Article by: Tom Logan
From the previews of Tim Burton’s newest film, Alice in Wonderland (2010, Walt Disney Pictures) looked like another Tim Burton movie that would appeal to the females who shop at Hot Topic and squeal over how cool Johnny Depp is. Thankfully, this particular movie isn’t that case. While advertisements gave the impression that Johnny Depp was the star in Alice in Wonderland (despite lacking the qualifications to play the titular character) the film itself was actually about the story of Alice and not Johnny Depp.
The story supposedly takes place years after the original Disney animated version of Alice in Wonderland (1951, Walt Disney Pictures). Alice is now a nineteen-year-old woman who is facing life after the death of her father, as well as the pressure of living in a Victorian-era aristocracy. Alice once again falls down the rabbit hole to a much darker Wonderland than the 1950’s animated version. Wonderland is said to be suffering under the reign of the Red Queen, (whom many will remember as the Queen of Hearts from the animated version,) and it’s up to Alice to restore order to the land.
Since the film is supposed to be a sequel to the 1950’s animated version, it’s based off the novel Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. The film makes use of some of the elements from the novel. Creatures such as the Jabberwocky, a large dragon in service to the Red Queen, and the Bandersnatch, a large tiger-like monster, are present in the film. Characters such as The White Queen, the Red Queen’s sister/rival, and The Knave of Hearts, The Red Queen’s personal assassin/general/lover also make an appearance. The film even imports the novel’s theme of chess when the characters meet on a giant chessboard for the climax of the film. Granted these characters may not be quite faithful adaptations to their literary counterparts, but then again this movie is more or less based off the lore of the story as well as the 1950’s animated film.
The 3D aspect of the film seemed interesting at first, but in reality, the 3D scenes weren’t really present at all throughout the entire movie. The film could’ve been a 2-D feature and it wouldn’t have been any different. The CGI animation was impressive, but compared to movies like Avatar (2009, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) it wasn’t exactly spectacular. While this film did keep Alice as the main character, it doesn’t mean that Tim Burton didn’t try his best to keep Johnny Depp in the spotlight for as much as possible, which is sad because Depp wasn’t the only good actor in the film. Alan Rickman did a spectacular job playing Absalom, the hookah-smoking caterpillar, yet he only had a few lines in the entire movie. Another problem with the film is that Depp can’t seem to pick an accent. One minute he’s speaking in his typical English accent, and the next he’s gone Scottish. It’s not a big deal, but a little consistency would’ve been nice. Seeing as how Depp plays the Mad Hatter, a crazy person, it’s somewhat forgivable.
In the end, this movie is mostly well written, had a decent plot, had impressive visuals, and a few enjoyable moments. Fans of the 1950’s Alice in Wonderland will probably get some enjoyment from the movie and perhaps a sense of nostalgia. Tim Burton fans will most definitely love this movie, as well as Johnny Depp fans. The only people who probably wouldn’t enjoy this movie would have to be die-hard fans of the Lewis Carroll novels. While Alice and Wonderland isn’t exactly a must-see film, it is nevertheless an enjoyable one.
