 "Photo: file")
In a slightly misleading title, Tim Burton and co. should have potentially named this “Alice in Wonderland 2” as this is indubitably the sequel do the Disney original. Alice has now returned to Wonderland 13 years later to do essentially the same thing Robin Williams did in “Hook”; to try and remember who he once was.
In this new Wonderland, Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, rediscovers the wondrous world but with a brand new foe so, it comes as no surprise that she can’t remember why she needs to slay a murderous dragon. The dragon, aka the Jabberwocky, is actually from a poem of nonsense verse written by Lewis Carroll in 1872 which features a great deal of language used in the film. For instance, Frabjous day is the day Alice slays the Jabberwocky and frees Wonderland from the Red Queen and, the bandersnatch is the Red Queen’s prized pet thing.
Thankfully, the original cast of friends and frienemies all returned so this wasn’t a butcher, say like, Donnie Darko 2. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee / Tweedledum, Cheshire Cat, etc.
Now usually, I wouldn’t start with my grievances, but I simply cannot hold them back; we’ll start with Tim Burton. First off, why Tim? Let me remind you of some films you may have forgot that you worked with; “Big Fish”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “Beetle Juice“, “Edward Scissorhands”, need I continue? I had my doubts when you worked on “9” but now you’ve also managed to add on another conformity film to your resume.
Granted, Disney obviously had to remake this film, but was it worth it? I also have more unfortunate news to deliver about your pal Johnny, too. This is your 7th film now you’ve worked with Mr. Depp, don’t you think it’s potentially time to move forward?
And then there’s miss Mia Wasikowska, a relatively new actress who’s biggest accomplishment thus far was a spot on a drama series called “In Treatment”. Unfortunately so, someone forgot to tell Mia that Alice in Wonderland is in fact not a drama. Case-in-point. How should a person watching this film feel when they realize that they’re having more fun watching Alice than Alice is having herself.
Her bland outlook on life was an immediate put-off for me as I can guarantee you I would be having a blast if I ever had the opportunity to visit Wonderland.
Once again, I understand this is a film for kids, but even the original cartoon Alice had more spunk in her than new Alice could ever have. Strangely so, the PG rating even had me a bit confused as I thought poking out eyeballs and slicing off heads was something not so ideal for a 5-year-old to watch.
Now to the good stuff. The 3D live action meshed with animation worked beautifully in the film. Easily the visuals alone could be graded with an “A” (although not as stunning as Avatars). I also found the Red Queen to be immensely comical. “Off with their head!” was her answer to about 99% of the problems she encountered.
And although confusing, I think my overall response to Depp’s performance is of praise, but his clueless accent has really hindered me from saying much more than this.
All in all, I believe the only fault in this film is caused by Disney but that just sounds ridiculous so I’m going to confidently recommend this film to anyone who isn’t as much of a movie snob as me.
Be the first to comment on this article!