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Alice In Wonderland Movie Review
Mainstream Hollywood is entering an era of ridiculous amounts of CGI effects and unfathomable budgets. After watching an outlandishly gaudy Avatar and Tim Burton’s atrocious animation film 9, Alice In Wonderland wasn’t so promising. But to my surprise, Alice shows that there is modest hope, not a lot, in this ill-fated generation of movies.
After an average attempt in recreating a classic with Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton tries to use his whimsical touch with a beloved Disney classic. But instead of simply remaking it, Tim Burton tells a story of his own, an addition to Lewis Carroll’s 19th century novels. In Alice In Wonderland, Alice returns to the magical world with minimal memory of actually ever visiting this place. In this second venture, Alice reunites with the Mad Hatter and friends to end the tyrannical reign of The Red Queen. On the way, Alice learns the meaning of her mysterious memories and finds out who she really is (cliche, I know).
Alice In Wonderland has some positive attributes that redeems the subject matter. Its greatest aspect is its star-studded cast, which is probably the main attraction of the film. The Mad Hatter, portrayed by Johnny Depp, is a mishmash of characters Captain Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka. As ridiculous as that sounds, he pulls it off as he does in almost every Depp-Burton collaboration. Helena Carter (The Red Queen), puts so much personality into the character, that her continuous exclamations of “Off With The Head” were not bothersome, but entertaining every time. Finally, Mia Wasikowska shows Vanity Fair correct in that she’s an Actress To Watch. Although having annoying dialogue at several parts of the film, she shows that she can act and bring life to a beloved Disney character with her realness and believability. Another great quality of the film is its soundtrack. Just as it did in films such as Batman Returns, Danny Elfman’s composition makes the audience really like they’re in an alternate world with its lovely orchestral sound. Also, the dialogue really complements the original characters as well.
Although Alice In Wonderland possesses many great qualities, there are several noticeable flaws. There are some minor blemishes in the plot that are questionable. Why is Alice without knowledge of her previous venture to Wonderland? Even in a flashback, she thinks that they are just nightmares. How does Alice keep on thinking that the whole adventure is a dream? The movie shows a lapse of about a week, is it not obvious that a dream is not this extensive? Lastly, the main flaw is the first half’s lack of magic. The first act of the movie is not colorful at all and is ultimately dull. Yes, The Red Queen’s corrupt rule has affected this world, but can it not be slightly more appealing. The visuals of this portion of the movie cannot match the vibrant world of Pandora in Avatar, leading the audience to question, where is the wonder? Not until the protagonists reach the castle of The Red Queen is it as rich as its animated original. When it reaches this point, the CGI really complements the world. Keep in mind that I did not watch the movie in 3D, so I might be incorrect. But the dullness is so apparent, I do not think a multidimensional view would make much of a difference. These are flaws that can possibly be overlooked, but the main problem is Tim Burton. Burton makes a film pleasing to the eye and senses, but it definitely doesn’t attach itself to the audience like Burton’s past films. Why can’t we connect with any of the character as we did with Edward Scissorhands? Why can’t we sympathize with The Red Queen as we did with DeVito’s Penguin? This cannot be simply shrugged off because the director every moviegoer knows as a visionary is simply conforming into Hollywood.
Overall, Alice In Wonderland is a film with more quality than other films with similar ridiculous budgets, which in all actuality is not saying too much. It definitely isn’t on par with Burton’s true great films in the way it tugs at the viewer’s emotions, but even though it has its flaws, its great cast makes it worthy of 2 hours of your weekend. Grade: C+
