The Rundown
Good acting and a witty script doesn't quite make up for a surprising lack of imagination in this reimagining of the classic Alice stories.
Why not try Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Big Fish
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Review by Geoff Scaplehorn
It's been too long since I read either Alice's Adventures In Wonderland or Through The Looking Glass. Both books provide content and inspiration for Tim Burton's latest odd-fest, in a move that surely annoyed all the Hollywood bigwigs who would have preferred the opportunity to make a big-budget sequel.
For those who don't just live under rocks, but who have blithely ignored nearly a hundred and fifty years of literature and pop-culture, the original story tells of a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a world made up of the random, the bizarre and the curious. It is regarded as 'nonsense fiction' – but exceedingly well-written 'nonsense fiction'.
Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland tries very hard to be nonsensical. In fact, it goes out of its way to tell you how mad it is, like that bloke in the corner of the office who is always telling you that he's really a very funny guy, if you ever meet him down the pub. Unfortunately, there's not a lot that differentiates Alice In Wonderland from other fantasy films.
That said, there's a lot to like in the film. Alice is played with dignified aplomb by Mia Wasikowska, and she is well supported by a strong, UK-centric cast of thespians. Of particular note is the Queen of Hearts (Helena Bonham Carter, taking her usual Burton role), who steals every scene she's in. The Cheshire Cat is voiced by Stephen Fry in an inspired piece of casting, and Matt Lucas seems to have been genetically engineered to play Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
There isn't a duff note amongst the performances, which are all further strengthened by a delightfully witty script. What is disappointing, however, is the fact that Wonderland feels so… normal.
A century of Alice In Wonderland on celluloid (the first film was made back in 1903) and the resulting development of the entire fantasy genre at the cinema has made talking animals and magic potions standard tropes, even for a film that goes out of its way to show you its odd credentials. It's a telling sign that one of the best scenes in the film occurs in the opening 10 minutes, before Alice even goes near the rabbit hole.
The story bears little resemblance to that from either book, which isn't in itself a surprise – indeed, it positions itself almost as a sequel to the originals. However, where the books were often little more than Alice careening between encounters, the film takes us on a definite Hollywood quest, culminating in a grand battle set, appropriately enough, on a giant chessboard. Alice ends up fighting the Jabberwocky, which turns out to be a standard dragon, with the famous Vorpal Sword, which looks more or less the same as every other fantasy sword in film.
The whole final scene reminded me of the 2005 film of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (another Disney retelling of a childhood favourite), which in turn reminded me of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Much of the film seems to be trying to rush to the point where Alice gets to don armour, and even the Queen of Hearts' playing card army are covered in plate metal. For Hollywood, it's business as usual. For Alice, there is a distinct lack of imagination.
Watching the film in 3D didn't help. Many of the 3D effects are downright distracting, and some of the action scenes (in particular the fall down the rabbit hole) looked blurry and incoherent, even on an IMAX screen.
This being a Tim Burton film, what remains is undoubtedly a fun, strange and intriguing experience, and it is clear that few people other than Burton could have made Alice In Wonderland as good as it turned out. However, like Burton's interpretation of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, much has been lost in translation from the original, and not enough has been put back in to make the film a classic. Watch at the cinema, but wait for the DVD to hit the budget rack before you buy.
For those who don't just live under rocks, but who have blithely ignored nearly a hundred and fifty years of literature and pop-culture, the original story tells of a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a world made up of the random, the bizarre and the curious. It is regarded as 'nonsense fiction' – but exceedingly well-written 'nonsense fiction'.
Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland tries very hard to be nonsensical. In fact, it goes out of its way to tell you how mad it is, like that bloke in the corner of the office who is always telling you that he's really a very funny guy, if you ever meet him down the pub. Unfortunately, there's not a lot that differentiates Alice In Wonderland from other fantasy films.
That said, there's a lot to like in the film. Alice is played with dignified aplomb by Mia Wasikowska, and she is well supported by a strong, UK-centric cast of thespians. Of particular note is the Queen of Hearts (Helena Bonham Carter, taking her usual Burton role), who steals every scene she's in. The Cheshire Cat is voiced by Stephen Fry in an inspired piece of casting, and Matt Lucas seems to have been genetically engineered to play Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
There isn't a duff note amongst the performances, which are all further strengthened by a delightfully witty script. What is disappointing, however, is the fact that Wonderland feels so… normal.
A century of Alice In Wonderland on celluloid (the first film was made back in 1903) and the resulting development of the entire fantasy genre at the cinema has made talking animals and magic potions standard tropes, even for a film that goes out of its way to show you its odd credentials. It's a telling sign that one of the best scenes in the film occurs in the opening 10 minutes, before Alice even goes near the rabbit hole.
The story bears little resemblance to that from either book, which isn't in itself a surprise – indeed, it positions itself almost as a sequel to the originals. However, where the books were often little more than Alice careening between encounters, the film takes us on a definite Hollywood quest, culminating in a grand battle set, appropriately enough, on a giant chessboard. Alice ends up fighting the Jabberwocky, which turns out to be a standard dragon, with the famous Vorpal Sword, which looks more or less the same as every other fantasy sword in film.
The whole final scene reminded me of the 2005 film of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (another Disney retelling of a childhood favourite), which in turn reminded me of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Much of the film seems to be trying to rush to the point where Alice gets to don armour, and even the Queen of Hearts' playing card army are covered in plate metal. For Hollywood, it's business as usual. For Alice, there is a distinct lack of imagination.
Watching the film in 3D didn't help. Many of the 3D effects are downright distracting, and some of the action scenes (in particular the fall down the rabbit hole) looked blurry and incoherent, even on an IMAX screen.
This being a Tim Burton film, what remains is undoubtedly a fun, strange and intriguing experience, and it is clear that few people other than Burton could have made Alice In Wonderland as good as it turned out. However, like Burton's interpretation of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, much has been lost in translation from the original, and not enough has been put back in to make the film a classic. Watch at the cinema, but wait for the DVD to hit the budget rack before you buy.
People
Directed By
Tim Burton
Written By
Linda Woolverton, Lewis Carroll
Produced By
Tim Burton, Katterli Frauenfelder, Derek Frey, Chris Lebenzon, Joe Roth, Peter M. Tobyansen, Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd, Linda Woolverton, Richard D. Zanuck
Starring
Johnny Depp,
Anne Hathaway,
Helena Bonham Carter,
Michael Sheen,
Alan Rickman,
Crispin Glover,
Mia Wasikowska,
Christopher Lee,
Stephen Fry,
Timothy Spall,