Has director, Tim Burton (‘Sweeny Todd’, ‘Corpse Bride’) finally lost his magic touch. Normally I sit in a cinema absolutely captivated by his work but with ‘Alice In Wonderland’ it really did feel like Burton had missed his mark… in fact I left the cinema severely disappointed. As I child I loved Lewis Carroll’s ‘Wonderland’ tales, so when I heard that Burton was directing a new adaption I was excited with the thought of his dark vision would do… possibly breathe a brand new life into this series… but oh how wrong was I?
Burton’s adaption picks up 13 years after Alice’s first trip to Wonderland (now titled ‘Underland’ in this adaption). Now Alice (Mia Wasikowska – ‘The Kids Are Alright’, ‘Amelia’) finds herself the target of a painful suitor, Hamish (Leo Bill – ‘Me And Orson Welles’, TV’S ‘Ashes To Ashes’), but just as he lands his big question Alice spots the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen – ‘Unthinkable’, ‘Twilight: New Moon’) who once again leads her to Wonderland (Underland). Her she finds herself reunited with old friends such as Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman – ‘Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince’, ‘Bottleshock’), The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp – ‘Public Enemies’, ‘The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus’), The March Hare (Paul Whitehouse – ‘TV’S ‘Bellamy’s People’ & ‘Home & Corden’), The Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry – ‘House Of Boys’, TV’S ‘Bones’), Tweedledee & Tweedledum (Matt Lucas – ‘Astro Boy’, TV’S ‘Little Britain’) and her enemy The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter – ‘Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince’, ‘Terminator Salvation’). Once again Alice must team with her friends and try to dethrone The Red Queen so The White Queen (Anne Hathaway – ‘Valentine’s Day’, ‘Bride Wars’) can take over before it is off with all their heads.
As a 3D film ‘Alice In Wonderland’ looks amazing. Burton is a good enough director not to use 3D as a gimmick, so don’t expect to see ‘things’ jump out of the screen at you in a bid to get a cheap scare here and there. No the canvas Burton has set looks amazing but unfortunately the script is a serious let down. Early on the story works but it soon turns into yet another ‘battle film’, coming across as a poor man’s imitation of ‘The Chronicles Of Narnia’. To do Lewis Carroll’s memory any justice this film needed a more intelligent ending than just a battle.
Acting-wise ‘Alice In Wonderland’ is brilliantly cast. Mia Wasikowska shines as Alice but she is not handed the respect she deserves as she is down-graded in the credits to somewhere below actors doing cameos. She certainly deserves more as she is impressive in this breakout role and matches it with the performance of Depp who is a star in a role he was born to play.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment with ‘Alice In Wonderland’ though is the fact that Burton never quite makes this film as dark as the audience hopes he would. Sadly while beautiful to look at ‘Alice In Wonderland’s’ script just doesn’t do the story any justice. Okay but can disappoint!
Year: 2010
Director: Tim Burton
Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Leo Bill, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Johnny Depp, Paul Whitehouse, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway
Classification: PG
Runtime: 108 mins
Rating: 