Alice in Wonderland (2010) - Off With Its Head  
| Wow. Have I gone bitter? I really can't take this anymore. 4 potentially great movies in a row that have disappointed me - The Wolfman, Shutter Island, The Crazies and now Alice in Wonderland. I wanted so much to love this movie. Tim Burton is easily one of my favorite directors, but Hollywood got to him; they made him go CGI and 3D. What a shame. I should note however, that I did not see Alice in Wonderland in 3D (and with good reason - I probably would have disliked it even more).
Linda Woolverton co-wrote Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King for Disney – two of the most beloved of their films. You think she could have written something as classic here? Hardly. Alice in Wonderland is unfortunately boring. Slow, uneventful and clichéd (“the chosen one”), it fails on many levels. All the blame can’t be put on Linda though; Tim Burton needs to take some of it. I don’t recall many details of the original 1951 Disney version of the film, but I don’t remember it being like this. I think I may have preferred more of a remake then a new interpretation. The film basically felt tired and over used, a little too habitual for Mr. Burton.
Speaking of Burton, I think he needs to try something different. While I have enjoyed his twisted mind for sometime, I think the novelty is wearing off. We get that you are perverse, but show us that you have something else in there; that you aren’t a one trick pony. He also needs to find a new muse instead of using Johnny Depp over and over. Mr. Depp, I love yah man, but seriously, enough with these overly eccentric roles. They are all blending together and are getting more and more irritating. The Mad Hatter annoyed me so much in this movie. The "futterwacken" or whatever the hell that dance thing was, was possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever seen.
Anne Hathaway was also a bore to watch. Considering she was supposed to be the “good” queen, she came off as cold (perhaps that is the point?) Her mannerisms with the dainty hands were a missed opportunity. They tried to be funny but it came off as dumb. Relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska was hit and miss for me. She had her moments of brilliance but most of the time; she was forgettable and lacking charisma. Luckily, we had Helena Bonham Carter – the BEST PART OF THE MOVIE! If only the film showcased her more then I would have liked it more. I loved everything about her – the idiosyncrasies (the way she talked, the way she turned that big fat head of hers), her HEAD and the way she kept saying “off with his/her head” at almost everyone.
The film looked great; I have to give it that. Like I said before, I saw the film in regular 2D but I still noticed the parts where the 3D would have been used as a gimmick. I can’t stand it when a film uses the 3D effect for such “whoa” moments. Despite looking good, I thought there was too much CGI. The way they made Crispin Glover’s Knave of Hearts was distracting and off putting. Tweedledee and Tweedledum were entertaining and there were a number of other clever ideas, but nothing that was really fully realized. There wasn’t really anything to get excited about. The costumes were actually really good. The score; not so much.
You can sadly add Alice in Wonderland to the disappointment pile. They said that Tim Burton was born to direct this movie, but maybe if he had a little more free range with it and not so much of the seemingly studio interference then it truly could have been a total mind fuck. Sounded great on paper, but they should have said “off with its head” before letting this hit theatres.
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