Who imitated Willy Wonka first, Jackson or Depp?(Preview)

Byline: ROGER EBERT Universal Press Syndicate

Q: I keep hearing that Johnny Depp based his performance as Willy Wonka on Michael Jackson. I think everyone is looking through the wrong end of the telescope. It has seemed to me for years that Michael Jackson at some point decided, perhaps unconsciously, to become Willy Wonka. It should be no surprise then if Mr. Depp evokes the character Michael Jackson has become.

- Seth Derrick, Phoenix

A: The strange thing about "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is the way Depp's performance seems to exist in a world of its own while the film succeeds despite him. Depp is so consistently good that this …