Case Study 4: Film Magazine: Charlie and the chocolate factory

'Grab your golden ticket'

From one quick look at this magazine cover it was clear that it was to promote Charlie and the chocolate factory and the actor who plays him Johnny Depp. The character or Willy Wonka is very distinct in this magazine cover and is easily identifiable. This is by the colours he is wearing and the costume that he is dressed in. The colour purple is very popular within the film of Charlie and the chocolate factory and the fact that his eyes are shown to be purple shows intensity within the magazine cover and draws you in. As this is a remake of the film which was originally called 'Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory'. The film was filmed and released in the 70's during the Vietnam war under the name of 'Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory' rather than 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' and during this time 'Charlie' was a code name when radioing through to soliders so it was thought that if the film was released under the name 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' then people may have thought that they were promoting communism.

'Grab your golden ticket, JOHNNY DEPP IS WILLY WONKA'

Throughout the film a golden ticket is very important to the plot. So the audience of this magazine will immiediatly associate the theme of having a golden ticket to the film of Willy Wonka. Also having the words JOHNNY DEPP IS WILLY WONKA, helps the audience to recognise who infact plays Willy Wonka. As Johnny Depp is a huge film star he is easily recognisable. In the 1971 version of this film, huge actor Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka.

2005 Version



1971 Version



The colour on this film magazine are not as shocking and dont stand out as much as they should. The film Charlie and the chocolate factory itself is very colourful and action packed. So the fact that this film cover as just a small range of colours, most being white or dull doesnt do much justice for the promotion of the film within this magazine cover. This is very different to the film poster for this movie. The film poster is extremely colourful with a range of colours blending in together to equal to a very distinct aray of colour and detail. This magazine is similar in colour and lack of detail to that of the film poster for the 1971 version of this film. The 1971 film poster is very bland with little range of colour meaning that it doesnt stand out and will not necessarily catch an audiences eye straight away. This being in complete contrast to the film poster of the 2005 version.

This film magazine front cover also promotes other films and have competitive titles such as 'Ultimate Summer Preview' and 'Every new film and dvd reviewed'. When looking at a range of film magazine and deciding which one to choose to buy, having strong words such as 'Ultimate' and 'Every' will be more persuasive than words such as 'good' or 'some'.