Alice in Wonderland(Tim Burton, 2010)
2 Stars
Once upon a time, a young man with great vision and a twisted imagination brought to the screen some of the most wonderful fairytales of the twentieth century; the dark realms of BeetleJuice, Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood. A man who would make his mark in cinema history as one of the greatest cult directors of all time. That man was Mr Tim Burton.
I’ve always considered myself a great fan of Burton’s work, and upon hearing that he was to take on one of my favourite pieces of literature, the deliciously wicked and subtly macabre Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, my heart bubbled with anticipation. I decided to forget Burton’s recent errors; the lack lustre Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… The poor showing that was Sweeney Todd… And let's not even mention that monkey-based remake... I figured, everyone makes mistakes, and surely with his gothic airs, Burton would create a Wonderland that would truly capture Lewis Carroll’s perverse, opium addled world.
And so, having waited so very long, counting down the days no less, to see what one of my directorial heroes would do with one of my favourite books, I trekked to Kudamatsu cinema for what I was sure would be just my cup of tea.
But oh. Oh no. Tim, what the hell have you done? From the moment Alice (played with a woodeness akin to an antique ottoman by Australian actress Mia Wasikowska) falls down the infamous rabbit hole, I found myself utterly under-whelmed by Burton’s depiction of the newly named “Under”-land. It seems that not only has Burton dispensed with his trademark quirkiness, he’s also lost the ability to find a decent scriptwriter.
Let’s start with the story shall we? Well, what can I say? Remember Alice’s innocent wanderings through Wonderland and the Looking Glass Garden? Well, it seems that Burton doesn’t. Gone are the charming yet disturbing adventures of Alice and what she found there, only to be replaced by some atrocious blend of Tolkein, Pullman and CS Lewis; a completely overused and stale yarn of good versus evil, or indeed red versus white, culminating in a lack lustre dragon slaying. The lead-up to the battle is nonsensical and unexplained, leaving not only myself, but the young daughters of a friend of mine not only confused, but totally disinterested in the hypocritical outcome of the battle. Every element of wit and pun is discarded in Linda Woolverton's sub-standard script, stripping Carroll's stories to little more than an occasional nod.
And so to the cast. At first glance, Alice is an inspired collaboration of actors, each seemingly playing parts that they were born to play. Alas, with no depth, development, or indeed characterisation beyong their namesake, each one falls flat at the first hurdle. Burton staple Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands, etc) goes through the motions as the Mad Hatter, and at times is actually more annoying than anything, whilst fellow Burton-ite Helena Bonham Carter (Howard’s End, Sweeney Todd) does little more than an impression of Miranda Richardson’s Elizabeth II as the Red Queen. The fourth and final of the “star” roles is that of Anne Hathaway’s (The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted) White Queen, who in all four of her scenes manages to do nothing else but wave her hands around florally. The one saviour of the live action cast is the ever under-rated Crispin Glover (Willard, Back to the Future), who is as unnerving and neurotic as ever as the dastardly Knave of Hearts, who seems to have come a long way since stealing those tarts.
Visuals are where Burton traditionally excels, and, to give him his dues, Alice is quite stunning to watch. The CGI set is beautifully rendered, and the computer generated animals of “Under”land are pretty darn good. Alan Rickman (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Harry Potter) could have been amazing as the Caterpillar (or “Absolem” as Burton has ridiculously decided he should be known), but is given a trite few Yoda-esque crypicisms to spit out, whilst Barbara Windsor (Eastenders, Carry On…) is simply irritating as the Dormouse, who has likewise been bestowed with some stupid name.
There are two saviours in the CGI cast however; Matt Lucas (Little Britain, Shooting Stars) is a joy to watch as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, though like so many of the other inhabitants of Wonderland, is just too nice. National treasure Stephen Fry is simply delicious as the Cheshire Cat, though is let down by the cat’s cloying cuteness; a trait that both circulates through and undermines the entire venture.
Alice in Wonderland is, disappointingly, the perfect example of all show and no know; a collection of stunning visuals with no plot, characterisation, or depth to actually give it worth. Had this been an art exhibition, or perhaps just a series of portraits, it could have been one of Burton’s finest creations. Unfortunate
ly Tim, you’re meant to be a film director. And one of my favourites at that. After this shocking display of utter nonsense however, I’m starting to question whether you were actually that good to start with. I had high hopes for this one, and you’ve shattered them Burton. I’ve lost my faith entirely. Stale remakes and rehashes for over a decade now. And what’s next? The Addams Family set for 2014, undoubtedly with Depp as Gomez. Bloody hell man, you’ve really lost it.
I’ve always considered myself a great fan of Burton’s work, and upon hearing that he was to take on one of my favourite pieces of literature, the deliciously wicked and subtly macabre Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, my heart bubbled with anticipation. I decided to forget Burton’s recent errors; the lack lustre Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… The poor showing that was Sweeney Todd… And let's not even mention that monkey-based remake... I figured, everyone makes mistakes, and surely with his gothic airs, Burton would create a Wonderland that would truly capture Lewis Carroll’s perverse, opium addled world.
And so, having waited so very long, counting down the days no less, to see what one of my directorial heroes would do with one of my favourite books, I trekked to Kudamatsu cinema for what I was sure would be just my cup of tea.
But oh. Oh no. Tim, what the hell have you done? From the moment Alice (played with a woodeness akin to an antique ottoman by Australian actress Mia Wasikowska) falls down the infamous rabbit hole, I found myself utterly under-whelmed by Burton’s depiction of the newly named “Under”-land. It seems that not only has Burton dispensed with his trademark quirkiness, he’s also lost the ability to find a decent scriptwriter.
Let’s start with the story shall we? Well, what can I say? Remember Alice’s innocent wanderings through Wonderland and the Looking Glass Garden? Well, it seems that Burton doesn’t. Gone are the charming yet disturbing adventures of Alice and what she found there, only to be replaced by some atrocious blend of Tolkein, Pullman and CS Lewis; a completely overused and stale yarn of good versus evil, or indeed red versus white, culminating in a lack lustre dragon slaying. The lead-up to the battle is nonsensical and unexplained, leaving not only myself, but the young daughters of a friend of mine not only confused, but totally disinterested in the hypocritical outcome of the battle. Every element of wit and pun is discarded in Linda Woolverton's sub-standard script, stripping Carroll's stories to little more than an occasional nod.
And so to the cast. At first glance, Alice is an inspired collaboration of actors, each seemingly playing parts that they were born to play. Alas, with no depth, development, or indeed characterisation beyong their namesake, each one falls flat at the first hurdle. Burton staple Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands, etc) goes through the motions as the Mad Hatter, and at times is actually more annoying than anything, whilst fellow Burton-ite Helena Bonham Carter (Howard’s End, Sweeney Todd) does little more than an impression of Miranda Richardson’s Elizabeth II as the Red Queen. The fourth and final of the “star” roles is that of Anne Hathaway’s (The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted) White Queen, who in all four of her scenes manages to do nothing else but wave her hands around florally. The one saviour of the live action cast is the ever under-rated Crispin Glover (Willard, Back to the Future), who is as unnerving and neurotic as ever as the dastardly Knave of Hearts, who seems to have come a long way since stealing those tarts.
Visuals are where Burton traditionally excels, and, to give him his dues, Alice is quite stunning to watch. The CGI set is beautifully rendered, and the computer generated animals of “Under”land are pretty darn good. Alan Rickman (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Harry Potter) could have been amazing as the Caterpillar (or “Absolem” as Burton has ridiculously decided he should be known), but is given a trite few Yoda-esque crypicisms to spit out, whilst Barbara Windsor (Eastenders, Carry On…) is simply irritating as the Dormouse, who has likewise been bestowed with some stupid name.
There are two saviours in the CGI cast however; Matt Lucas (Little Britain, Shooting Stars) is a joy to watch as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, though like so many of the other inhabitants of Wonderland, is just too nice. National treasure Stephen Fry is simply delicious as the Cheshire Cat, though is let down by the cat’s cloying cuteness; a trait that both circulates through and undermines the entire venture.
Alice in Wonderland is, disappointingly, the perfect example of all show and no know; a collection of stunning visuals with no plot, characterisation, or depth to actually give it worth. Had this been an art exhibition, or perhaps just a series of portraits, it could have been one of Burton’s finest creations. Unfortunate
ly Tim, you’re meant to be a film director. And one of my favourites at that. After this shocking display of utter nonsense however, I’m starting to question whether you were actually that good to start with. I had high hopes for this one, and you’ve shattered them Burton. I’ve lost my faith entirely. Stale remakes and rehashes for over a decade now. And what’s next? The Addams Family set for 2014, undoubtedly with Depp as Gomez. Bloody hell man, you’ve really lost it.
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