Warning: Tim Burton’s latest film, “Alice in Wonderland” is not a remake of Lewis Caroll’s classic tale of childhood misadventure. Rather it is an adaption of the famous gibberish poem, “The Jaberwocky,” from “Through the Looking Glass.” The essence of the original “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is completely wiped from the story. However, it takes on new life that is equally important on the brink of adulthood: the transformation from who you are to who you are destined to become.
In this version of Alice in Wonderland, the audience meets Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska (Amelia), much later in life than she is portrayed in either of Lewis Carroll’s works. Engaged to pretentious and uptight Hamish, played by Leo Bill (Becoming Jane), Alice finds herself forced to grow up. Still wishing to remain in her childlike state of wonder and imagination, in her panic, she falls down the rabbit hole and back into her childhood fantasy-land where she is prophesied to slay the Jaberwocky played by Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings), the dragon-like pet of The Red Queen.
In the time that Alice has been gone, the Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter), has destroyed Wonderland and its citizens live in constant fear of having their heads lopped off. If you’re having Chronicles of Narnia flashbacks, this key aspect of the plot might be why. Because of the Red Queens cruelty, Tim Burton’s portrayal of Wonderland may be slightly more destitute than one may remember from the Disney animated version. Imagine the dull, dark setting of Sleepy Hollow, add a castle with a structure based on the curved edge of a heart, a few brightly colored talking plants and even more brightly colored characters and you have Burton’s unique portrayal of Wonderland. Unfortunately, Burton’s directing talents were wasted on a terrible script.
At first, fans of the original may be angered that screenwriter Linda Woolverton tried to give the classic tale an actual plot; for Carroll’s story of young Alice in her dreamlike state has no clear storyline other than a series of meetings with various characters. Soon, they will realize that Woolverton is not trying to remake Carroll’s work for the screen but visit his world later in Alice’s life. This is hard to see at first because it seems that Woolverton is so tied up in the title of the movie that she is unable to fully separate her script from Carroll’s novel. It causes confusion as to what the goal of the film truly is. Perhaps if Woolverton had gone at her work as an adaption of “The Jaberwocky” rather than “Alice in Wonderland” there would have been less confusion.
In addition to the confusing storyline, the acting could have been better. Wasikowska’s performance is slightly dull and not always believable as her character walks the line between childhood and adulthood. The rebellious nature of her character does not appear on the screen, despite the hundreds of lines that indicate that Alice does not want to be a proper lady. Johnny Depp is usually a great character actor, but he couldn’t seem to get a good grasp on the Mad Hatter. His portrayal of Alice’s eccentric protector changes from purely insane, to a bold Scotsman, and finally to Jack Sparrow disguised in a hat and an infinite amount of neon makeup. His poor performance leaves Depp upstaged by Bonham Carter, whose presence throughout the film is almost as big as her character’s bulbous head. Her portrayal of the impatiently cruel Red Queen, from her nervous ticks to her shrieking commands, makes her the only character that really keeps the audience’s attention.
Despite the excitement that surrounded this film, it really isn’t worth going to see. Fans of the book will find themselves annoyed by the divergence from the original story line, and the rest of the audience will probably not be impressed by the acting. Perhaps the one group of viewers that would appreciate the film are the diehard fans of Burton’s movies, who are able to ignore the actual story of the film and focus solely on his style.
Rated: PG
Grade: C
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