Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland (2010)
An enjoyable film although several improvements could have been made
Photo: Walt Disney Pictures
It's Tim Burton so you immediately expect scraggly trees, muted colors, a circus inspired, yet ominous score by Danny Elfman, and stars Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp. You also realize the film is going to be something that makes sure these common elements have a world to inhabit and what better source material than Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"? No doubt Burton finds the stories to fit his sensibilities, but he still has to do something with it to make it worth our time, and I would argue he has, but with a few caveats along the way.
With Alice in Wonderland Burton hasn't done anything that will blow you away, but I will say he's made a perfectly entertaining film. There are missed opportunities that could have taken it over the top, but at the same time there are some things that I really liked.
The cast includes Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas, Johnny Depp, Michael Sheen, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Christopher Lee, Stephen Fry, Marton Csokas, Tim Pigott-Smith, Lindsay Duncan, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Leo Bill, Lucy Davenport and Geraldine James. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Alice in Wonderland" is a Walt Disney Pictures release, directed by Tim Burton and is rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar. The running time is 1 hour 49 minutes.
All the characters we already recognize are here; the Mad Hatter (Depp), the Red Queen (Bonham Carter), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (both played by Matt Lucas), the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman). Crispin Glover plays the Red Queen's right hand man, the Knave of Hearts, and Anne Hathaway flounces around as the White Queen who's in a bitter battle with the Red Queen (also her sister) for what is referred to as Underland.
Alice in Wonderland is reliant on these characters in order for it to work, and all of them do, but most only work on the most basic of levels. Some exceed expectations, such as Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, the absolute best part of the film without question. Sporting a bulbous head, she calls for Tweedledee and Tweedledum, referring to them as her "fat boys" and orders them to speak to one another. "Amuse us," she says while resting her weary feet on the belly of a pig serving as a foot stool. Johnny Depp, on the other hand, looks as crazy as they come as the Mad Hatter, but the character's motivations are unclear and his purpose in the film only seems to be because the story calls for the Mad Hatter and Burton reserves the highest of profile positions for his longtime collaborator.
Also disappointingly bland is the Cheshire Cat. Stephen Fry's voice fits, the large grin is perfect and the animation is spot on, but considering the fact the Mad Hatter's insanity is somewhat muted I at least hoped the Cheshire Cat would add a little bit of mischief, if not a dose of black comedy. The fact both the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat missed the mark is disappointing. At least when Alan Rickman, as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar, referred to Alice as a "stupid girl" it added a little more of what the film needed and Bonham Carter seemed to be the only other one meeting the demand.
Mia Wasikowska plays Alice, and outside of a few small roles up to this point, this is the native Australian's break out role. She does nothing to overly impress, but also does nothing to have me questioning her talents. She said her name was Alice and I was convinced of that, not much more. Then again, Alice's importance to this story is to get us from one wacky character/situation to the next. She's a gateway into Underland and in that respect she satisfies.
While much of what I'm saying may sound bad, it's not. It's wishful thinking that would turn a film I enjoyed into something much better. As far as what Burton has delivered goes, I had a good time. At 109 minutes I was never bored or looking at my watch, although I could have done with a much better ending than what basically boiled down to a Narnia-esque climax that pretty much put the entire narrative into question.
However, I guess offbeat additions to the story, and questioned motivations could be looked at as fitting for a story that is supposed to be the square peg forced into a round hole. But, to steal a line from the Mad Hatter, this film falls short on "muchness." It could have been "much muchier".
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hey i love your reviews could u please tell me how the cgi and 3D was in the film? if u mentioned that allready i guess i missed it but id like to know
The CGI and everything is blended incredibly well, and the 3D, like Avatar, only adds more depth to the film, it never distracts.
I really enjoyed the movie, and agree on some points, but there are also a few points you failed to mention, such as the metaphors that were always included in Lewis Carroll's stories, which Linda Woolverton so greatly and subtly added into the film as well. I won't state those here because it's best to see and recognize them on your own, which is what makes the viewer think while they are watching the movie and even afterward.
Another point was that Anne Hathaway, though I usually like her, confused me a bit in why she felt she needed to put on that strange "princess" facade. She broke away from it for a minute when the dog, Bayard, appeared before her (done very well by Timothy Spall, who is also becoming a new regular for Tim Burton) and I liked her version of the character THERE then I did anywhere else
Also, the small cameo by Christopher Lee was pretty amazing as well, and though it was only 2 and a half lines, it worked great.
I enjoyed the movie too. I would give it a 7.5/10. I noticed a lot of subtle plot points like dream the impossible even when you think it's impossible, or do what's in your heart and have the courage to follow your own choices. I was glad these were delivered with such subtlety because it would've been moot when hit over the head with like in Avatar.
When I left the theater, I felt Depp gave a great performance and I really liked his odd but courageous character, and Glover's intensity was great too. Wasikowska, I think, portrayed a wondrous, bright, motivated, and curious girl very well. I didn't really agree with the strange take home reality message of trade with other lands (maybe it was that do what everyone has deemed impossible because it is your dream). But I agree with you, Brady, that I wasn't moved by the performances that much. I just had a lot of food for thought after the movie. What other subtleties did you notice?
By the way, I do not know how this film received a PG rating. There were some violent parts and threats of violence. This rating is living proof of how the studios are in bed with MPAA and how they'll pretty much get the rating they want.
I thought that the movie could have been better. There was to much "action" in the movie. When i went to go watch the movie, i thought it was going to be like "goody goody too shoes". I did not know it was going to have a bunch of action. I dont like action movies and i think they shouldnt have made the movie PG. It should have been like PG 13. If i where the person that made the grade for the movie… I would have given it a C. I did not think it was all that good. It was like she cut off the dragons head! I mean who puts that in a PG movie??? I defenitally would NOT have.
I enjoyed your review and totally agree with it. I enjoyed the movie and was entertained the whole time but I was also a bit disappointed with the missed opportunities. I loved the scenes of wonderland/underland but I never found myself being 'carried away' or drawn into the movie where time gets lost. I was disappointed that several characters never made an appearance such as the Duchess however was glad to see the caterpillar. I enjoyed the cheshire cat and agree there was much more potential there. All and all I wish the move would have had more intensity and complexity to the story. As you say, could have so much more muchier.
I watched this movie last night and boy was I disappointed. Firstly, this movie is obviously aimed at children and family demographics only, I was hoping it would hit a few more demographics considering this is Tim Burton.
The whole movie in essence reminded me of Narnia, just better shot and with better acting. It was awfully predictable, and Johnny Depp added nothing to the movie.
i dont think there was anything wrong with the film at all!!!!!!!!!!!! it may not be as good as some of the other movies Tim Burton has done, but it's still better than any other movie. i think you should have said more about the completely awesome music, too! Danny Elfman is pure genious!!!!!!! ahh love danny elfman <3 !!!
Sadly to comment on this, But after the long hyped-up wait for months, Alice was truly not what we had expected! Even sadder was Johnny's character…Paying extra for it to be shown at an IMAX that was a waste of money. The people sitting around us were getting restless toward the middle of it and once it was over…IT WAS TRULY OVER! No great fanfair…just people rushing to exit! The Hallmark version on tv was by far the better version. Some movies are better left alone without making a revisit to them at a later time and place! I saw nothing "awesome" about this movie. The best parts of the movie were definitely in the trailer.
You're right, it could've been much muchier. Depp was the same as ever, nothing new there. The whole thing was very predictable and even a little boring for me. Burton should do something totally different next. And hire someone else.
burton's gonna be doing dark shadows…that's a movie i cant wait for….not out til 2011 though. =[
Women will be all over a Dark Shawdows movie. My sisters used to be addicted to it.
The phrase the movie could've been "much muchier" resonates in my head everytime i consider buying the movie once it comes out on dvd. Let me review how I liked the movie?
Storyline:
Spoilers (the story goes like this)
In general posh young alice goes through a rite of passage and becomes a punk-rebel independent woman, funny looking characters guide alice in her venture.
Story starts here: society and normal are boring and dull so, alice falls down the rabbit hole and finds wonders untold. Characters that are not mad but with a clear-mind and purpose ask alice are you, alice or not? later we meet the fast-talking sad hatter who likes to make hats and helps alice because he does. Alice is told she is to bring the fall of the amusing and ill-treated "evil" red-queen. Finally, we have a clash of battle of all battles in which good triumphs over evil. The end.
Characters:
I have nothing to say about what they added to the story because (red-queen aside) they didn't, they were just there because well, it says on the story they had to be.
Bonham carter's contibution to the film:
I must mention that helena bonham carter brought a new air and dimension to the red-queen. Her amusing lines along with well timed facial expressions made her performance a joy. When everything else in Alice was boring, bonham carter kept me awake. She was definetly worth the movie ticket.
Depp' contribution to the film:
Seeing Deep as the "mad hatter"(he seemed very sane to me if only a bit depressed at times). Also, his characterization of the hatter was like watching a recycle and mesh together of other parts of previously acted characters. Angry hatter seemed like Jack sparrow, squimish hatter was most definetly Willy wonka and sad hatter was edward scissorhands. In short I saw everything except an original character, except madness, except the mad hatter.
I always feared that Johnny may run out of faces(I mean: Johnny's original and innovative ways of interpreting/creating a character). But, what I fear most is that, that day has come and gone in this movie. Though, I hope that this was only a glitch in a series of remarkable performances done by Depp and thay he proves me wrong in his next film.
CGI:
As if the story was not bad enough, we have a production that was rushed to 3D when it was intended to be for 2D. This is obvious seeing how the movie's depth and breath are as outstanding as that of a pop-up book.
Burton's contribution to the film:
Other than the black sky and the contentment for all things "proper and normal" it looks like someone inspired by Burton worked in the rest of the film not him. He wouldn't create something so predictable…right? think again.
Elfman's contribution to the film:
We have heard it all before, its like a dj playing the same songs with a different mix.
Granted, I am a huge admirer of Burton, Depp, and Elfman so perhaps my look at their performaces was more closely than that of the average movie-goer. but, to me their combination of talents has lost its muchness and I truly believe they are all better off working with other people. Perhaps, then they will surprise us again.
I like the subtleties in the story as well, like the line by the white queen about her sister choosing to study controling creatures, ostensibly about the Jabberwocky, but clearly about her subjects. The trade with other lands things, I think, was supposed to be a metaphor for following your heart, and letting your life be an adventure. If part of the movie is falling flat with people, it could be partly because they are not getting the metaphors. It's like not getting the inside jokes in spoofs. I didn't get the whole catepiller thing, for example. I suppose the Wonderland experience helps Alice regain her muchness, and grow figurative wings, but I suppose I'll have to rent/buy the DVD to get the catepiller dialog. I know it was about her muchness coming to the fore. It must be that the gravity with which Alan Rickman spoke led me to expect more.
In the end, I came away with a couple of good memories, and a couple of good quotes from Alice. Which means the film was a success for me.
I just thought it was really bland and predictable.
And I hated the Mad Hatter's solo breakdance session at the end. Completely out of tune with the rest of the movie, it just made me feel embarrassed for him.
PLUS Danny Elfman's soundtrack was on a nonstop loop through the entire movie, be it an action scene a calm scene whatever, that whimsical lalala was belching out so much I was getting a headache.