Alice in Wonderland is an
American live action, animated and fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by Linda Woolverton. Released by Walt Disney Pictures and the film stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh with Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. The
story is inspired by the English author Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass.
Wasikowska plays a nineteen-year-old Alice.
She is told that she can restore the White Queen to
her throne because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature that is controlled by
the Red Queen and
terrorizes Wonderland's inhabitants.
Years after her adventures in Wonderland have
become a dimly-remembered dream. We should thank Tim Burton for his Alice
in Wonderland, for it does one thing extraordinarily well: It reminds us
that James Cameron really did achieve something new and surprising with his
new Avatar.
Visually the certainty that the two imaginative fabulists
artist were made for each other is, to a great extent, realized exquisitely,
with spectacular 3D, a haunting design for Wonderland, a seamless meeting
of live action with animation, and a great deal of offbeat,
twisted charm in the whole movie. It is in the story -- which is not an
adaptation of Alice Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass but
really a kind of sequel that reflects both and constitutes the characters from both.
Woolverton’s theme is Alice becoming a woman and finding her destiny, with a little help from socio-political allegory and the most eclectic cinematic band of guerrilla revolutionaries in fantasy since the Fellowship Of The Ring, from Johnny Depp’s acutely sensitive, schizophrenic Hatter to the agitated Dormouse voiced by Barbara Windsor and the mischievous illusionist Cheshire Cat voiced by Stephen Fry.
Frankly speaking it should be entitled something like Alice in Underground or Alice: Returns. Wrapped around the Wonderland sequences is a framing device — Alice flees a surprise engagement party when she discovers she is to wed a snotty aristrocrat — that feels forced but things soon perk up with the appearance of Michael Sheen’s White Rabbit. Hurtling down the rabbit hole and experiencing life from various size perspectives thanks to the ever-popular potions and cakes, we and Alice are re-introduced to some of the most unforgettable oddballs in literature. And actually, losing one classic line of surrealism, satire, poems and freaky stuff enshrined in nonsense literature to impose a very Burtonesque brand of bizarreness makes for an engagingly creepy and coherent story of girl power that does work very nicely. Exchanging the child Alice for an Alice who bravely infiltrates the Red Queen’s court of tantrum-driven whimsy and rage as a secret agent, rescues her comrades from the head chop and bursts beautifully into battle in armour on the back of the Bandersnatch creates a pleasing, exciting adventure in its own right.
Helena Bonham Carter’s tyrannical wacko is sensationally fun, her grotesquely enlarged head miraculously topping a diminutive body. Even Hathaway’s good queen is unnerving, her white hair at punky odds with her black brows and lips. As for Depp, in his seventh collaboration with Burton, what’s not to like? In a frizzed orange fright wig, huge yellow-green cat’s eye contact lenses and gap-toothed, Depp still has dash, determined to see him as more romantic hero than lunatic. We’re right there with him on that.
The rest of the cast is satisfyingly thick with sterling British thespians and personalities, from Lindsay Duncan as Alice’s mother to a splendid voice cast that includes Alan Rickman as the hookah-smoking caterpillar, Sir Christopher Lee the Jabberwocky, Timothy Spall as royal bloodhound Bayard and Matt Lucas digitally duplicated into the chatterbox twin Tweedles, Dum and Dee.
Shot in 2D and 3D up subsequently, this has obvious appeal in either option and, no doubt, is a delight to everyone. In fact, I like everything about the movie except the 3D. I don't hate it, but it's distracting through most of the film. It just doesn't add anything to the experience beyond the post-movie dizziness. However, there are some good parts. First and foremost, the visual effects are incredible. Every creature and every landscape is beautifully designed making the movie a real eye candy.Secondly, two of the main parts are played by Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp. Despite the fact that their characters are very plain and dull, these brilliant actors still bring great performances.So, what would be my final verdict? The narrative may be forced and uninteresting but the combination of costuming, art direction, production design and cinematography compensate.
Woolverton’s theme is Alice becoming a woman and finding her destiny, with a little help from socio-political allegory and the most eclectic cinematic band of guerrilla revolutionaries in fantasy since the Fellowship Of The Ring, from Johnny Depp’s acutely sensitive, schizophrenic Hatter to the agitated Dormouse voiced by Barbara Windsor and the mischievous illusionist Cheshire Cat voiced by Stephen Fry.
Frankly speaking it should be entitled something like Alice in Underground or Alice: Returns. Wrapped around the Wonderland sequences is a framing device — Alice flees a surprise engagement party when she discovers she is to wed a snotty aristrocrat — that feels forced but things soon perk up with the appearance of Michael Sheen’s White Rabbit. Hurtling down the rabbit hole and experiencing life from various size perspectives thanks to the ever-popular potions and cakes, we and Alice are re-introduced to some of the most unforgettable oddballs in literature. And actually, losing one classic line of surrealism, satire, poems and freaky stuff enshrined in nonsense literature to impose a very Burtonesque brand of bizarreness makes for an engagingly creepy and coherent story of girl power that does work very nicely. Exchanging the child Alice for an Alice who bravely infiltrates the Red Queen’s court of tantrum-driven whimsy and rage as a secret agent, rescues her comrades from the head chop and bursts beautifully into battle in armour on the back of the Bandersnatch creates a pleasing, exciting adventure in its own right.
Helena Bonham Carter’s tyrannical wacko is sensationally fun, her grotesquely enlarged head miraculously topping a diminutive body. Even Hathaway’s good queen is unnerving, her white hair at punky odds with her black brows and lips. As for Depp, in his seventh collaboration with Burton, what’s not to like? In a frizzed orange fright wig, huge yellow-green cat’s eye contact lenses and gap-toothed, Depp still has dash, determined to see him as more romantic hero than lunatic. We’re right there with him on that.
The rest of the cast is satisfyingly thick with sterling British thespians and personalities, from Lindsay Duncan as Alice’s mother to a splendid voice cast that includes Alan Rickman as the hookah-smoking caterpillar, Sir Christopher Lee the Jabberwocky, Timothy Spall as royal bloodhound Bayard and Matt Lucas digitally duplicated into the chatterbox twin Tweedles, Dum and Dee.
Shot in 2D and 3D up subsequently, this has obvious appeal in either option and, no doubt, is a delight to everyone. In fact, I like everything about the movie except the 3D. I don't hate it, but it's distracting through most of the film. It just doesn't add anything to the experience beyond the post-movie dizziness. However, there are some good parts. First and foremost, the visual effects are incredible. Every creature and every landscape is beautifully designed making the movie a real eye candy.Secondly, two of the main parts are played by Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp. Despite the fact that their characters are very plain and dull, these brilliant actors still bring great performances.So, what would be my final verdict? The narrative may be forced and uninteresting but the combination of costuming, art direction, production design and cinematography compensate.
The movie itself—a
simple, delightfully wacky, adventures movie set in Lewis Caroll's crazy
world—is good. The story, the dialogs, the photography, the direction, and
the acting are all spot on. The digital effects are perfect for the story,
from the delicate details of the White Rabbit'sembroidered vest to the
intricate scenarios. The design—like all Tim Burton's movies—couldn't be
better: The characters, the costumes, the settings... everything exudes the
spirit of the original John Tenniel's book illustrations. And then there is the
adult Alice—who returns after her first adventures in Wonderland. By the
end of it, you will fall in love with Mia Wasikowska, especially when she gets
into her shiny armor. These questions can be answered only if you watch the
movie - Did you manage to catch Alice in Wonderland at the weekend? What is
your opinion or take on this movie? Or is it one Burton that's well worth going
for?
This movie is a real treat for fans of this twisted
imagination and great British character actors and I would love to rate this
movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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