Alice
in Wonderland
Poor Tim Burton. When his name gets attached to a film, the
expectations and the hype explode beyond the stratosphere, and you
can't live up to it every time (kind of like having a date with Megan
Fox and finding out she's a nice girl who needs to be home by 11 PM).
That's what happens with Alice in Wonderland. It's a decent
movie, but not the amazing, mindblowing, set the world on fire, change
your life and curl your toes film people expect and want.
Mia Wasikowska stars as Alice - a 19-year old girl who doesn't fit in.
She's an unconventional free spirit who questions the way things are
(good for her). Yet, her sister and her mother have taken the young
lady to a big, surprise engagement party, where the man who has been
courting her, Hamish (Leo Bill), will be popping the big question.
Unfortunately, Alice doesn't want to give him the answer men want to
hear.
When the big moment arrives, Alice runs, ends up chasing a rabbit
wearing a topcoat, and finds herself falling down a hole (sound
familiar?). Many in this weird world she has fallen into seem to know
her and expect her to be some sort of savior, but it all just feels
like a recurring dream Alice has been haunting her for the past 13
years.
Was she here before?
Has Alice returned to Wonderland?
Is it all a dream?
Is she the right Alice?
The best decision in the movie is to make Alice in Wonderland a
sequel to the tale we know. It's a sneaky way for writer Linda
Woolverton and Burton to use the familiar characters we expect to see,
while creating their own story to avoid having to recreate the scenes
audience members cherish from the first Alice in Wonderland
movie. You can't go home again. You can't beat the childhood memory,
and Burton and Woolverton acknowledge that in this version of Alice
in Wonderland.
The movie has some great qualities. Alice in Wonderland is a
film that moves at a lightning place, never boring and never leaving
the audience waiting for the next scene. Woolverton provides some funny
lines, as well as amusing scenes and reactions from the characters to
help alleviate some of the scarier and more harrowing sequences that
will have 5-year olds screaming in terror (more on that later).
However, while Alice in Wonderland always has a very dreamy
look, and interesting characters, the story feels mushy and flat. This
is a movie seeking energy, detail, depth of plot and purpose as Alice
seems to be wandering through Wonderland (or, Underland as we are
reminded several times) without much direction.
The audience is told about the prophecy, and we wonder if Alice will
believe it (of course she will), but none of it seems in question, so
the whole movie is about visually stimulating us, while we wait for the
big climax. I wanted to learn more about the Red Queen's (Helena Bonham
Carter) reign of terror (especially since Carter is so entertaining),
the life the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) lives in exile and more.
Alan Rickman is AWESOME as the Blue Caterpillar as he makes the
character a wise mentor on one hand, and a mocking know-it-all on the
other. Depp, the King of the Misfits, is very good as the goofy Mad
Hatter, and almost becomes the lead character because of his ability
(and Wasikowska's lack of charm), but he suffers as the script doesn't
give him much to do other than acting wacky and looking for small
moments to make the character more than a goofball.
This Alice in the Wonderland is not the animated version of
Alice in Wonderland you might remember from your childhood, so I would
be VERY careful about anyone over the age of 8 seeing, especially if
you see the movie close to bedtime. When the Red Queen screams, "Off
with their heads," the little ones might be a bit haunted by what
happens next.
Alice in Wonderland is rated PG for fantasy
action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a
smoking caterpillar.
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