As I left the IMAX theater tonight, pondering the tone of my review for the latest cinematic interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s enigmatic tale(s), I came to the rapid conclusion that there is a sure fire two-part litmus test for whether or not you will find this movie worthy of your entertainment dollars:
a) Are you a fan of Tim Burton films?
and/or
b) Do you enjoy the basic plot of the story of Alice in Wonderland?
My answers to those questions:
a) Most certainly. More often than not, Tim Burton satisfies.
b) Yes, but I did not come by my enjoyment in the conventional sense.
At this point I could give you an x out of 5 stars rating, brush my teeth, and drift off to sleep
dreaming of watch-bearing rabbits.
But you just know I’m not going to go quietly into this good night now, don’t you?
Confession: I have never, to the best of my knowledge, seen the Disney animated version of Alice in Wonderland. Nor have I watched any of the more recent made-for-television versions. I had not read either of the books until, as an adult, I came across The Annotated Alice and was fascinated by the idea that Lewis Carroll included all kinds of clever in-jokes and popular culture references (in his time) within the lines of his bizarre, memorable story.
My fondness for Alice was birthed and grew out of an appreciation, which I still hold, for the illustrations of John Tenniel; out of my passion for the PC game, American McGee’s Alice, which came out in the fall of 2000; and from the overall plot and visual symbolic imagery of Lewis Carroll’s story. When I was a kid I always wanted to “fall down a rabbit hole” to find some strange, lost world. Stories built from that simple premise have always attracted me.
So in the past when I have been asked about liking Alice in Wonderland, my affirmative answer has really always been more about the trappings than about the story itself. Until tonight, where I realized that, even in a stripped down form, I really do like the story of Alice in Wonderland.
Tim Burton’s film is a visual masterpiece. It is a cornucopia of sights to delight the eye of the viewer. Colorful, whimsical, magical…in every frame there is something to draw the eye. Adding to the visual wonder are flourishes that are distinctly Burtonesque, for example, early on in the movie I was delighted to see the first of several Tim Burton trees. Much of what I liked on this first pass through Wonderland is built upon the foundation of my unabashed geek-love for the Tim Burton oeuvre, and he delivers more of the same here.
I saw the film in IMAX which certainly looked nice and provided for some fun, reach-out-and-touch-it moments, but I couldn’t help but wonder if in some ways the 3D experiment is still more of a distraction than an enhancement to the film experience. I would have enjoyed the creative and colorful settings every bit as much were it not in 3D and would have thought less about the gimmicky moments that all 3D films seem to share.
Danny Elfman’s music was, as always, a perfect accompaniment to Burton’s visuals. I thought the soundtrack worked very nicely with the film.
Anymore the casting of a Tim Burton film is not filled with surprises. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter generally come with the package and as I am a fan of each, their presence is most welcome. Despite the poster images and the impression given from the trailer, my opinion of Depp’s performance was that it was not as over the top as one might have expected. Who better to play the Mad Hatter? And he brought his trademark eccentricity to the role and made it his own. It was quite fun with occasional dark twists. Helena Bonham Carter was also fun as the Red Queen, with her bulbous head and misshapen body. I couldn’t picture anyone else in either of these roles.
Crispin Glover was something of a waste in his role, more distracting because of his body being digitally rendered. His herky-jerky movement, though no doubt intentional, was disconcerting. Anne Hathaway was also surprisingly disconcerting. Her affected movements in the role of the White Queen were also intended, partially to be played as humorous, but they were mostly too affected and did not endear me to her character. Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee and Michael Sheen voiced some of the major animated characters and did a fantastic job of doing so without drawing too much attention away from those characters.
Relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska was the real stand out as Alice. As the film opens she is a bit stiff, wooden, but you soon realize that both her pale look and manner are meant to convey where she is at emotionally at that point of the story. As soon as she falls down the rabbit hole she begins to come to life and I found myself being very keen on her performance. I am so glad they chose not to put a BIG NAME in the role. It worked much better this way, as she truly was Alice, not just some well known actress playing Alice. Her work, alongside that of Depp and Carter more than make up for the problems I had with other actors.
Other characters that I really enjoyed because of the way they were digitally rendered and performed were the Chesire Cat (loved the way he appeared and disappeared), the twins, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the White Rabbit and the March Hare, and both “dog” characters, Bayard and the Bandersnatch! I’ve also always been fond of the card soldiers and I really liked how they chose to render them here, as metal, robot-cards. They had a bit of a steam punk aesthetic to them.
But what about the story?
Hey, I’m coming to that!
Labyrinth, Mirrormask, Coraline, Alice in Wonderland…these stories have many things in common, one of the major ones being that they are coming of age stories. They deal, in part, with the bittersweet theme of growing up and the process of leaving behind childish things. When a coming of age tale, whether in book or film format, has a fantasy element to it, I am dialed in. Those films speak to me in ways that I freely admit may run to a deeper engagement in the story, and a perception of the story having more depth, than many others may see. I have always held to the belief that life is most fully lived when a person can continue moving towards maturity while embracing some of the elements from one’s childhood. (Which explains why a 40+ year old man still plays video games, loves cartoons, and reads comic books). Tim Burton’s film delivers that kind of satisfying film, in part because it does make Alice an older character who is dealing with a rite of passage into adulthood. There is a story here, pared down and one-note at times, to be sure, but a story nonetheless.
Sometimes I think it is hard to objectively review a movie like Alice in Wonderland because everyone over the age of 20, at least, knows this story, whether or not they have ever seen it or read it. The story can be told well, or told poorly, or fall somewhere in between, but the truth is that this is a more than twice told tale and so any adult hoping to be surprised by something new is not going to find satisfaction in this. I happen to feel that the story falls at least three quarters of the way towards the “told well’ end of the spectrum. Yes, it suffers a bit from being edited to keep it under the two hour mark, the story itself has always been a bit thin, and it is obvious that the visuals are where the majority of the attention is being paid, but I still think the second litmus test question applies here: do you enjoy the basic plot of the story of Alice in Wonderland?
By the end of Tim Burton’s interpretation of Alice in Wonderland, I noticed that warm glow of satisfaction in my mid-section. While it is not the most profound of the coming of age films I have ever seen, it was a great deal of fun. I find myself tempted, as many Avatar fans were, to go back and see it again just so I can spend some time trying to catch many of the visuals that I missed the first time.
I’d love to talk about this more, so feel free to generate more conversation in the comments section if you so choose. Please remember to add “SPOILER” to your comments if you feel you are doing so. Thanks for bearing with my long rambings, and be careful about drinking strange drinks or eating strange cakes!
Rating: 4/5 stars
Where to Go From Here:
For literary journeys I would highly recommend Martin Gardner’s The Annotated Alice. If you are not fond enough or curious enough to delve into Carroll’s works, Neverwhere is by far my favorite Alice-in-Wonderland-ish novel.
For film options, if you liked this then you cannot go wrong with the comparison films I mentioned above, all of which are far superior: Labyrinth, Mirrormask, and Coraline.
And from the “the name sounds similar” department I would also recommend the television series Wonderfalls. It has some of the strange fantastical elements of these other films and although it was canceled prematurely has a nice satisfying story arc in its 13 episodes.
“When I was a kid I always wanted to “fall down a rabbit hole” to find some strange, lost world. Stories built from that simple premise have always attracted me.”
🙂 I spent a lot of time looking in wardrobes! When you talk about this film in the same breath (as it were) as Coraline and Mirrormask (two of my favourite films, along with Stardust) you make me want to rush out to see it.
I never read Alice in Wonderland as a kid. I saw the Disney movie and absolutely hated it. I don’t even remember why, it was so long ago. Then, in December, I decided it was time to actually read the book. I was looking forward to this movie and I figured I should probably read the book first.
Unfortunately, I hated the book, too. It had no plot and the writing was far from lyrically pleasing for me. It took all my efforts just to finish it, and I didn’t read Through the Looking Glass.
I worried about this movie, then, and then I found out it was a sequel of sorts to the books. It’s Alice, all grown up, going back to Wonderland after 15 years. It had a plot rather than a random collection of dreamlike happenings. I saw the movie the other day and very much enjoyed it. It was the only thing related to Alice that I’ve ever liked.
And I agree with you about the white queen. There were moments that I really thought she was going to turn out to be evil…
I plan to see it this weekend. I’ve never been a fan of the story, but I do enjoy Tim Burton’s works. I’m sure his style and vision will make up for my lack of interest in the story itself. After your assessment, I am ready.
And Mirrormask was pure genius.
Amanda: Since the white queen and the red queen are supposed to be sisters, it could be that looking at them as coming from the same stock meant that they both might have had the same potential for good and evil, each one was just tipped ever so slightly into one end of the spectrum.
I know just what you mean about the stories. I have no doubt I wouldn’t like the Alice stories if I hadn’t read the annotated version. I like it for what Carroll accomplished and, again, for the overall story themes, but seeing a condensed, focused version like this is so much better in my opinion.
AlexJ: I agree about Mirrormask! And Tim Burton’s touches on this definitely make up for the thinner parts of the story.
GeraniumCat: I probably would have looked in wardrobes too when I was a child had I been more familiar with those stories. I knew more about them when I was an older teen and didn’t read them until I was an adult.
I wouldn’t go so far as to classify this film as good as any of the other films I listed with it. It’s weaknesses, though not off-putting for me, put it a good step down from Mirrormask, Labyrinth, and Coraline. But it is still a very fun film.
“The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things, of ships and shoes and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, and if the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings.”
I fail your test. I’m not a fan of Tim Burton films. I’ve yet to see one and doubt there will be one since I see him as pretty much a one-style pony that I have enjoyed. I do however, like Alice In Wonderland. I read the book when I was a boy, it had the Tenniel illustrations. It was the Modern Library edition which also contains Through The Looking-Glass, which I also read and liked. Then I went on and read the poems, many of which I love to this day (Bandersnatch.). I can quote at least part of Walrus and Carpenter. But no to the Burton and so I fail the test.
Second, the books are products of their time, and I was a reader, and reading them, at my time. There had not yet been a Disney Version. Later when I saw that, I enjoyed it because I enjoyed pretty much all animation, but it is to the book as a White Castle is to a Double Bacon Whopper with cheese. It’s fun, a trifle, a bon-bon, but not to be confused in ay way with the Real Thing.
I haven’t seen this film, and am unlikely to, so I can’t make any comparison about it.
At the risk of sounding the Old Fogey Alarm, of the films you mention in the same breath, I liked only Labyrinth. No to Mirrormask, No to Carolyn. Maybe – probably – it’s a matter of style, not content.
I AM glad you saw it, liked it, recommend it. I hope it’s successful. I think the 3-D explosion si going to slow down some, though. the Disney Dickens film (partly a victim of bad timing) was a flop, and I don’t know how long this one can generate box office. (Note that Avatar is still raking it in, however). Perhaps, for me, this is a matter of leaving a thing I liked a lot in it’s time.
I saw this last Friday. I love Tim Burton films and I have always been fascinated by Alice. I have never read the books, hated the Disney movie, but have always been fascinated by the story itself. I did see a tv mini-series in the late 90’s that I loved. I performed in a bunraku puppetry adaptation of Alice and it was a wonderful and magical experience. I loved this movie. I went in to enjoy it. The cinematography is lush, the costumes amazing and I, too, love seeing Carter, Depp and Burton reunited. To me, this movie is a cornucopia for the senses and I enjoyed it as such. And now I would like to actually read the books, especially Through the Looking Glass.
Jehara: Sounds like you and I had the same experience with the movie. I’m glad that you liked it as well and hope that you enjoy the books when you get a chance to read them.
Richard: Tim Burton definitely is a one-style creator, that is actually one of the things I personally like about him because I enjoy his aesthetic. I was talking to Jeff tonight and as much as I enjoyed Alice I wish he would either write his own stuff, rather than adapting, or work with a talented writer and put his unique touch on the story. I’m getting a little tired of everything being either an adaptation, a remake, or a retread. And yet, when I step off that soap box, I still love movies.
No worries about sounding like an old fogey. These kind of films especially aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I suspect that has little to do with age and more to do with personal taste.
I sincerely hope the 3D explosion slows down. It still seems very gimmicky to me, even when I enjoy the gimmick. If film makers can get away from doing all the tried and true gimmicks then I might be less enthusiastic in my desire for it to leave. Yet I’m a hypocrite there as well, because I found myself wanting to go see the Tron remake in 3D just to taste the nostalgia in a cool new format. I also think the Hubble movie in 3D looks AMAZING.
The test:
A : Yes. I consider myself a fan but not a huge one. I definitely like his style but his films usually lack something for me to really love his work. My favorite of his is Sweeny Todd followed by The Nightmare Before Christmas.
B : The story. I don’t think we talked about this Carl but I have NEVER read any Alice book or seen any Alice movie or TV show. I never even watched it as a kid. I have seen hundreds of images from ads and such through out my life but they always seemed so bizarre to me that I’ve been turned off from the material.
My daughter recently watched the SyFy channel Alice two part movie and loved it. I didn’t catch it either. She really wants to see this film so I might take her to check it out and finally see the story myself.
As for 3D count me as a fan although I don’t need ALL movies turned into this format. I think Sifi and Fantasy films lend themselves to the format more so than other types of movies like sports or crime drama.
I’m glad you enjoyed it though as I know you are a much bigger Burton fan than I. I can see where Richard is coming from when he says Burton is a one trick pony. I’m starting to think of him this way more now as well but I tend to enjoy his pony show. I think he falls into the category of stylistic directors you either like or not and there isn’t really any middle ground.
I’m disappointed this film falls so far under the others you mention above, which you say are far superior, because to me that means Alice is kind of a watch it once and forget it film while the other I have enjoyed watching many times. Oh well that’s life. I’ve got many other stories to discover. 🙂
jehara – not sure how you can say you “love the story” of Alice in Wonderland if you have not read the book. All other versions are just that, VERSIONS. They are abridged, clipped, shortened, adapted and revised from the original as written by Lewis Carroll. Read the book, then tell us if you liked it or not. Either response is fine, but I don’t think it’s fair to say you like – or not – Alice without having read the original.
The SyFi version was about as close to the book as milk is to cheese. No, not that close. The Disney version wasn’t there either. There’s LOTS in the book.
Carl, Jeff – With the possible exception of Avatar, 3-D is still a gimmick, as Carl points out. The Train Your Dragon film now out is an example of one that didn’t need the extra effect.
Wasn’t Nightmare Before Christmas written by Burton?
Jeff – in case you miss it on my blog, I repeat: don’t give up on Niven because of Integral Trees. Try World of Ptavvs or A Gift from Earth or Protector or Tales of Known Space. They’re all quite good.
Carl, have you got the logo for OUAT yet? I made one up just as a placeholder at my place.
Richard: Nope, not yet. Patience my young padawan…. (Can’t believe I just threw a Phantom Menace reference in here!)
Richard/Jeff: And of course you know that I LOVE Niven’s A World Out of Time.
Richard: Burton did write Nightmare and it was directed by Henry Selick, a brilliant director, in my opinion. It is Nightmare that I point to as an example that Burton can come up with some really great ideas and I’d love to see him use his directing skills, his conceptual framework, and his writing talent to put out more original stories rather than keep seeing him do adaptations, even though I mostly really, really enjoy those adaptations.
Jeff: I don’t expect the film will make you like the story any more than you suspect you would now. It is still bizarre, though I personally don’t think it tipped as far into the nonsensical as it had the potential to. I think Ashley would really, really like it so it might make a fun father/daughter activity for you.
I think it is a pretty fair assessment from my own personal point of view to say that I think those other three films are far superior, but you Jeff know for a fact that I am over the moon about those movies. I watch Labyrinth and Mirrormask every year, often more than once a year, and I suspect Coraline is becoming one of those movies for me as well. They are the kind of films that I get something different out of every time. Might be a turn of phrase, a particular part of the music, etc. that stands out on each viewing. I don’t see Alice being one of those that I would watch *that* much. I will watch it again, probably more than once, but it does fall a bit short of being a “capture my soul” movie like the others do. If that makes any sense.
And to be fair to Jehara, though your point is valid Richard that a person cannot say they actually “love” the story without having read it, I don’t see anywhere in Jehara’s comment that she mentioned loving the story. 🙂
jehara and Carl – my misreading. It’s BURTON FILMS she loves, and she’s just fascinated with the book. My bad, APOLOGY ! !
I suppose it would be better to join the first name, last initial group. Ah, that’s better. Now I feel like I belong, sort of.
I’m trying to think of a film I watch every year, and other than the usual Christmas movies I can’t think of any. We used to watch Independence Day on July 4th, but got tired of it. I suppose the “films” I watch, or re-watch, most frequently are the Star Wars ones, but I like to re-watch the Sherlock Holmes episodes, with Jeremy Brett, who is my preferred Holmes of all the actors who had done the role (that I’ve seen at any rate). Sure, the Rathbone films are fun, but for me, Brett IS Holmes. I have all of the DVDs and they are at the front of the shelf. (Hmmm, another reorganizing to do? Nah, there aren’t that many.
The other films I watch frequently, though probably not annually, are the Jurassic Park ones.
I just took my children to see this last night, and it was a visual feast! We all adored it, and I know just what you mean about wanting to see it again to catch all those lovely little details that fly by so quickly. I loved Depp’s understated performance, and the sly humor, and all the animals, particularly the rabbit. I know we will be buying this when it comes out. I’m glad you enjoyed it, too.
Ps. Although it did bug me that they called it “the Jabberwocky” instead of “the Jabberwock.” 🙁
Darla: It certainly is a fun movie to take one’s kids too. It was a pleasure to actually see a movie like this made that can appeal to adults but didn’t have a bunch of “adult” humor couched in it as is often the case anymore with films marketed to children.
Richard: We do a lot of Christmas movie re-watching as well. And a lot of period piece films: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Twelfth Night, Much ado about Nothing, A Room with a View, Emma.
And of course Star Wars and the LOTR films.
One of the many reasons why I don’t watch a lot of tv is that I prefer to watch stuff on DVD, and re-watching does take up a significant portion of my yearly in-front-of-the-boob-tube time.
Oh, I loved this film! I found it highly enjoyable and, after reading some reviews that discussed it as an argument for feminism, REALLY enjoyed it. If I had a daughter it’s one of the movies I would make her see, along with Amelia. It was a supremely fun interpretation, I thought! Yay for Alice in Wonderland!
A Phantom Menace reference… LOL! Guys isn’t the Niven talk taking place on another blog. 🙂
Richard R. – Nice to have you apart of the first name, last initial group. I assure you the initiation process is quite painless at least after the first month.
I don’t rewatch or reread as many stories as Carl but do have a few movies/shows I do annually rewatch.
TV show – Just one. Firefly. I have watched these DVD’s atleast once a year or more over these past 5 years. In fact when I was laid off this past summer the series was very comforting to return too again.
Movies – I LOVE Pride & Prejudice. This book made a lasting impact on me in high school. I thoroughly enjoy the BBC mini-series and the Ang Lee film versions. I watch atleast one if not both versions every year. I also love watching the LOTR movies each year as well as multiple Star Wars movies each year. My son has become a huge SW fan so I’m always catching parts of the movies if not all numerous times a year. The LOTR films are just a lighting rod to my love fantasy and SW to my love of Scifi.
Holiday films I watch every year are: My number one favorite of all time is Love Actually. I also love Miracle on the 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, While you were Sleeping and Holiday Inn.
Jeff: Niven can travel across dimensions! He’s Larry Niven after all!!! 🙂
We just watched Serenity again the other night. Tori has been watching it with a friend who hasn’t seen the series, so it was fun to watch the movie with a newbie.
And Joe Wright directed the other version of Pride and Prejudice, Lee was Sense and Sensibility. But I know you actually like BOTH of those films, so its all good!
Courtney: Great to hear that you enjoyed this so much!
Oops. Joe Wright… yeah right!!!
We had a blast taking Lydia and Jessica. They LOVED it. I haven’t seen a 3-D movie since I was a kid and my dad took me to see jaws. It was a treat to see something in 3-D.
We left the little ones at home. We didn’t want them to be scared at bedtime for a month. They still have wild imaginations.
Jules: Probably a good call. Sounds like they had fun riding in Tori’s car…and thankfully it turned out NOT to be something that would give them nightmares! 🙂
Glad you all got to go and glad you had fun.
Jeff: I probably wouldn’t have remembered, but I watched the last half of Pride and Prejudice and a few of the extras while I was doing some blog surfing today.
The soundtrack was lovely – so glad you mentioned it! (I forgot, and had meant to.) It suited the atmosphere of the film, I thought, but was quite memorable on its own. And thank you for mentioned the Knave of Heart’s body/motion – I thought I was going nuts, seeing something wrong or, if not wrong, off about it.
Carl, I agreed completely with your assessment!
Janet: cool, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Chelle: Danny Elfman is someone whose music I am always aware of in movies. And nope, nothing nuts about you, it was weird.