Review: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Some readers may find the following review too 'spoilery.'



I went with my two daughters to see Alice in Wonderland today. It was a movie we'd all anticipated for a long time, as we're great fans of the Burton, Depp, Elfman trinity and have watched most everything they've done in the past.

Alice in Wonderland is a Disney production. No doubt Disney Studios own the rights to the story or something, but I would actually have preferred that it hadn't been produced by Disney. Just me. I have a thing about it lol.

Anyway, this film is quite a departure from the traditional Alice in Wonderland storyline. I suppose remix is the best word to describe it as it's based on Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. For me, that spoiled it. It shouldn't have been called Alice in Wonderland because, it simply wasn't Alice in Wonderland...

A line that is oft repeated throughout is "this is the wrong Alice" and that's the sentiment it gave me. It felt all wrong.

The story was too different to the original. I didn't gel with the seeming amnesia of Alice who is portrayed as a 19 year old woman on the verge of stepping out into life, who is brought back to "Underland" *jangle* to slay the Jabberwocky.

Mia Wasikowska felt all wrong for me as Alice. I was expecting a little girl, as is traditional.

Johnny Depp disappointed me in this. He seemed a little too aware of himself and not really immersed in the role. Also much of his dialogue was incomprehensible to me.

I fell in love with the look of Anne Hathaway's White Queen, but her performance left me wanting.

I couldn't settle to Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen...

All starting to sound a bit dismal, isn't it?

But there were things to like. I adored "Ches" the Cheshire Cat, and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar just did it for me!

Christopher Lee's voicing of the Jabberwocky sent chills down my spine.

The 3D was gorgeous and I even ducked on one occasion when the March Hare threw a teacup at Alice.

I wouldn't call this an adaptation of Alice or Through the Looking glass. For me, it felt more like a follow on, but based on the performances of the CGI characters, and the gorgeous photography and 3D effects, I will rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I just felt this film could have been so much more!

*disappointed*