YouTube Goodness

[ShyViolet]

Always knew Emo Peter Parker was tougher than he seemed!

https://youtu.be/jrzx_CMmTkc

[Ben]

Love the Resident Chump thing! Whatever you think of the man himself, that was a meticulously cut clip.

[Daniel]

Yes, and better than an earlier attempt that had him mostly say "China" repeatedly.

[Ben]

To be fair, no one says Chynah like Chump does.

[Daniel]

You got me there.

[EricJ]

The new heir-apparent to Mark Hamill/Joker Trump-tweet videos?: "Capitol Insurrection: the Musical" videos.

[ShyViolet]

The openings of both Willy Wonka films. I prefer Burton's, (and not for its "darkness", but its wildly imaginative conception) but both are pretty cool!

[Daniel]

Original for me. The music and simplicity have a certain charm.

[ShyViolet]

“Pure Imagination” is certainly a beautiful song.

[Dacey]

I not only think the Burton opening is better, I think the Burton film is better.

Come and get me.

[Ben]

Oh, Dace...

And it was so nice having you on staff...

[Daniel]

Don't hear that very often! Had you seen the original before the remake?

[Dacey]

I watched both of them the same year. Though it's possible I watched some of the original when I was very little? Maybe? I guess I don't have the full "nostalgia" factor for the original (which is wonderful, of course) that many bring to it when comparing the two, in that I didn't grow up with it.

And I do love both films, so I'm not trying to make it into a battle or anything like that. But in the Burton version, I feel like I'm entering another world, as though I'm exploring a magical chocolate factory that very few are allowed to enter. The Wilder version (and I'm not saying this as a bad thing) has pretty schlocky production values by comparison, and since it comes from the era of "somewhat budgeted" cinema from the 70s, it sort of looks more like a TV show than a movie. Money and effects limitations also prevented a proper ending for the naughty children that proves they aren't dead, and heck, I even think the Christopher Lee backstory for Wonka works in a pure Burton kind of way, and helps give the story a more satisfying emotional conclusion than the original (which ends abruptly by comparison).

It also helps when Grandpa Joe actually comes across as a 90+ year old, as opposed to a man in his mid-50s who's too lazy to bother to get up. Again, that's part of the charm of the original. But it is another factor that makes 2005 one "better" for me (and haters gonna hate, but I think Depp is fantastic).

There. I've made my defense. Do I get to keep my staff privileges now?

[EricJ]

Burton's movie has created the movie term of "Chocolate Factory Syndrome"--
You know, when a remake claims it's going to be "closer to the original", this time, all the director's fanboys start defending their geek-anticipation by demonizing the icky original as bad and wrong and nothing like what a proper version of the source material "should" be, and the director ultimately just can't see the basic forest for the newly-replanted trees?
Suuure, Tim, that's what you said about Planet of the Apes...

Anyway, the comparisons have already been covered:

[Dacey]

Not sure if Doug Walker is necessarily the best go-to for a counter-argument these days...

But then again, I’m also not sure where are all of these rabid Tim Burton fans “bad mouthing the original” you speak of are...