Do you know what would be great? If Tim Burton the director of "Edward Scissorhands", "Beetlejuice", "Batman", "Ed Wood", and "Sweeny Todd" got a chance to direct "Alice in Wonderland". Wouldn't that be the best combination between a director and theme? Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" will have to remain a pipe dream, what we have instead is a Burton for-hire "Alice" by Disney, which is less enticing.
The "Alice in Wonderland" that is out now and breaking box office records is regretfully in name only. It borrows the same characters from the Lewis Carroll classic children's story, but takes away the whimsy, the wordplay, and Carroll's original intention. Instead, we get another fantasy adventure between good and evil, where Alice turns into a "Chosen One" who must defeat the evil Jabberwocky so the world can return to its proper order.
The Alice in this film is no longer a little girl, she is 19 and played by talented actress Mia Wasikowska. Alice remembers her first encounter into Wonderland only as a dream, one that she keeps having well into her young adulthood.
The opening sequence of the film in the real world shows off Burton's talents the best by satirizing upperclass society, showing off their own grotesque nature. I almost wanted Burton to follow these people which would make a much more interesting and terrifying film than what we have here. Alice is about to be engaged by an International Twit of the Year, when she sees that familiar white rabbit whom she chases down that familiar hole yet again.
Alice finds herself in Wonderland, which is now called Underland, she is met by the white rabbit, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and the door mouse. Alice is under the assumption once again that this is just a dream, but the others tell her she has been sent because it is for told that she is the one who must destroy the Red Queen's evil Jabberwocky. Of course Alice doesn't believe this right away, she must first believe in herself, otherwise how else can she fight the Jabberwocky.
She is helped along in her journey by Carroll's unforgettable characters who are there as guides, not as the mischievous creatures who make her life a living hell. (Even the Chesire Cat the most mischievous of them all isn't given much to do.) The creatures we find out follow The White Queen (Anne Hathaway) who represents the good, and her sister The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) represents the bad.
Of the characters who help Alice, the most prominent is The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who actually is given a backstory as to how he became mad, why this is relevant I don't know why, it was always more fun to think of him as just mad.
Tim Burton is a director who is at home in the grim and gothic fairytale stories, he has a delightful sense of humour that shows off well in the performances of Bonham Carter, Depp, and Hathaway. The problem with this "Alice in Wonderland" is I don't think Burton believes in it. I believe he would've excelled with the original story where Alice is tormented by these characters, who are full of clever riddles, rhymes and word play, all that is replaced here by an action story which is not his strong suit, so much so that I have never seen Burton such a slave to CGI.
I wouldn't be out of line to say that "Alice in Wonderland" is Burton's weakest film, when it should've been one of his greatest achievements. Burton should've stayed with his first instincts and stayed away from Disney.
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