Alice in Wonderland - Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Director Tim Burton saves the best 3D effect in his colorful but haphazard version of the children’s classic for the very last scene.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is beginning her next, sequel-friendly adventure and a beautiful blue butterfly, the transformation of Wonderland’s Blue Caterpillar (voice of Alan Rickman), floats above her pretty face, off the screen and over the IMAX movie audience.
The blue butterfly is a wonderful reminder how fun 3D technology has become with regards to family adventures like Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”. It’s also significant that the film’s 3D qualities are debated before any discussions about performances, script and direction. Such is our era of 3D fantasy blockbusters where eye- popping sequences matter most of all. So audiences head to Burton’s Alice (and they did so in massive numbers this weekend) understanding that the film was originally shot in yesterday’s 2D and only tweaked into 3D after production wrapped. The film’s 3D after-thought shows throughout with many of the effects lacking razzle-dazzle. The 3D is hit-and-miss and the same is true for the rest of the surprisingly average movie.
Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton make an interesting tweak on the Lewis Carroll books by making Alice older, sending her back down the rabbit hole to lead the battle between the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and her twisted sister the Queen of Hearts (Helena Bonham Carter) and remembering her previous visit to Wonderland (and perhaps the 1951 Disney animated feature) as a dream. Alice, older, more strong-willed and stronger, puts on battle armor and faces the jabberwocky in a climactic battle closer in spirit to Hollywood action movie than a passage from one of Carroll’s books.
All of Burton’s movies are dazzling to watch but his best ones (“Edward Scissorhands”, “Ed Wood”, “Batman Returns”) match the visual magic with lively storytelling. Burton’s “Alice”, while true to the spirit of the timeless Sir John Tenniel drawings in Carroll’s books, never brings its adventure to life. The adventure sputters instead of soars, unraveling as a series of sight gags instead of a fantasy epic. Carroll’s famous loonies the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp in Glam make-up and costume), the Queen of Hearts (Helena Bonham Carter with puckered lips and a head two sizes two big for her petite frame and the hippy-like White Queen (Hathaway) give the standout performances in the film. Poor Alice, or poor Wasikowska, doesn’t have a chance.
Even when she grabs hold of her magical sword and prepares to face the jabberwocky, Alice remains the dull, somewhat sullen teen from the start of the movie. If one were to head to Wonderland, Alice would be the last person you would want at your side. She’s boring.
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway
Writer: Linda Woolverton
Director: Tim Burton
Producers: Roth Films/Zanuck Co.
Rating: Rated PG
Running Time: 109 minutes
