.

The film begins with a narrative voice over introducing the audience to Charlie Bucket, who is so poor that his family hardly has something to eat. However, Charlie is also extraordinarily lucky, because he is one of five children who find a golden ticket in a Willy Wonka chocolate slab. These tickets gain the children and the parents who accompany them access to a tour of the chocolate factory. After the somewhat bizarre elimination of the four children besides Charlie, Wonka informs him that he is the "least horrible" of them and therefore deserves to become Willie's heir. When Charlie hears that this privilege comes with the loss of his family, he refuses. Wonka returns to his factory, but finds himself unhappy and unable to function until he seeks out Charlie again. Once Willy makes peace with his father, he becomes good friends with the Bucket family, and Charlie does inherit the factory after all.

One of the important elements in the film is love as experienced within the family unit, which is presented in its ideal form for Charlie's family. Charlie Bucket lives with his parents and four bedridden grandparents. The narrator points out that, although they are sometimes so poor that they have little but some watery soup to eat on a day-to-day basis, they love each other, and that is a treasure beyond any other treasure in the world. This love is also what drives Charlie's family to make whatever sacrifices necessary, first to ensure that he will get a golden ticket and then to make sure that he can visit the chocolate factory. There is nothing they will not do for him, and he accepts these displays of love in material form with grace and gratitude. When...

Finally, Charlie shows how important this love is to him by refusing ownership of the chocolate factory. Despite Charlie's refusal, the family begins to prosper after his return from the trip.
Willy Wonka, on the other hand, has no sense of the importance of love within the family, since he leaves his home at a young age due to a misunderstanding with his father about creativity. After he witnesses the obvious affection in Charlie's family, Willy begins to feel that something is missing in his life. Ultimately, Charlie helps him to realize that family love is a vastly sustaining force; something that can make one feel better, no matter what the external circumstances are. This is also the basis for the Bucket family's sustained happiness, regardless of poverty or riches. It is only when Willy reconciles with his father that he finds himself "feeling better."

In the culmination of this concept, then, Willy and Charlie's family become good friends, and Charlie is finally able to accept Willy's offer, since his family is now allowed to be with him at the factory. By accepting that family and the love that sustains the family unit are forces that can sustain great joy, Willy is able to fulfill his mission of finding an heir for his factory.

Respect is another important factor in the film, and also a component of success. Again, Charlie's sense of respect is directly connected to his love for his family. He has a clear sense of both love and respect for his parents and grandparents, which is clear as he interacts with his grandfather during their chocolate factory tour. He also shows respect by accepting what his family is willing to sacrifice for his happiness. The only sacrifice his is unwilling to let them make is leaving him to become successful alone.

Willy himself also has a very specific sense of respect. All the children besides Charlie show some sort of disrespect towards him. One of the worst is Mike Teavee, the little TV addict, who blatantly accuses Willy of "knowing nothing." His reward is being teleported to a television set, which requires the taffy stretcher to return him…