‘Alice in Wonderland’ is Entertaining Insanity
-----Tim Burton, a Director known for his gothic tones and bizarre humor, has been a prominent filmmaker for over two decades now. Recently Burton has seen only more success with his ever growing filmography, including a number of quality and fun films including the fantastic fable ‘Big Fish’ in 2003, the high caliber remake ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ in 2005, and the stirring musical ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ in 2007. His latest entry, a 3D acid trip called ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ like the latter two titles also stars the charismatic talents of one Johnny Depp; and thus it’s no wonder why Burton’s latest has built such sizeable hype for its early March release.
-----While titled ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ Burton’s newest retelling of classic material is actually a hybrid/sequel of Lewis Carroll’s original Alice novels. This new story tells of a 19-year-old Alice returning to a world she’d thought a dream, and her endeavors with the kooky characters of Wonderland are as startling as ever. But this time around Alice will have to save a dilapidated Wonderland from the tyrannical Red Queen…for good.
-----Relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska plays the title role of Alice, in a performance sure to earn her both fame and the approval of mass audiences. Quirky and likable, Wasikowska expertly plays an entertaining and very real Alice, someone you can root for and relate to. And perhaps her greatest ability, even when considering her exceptional presence and gorgeous appearance, is her ability to go toe to toe with the endlessly talented Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp, and never miss a beat. Depp too breathes life into this often adventured character, in one of his wackiest incarnations yet. And that’s saying something when you consider his past roles as everything from a man with scissor-hands, a swashbuckling pirate, a candy crusader, and a demon barber; most of which were under the direction of Burton himself. Depp is both hilarious and lovable in his turn as the seemingly carefree clown, and his chemistry with Wasikowska through all of the makeup and 3D CG environments is a testament to the duo’s exceptional talents. There’re also solid turns from Crispin Glover (‘Charlie’s Angel’s’) as the elongated knave of Hearts, Anne Hathaway (‘Get Smart’) as the noble White Queen, Michael Sheen (‘Frost/Nixon’) as the infamous White Rabbit, and Matt Lucas as a funny set of twins. Rounding up the rest of the cast is a number of stars seen in both the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise and ‘Sweeney Todd,’ including strong performances from the likes of Helena Bonham Carter as an outrageous Red Queen, and the vocal talents of Alan Rickman as a sly caterpillar and Timothy Spall as Bayard.
-----Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ works for three primary reasons. Firstly, the aforementioned cast is a great one, and they’re all strong, especially the leads. Secondly, Burton has crafted such a ridiculous 3D Wonderland that the eye candy alone holds up. And thirdly, the decision to follow a new plot instead of meandering in the often interpreted ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or its pseudo-sequel ‘Through the Looking Glass’ is a move that mercifully avoids the repetition of so many dry remakes, fully dodging the force-feeding of a story we’ve heard numerous times before. And in all actuality, this tale is a much more complete story, proving to have improved direction without losing the spontaneity of its characters. Slowing down a bit in its middle, the film nonetheless never rushes any of the storytelling elements, especially the essential preambles that take place outside of Wonderland. With an older Alice facing the woes of her departure from childhood, Wonderland is as thrilling a place as ever to escape within, and this time around you’ll wish she could stay forever.
-----The 3D components that drive ‘Alice in Wonderland’ are playful and entertaining, avoiding the always feared distraction that can come with the technique, and never stumbling into the realm of repetitious gimmicks. On that note, it’s also not afraid to have a cat float out to you every so often. Though with the 3D it’s unrealistic to expect the complete immersion that came with ‘Avatar,’ and in fact this proves yet again how far ahead of its time that film is on a technical level. As for the Wonderland creatures themselves, they are often clearly computer generated, also unlike the life-like Na’vi in ‘Avatar,’ but then this more of a blatant stylistic choice, because “no,” Wonderland isn’t supposed to look real. Burton’s genius also plays a role here, as he has brilliantly skews proportions for a truly bizarre experience, including an enlarged head for Helena Bonham Carter among other eccentric creative decisions like a stretched Knave of Hearts that show just how fun it can be when an infamously wacky Director has consistent enough Box Office takes to do the projects he wants the way he wants to. Supplementing the various performances are marvelous costumes that really up the ante from the tired incarnations we’ve seen in past versions of the Alice story. Also playing a strong role is the sort of fun and lively musical score we’ve come to expect from master composer Danny Elfman, who’s composed many of Burton’s films along with other titles including the likes of ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Spider-Man,’ and even last month’s ‘The Wolfman.’ On a side note, the film includes elements liked the smoking caterpillar and other random touchy elements, that actually prove refreshing when you consider that kids won’t consider them, and you realize that they provide just enough edge to avoid an air of censorship without being too vulgar.
-----Ultimately, moviegoers will be satisfied with this fun film that takes you to Wonderland in a way never seen before. It has its more generic elements here and there, and ventures back into some of the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ elements we’ve seen before. As far as the humor goes there are a few hilarious scenes involving Depp’s wild performance, but there are also some fairly flat jokes in the gag department too. Yet even considering the film’s minor bits of iffy humor and a plot that can run a bit too smooth for drama’s sake, the whole affair is conducted so unassumingly that you can’t help but enjoy your stay in Wonderland. The film plays home to a brilliant art direction and strong performances from its leads, including a star-making role for Mia Wasikowska, and a vintage Johnny Depp performance sure to hold strong as one of 2010’s best. All in all, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is an acid trip worth taking.
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