Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Air on ABC December 22  12/9/08

ENJOY THE 'SWEET' HUMOR AND MEMORABLE CHARACTERS OF "CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY," STARRING JOHNNY DEPP, FREDDIE HIGHMORE, DAVID KELLY AND HELENA BONHAM CARTER, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 ON ABC

Tim Burton brings his unique screen style to the children's favorite, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," airing as the "ABC Monday Movie of the Week," DECEMBER 22 (8:30-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (Rebroadcast. OAD 2/9/08)

In the delightfully imaginative film, eccentric candy manufacturer Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) has announced a contest in which five lucky winners of golden tickets hidden in Wonka Bars will be taken on a tour of the Wonka Factory. Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) finds the last golden ticket, and chooses to bring his Grandpa Joe (David Kelly) to the factory, while the other four spoilt children bring their parents. The golden ticket winners and company are taken on a magical tour of the factory, complete with yummy candy, edible grass, chocolate waterfalls and Oompa-Loompas. Charlie watches the other children abuse Willy Wonka's inventions, with unfortunate consequences for them, so that by the end of the tour, he's the only one left and is awarded the ultimate prize -- keys to the Wonka Factory.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" stars Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd," "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, "Finding Neverland") as Willy Wonka, Freddie Highmore ("Finding Neverland," "August Rush," "The Golden Compass") as Charlie Bucket, David Kelly ("Waking Ned") as Grandpa Joe, Helena Bonham Carter ("Sweeney Todd," "Planet of the Apes," "The Wings of the Dove") as Mrs. Bucket, Noah Taylor ("The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," "Almost Famous," "Shine") as Mr. Bucket, Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde, James Fox as Mr. Salt, Deep Roy as Oompa Loompa, Christopher Lee as Dr. Wonka, Adam Godley as Mr. Teavee, Franziska Troegner as Mrs. Gloop, Anna Sophia Robb as Violet Beauregarde, Julia Winter as Veruca Salt, Jordan Fry as Mike Teavee and Phillip Wiegratz as Augustus Gloop.

The film, released in 2005, was directed by Tim Burton and is based on Roald Dahl's book of the same name. It was nominated for an Academy Award, as well as being nominated for 31 other film awards, winning seven. The screenplay was written by John August. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a production of Warner Bros. Pictures.

"CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY" IN HDTV: The ABC Television Network's HDTV broadcast of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" will air in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-Channel Surround Sound and in Spanish audio via SAP. This program carries a TV-PG,V parental guideline.

Source: ABC Press Release