Alice in Wonderland

Hello!  Welcome!

Before we begin, I would like to tell any parents reading this, not to take your sick kids to the movies.  There was a little boy sitting behind me coughing the entire time.  Also, please do not have a 5-minute phone conversation during and movie.  Please, be considerate of other people.  Thank you.

Today is the opening day of a film that I highly anticipated.  The name of the movie is Alice in Wonderland.  I was so excited to see it!  I love the work of Tim Burton and there were some very well known actors in it too.  Johnny Depp, Helena Bohnam Carter, and Anne Hathaway, to name a few.  I was also very excited to see how the new Alice (Mia Wasikowska) would turn out.  Anyways, time to review.

Title: Alice in Wonderland
Genre: Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG

Summary: Alice Kingsley, now 19, attends a party at a Victorian estate shortly after the death of her beloved father.  Alice spots a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat and pocket watch.  In shock and confusion, she runs off into a maze and follows the White Rabbit through it.  She eventually tumbles down a rabbit hole into Underland, more commonly referred to as "Wonderland" by its inhabitants.  She had visited this place 10 years earlier, but had entirely forgotten about it.  She is also told that she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, the dragon who terrorizes the inhabitants of Wonderland under the rule of the Red Queen.

Review: -sigh- Where do I begin?  I was pretty disappointed with the marvelous Tim Burton's rendition of Alice in Wonderland, a story that truly do enjoy.  I think the main reason I wasn't too happy with it is that it didn't have a very genuine Tim Burton feel.  Sure it had kooky characters and dark elements. but it just wasn't the same.  I think the reason being is that Burton nearly ALWAYS uses physical set and very few CGI effects.  "Alice" did not have that.  The backgrounds and such were most definitly green or blue screen and almost all the characters had to have a touch of CGI to them.  Example, Johnny Depp's eyes were increased in size 15% and Helena Bohnam Carters head was increased neary double its size!  Also, alot of the animal-like creatures (Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, Jabberwocky, etc.) had to be done using CGI.  Also, you kind of forget you're watching it in 3-D, which was not worth the $16 admission at my local theatre.

       One of the elements I did enjoy was the costume design.  Mostly, the changing of Alice's dresses due to her changes in size.  I also liked the set of the White Queen's palace which was one set that did have a genuine feel to it.  Everything on the Red Queen's side of Underland seemed like nuclear wasteland.  I also liked most of the bits of humor throughout mostly coming from the Red Queen.  The Mad Hatter's humour was more intended for little kids.

       Overall, I feel like this was not Tim Burton's best piece of work.  I missed the genuine sets and disliked the usage of CGI which is fairly new to Buton's films.  Had the film been PG-13 he could've gotten away with something darker and wierder (which is what I was expecting).  Also, this movie is better for kids and tweens.  Don't really take it too seriously.  And any die-hard "Alice" fans out there, do not get your hopes up.

Grade:  C (unfortunatly)