Review - Alice in Wonderland in 3-D

Tim Burton always gets a bad rap from critics. I’ve always thought of him as one of those directors that will reach his peak once he’s long gone and 30 years from now people will where retro t-shirts of featuring his various interpretations of characters. But, in present day he is still shrouded in mystery and in some ways his own little world as you sit through Alice in Wonderland you will either feel like he’s is the genius you always knew he was or that he has once again fallen off his spaceship rocker (don’t be surprised if he actually has one) for another notch in his quest to waste a bunch of Hollywood money.

The Good – Alice in Wonderland gave me much of what I wanted visually. The 3-D is not invasive; the colors keep the film feeling like a wonderland ride and the combination of various types of animation underline the wow factor. Add to that memorable performances by Helena B Carter and Johnny Depp (actually all of the actors really keep this movie afloat) and what you have is a twist on a classic tale and a pleasant visual feast. This may also lead to a strong opening as the curiosity of this film has really reached it’s peak thanks to Disney – oh and btw – Disney is aggressively concentrating on licensing and extending brands which the success of this film will depend on.

The Bad – I almost felt as if Tim Burton gave up on script aspect of his story after he introduced us to the original twist. I also felt as if the film was 20 mins too long even for me so I don’t think kids are going to be able to turn off their Nintendo DS’s long enough to stay interested. Fans of the book may not like the way some of their lovable characters come across on screen. Unlike past films where some those ‘adult themed’ jokes go right over head, what you might be left explaining to a youngster is ‘why doing drugs may inspire filmmaking’.

The Ugly - Mia Wasikowska as Alice was the worst thing about this film. I didn’t care about her, I felt like the character was just floating along and her range of emotion was lost in sequences where she could not even stretch her own imagination. I think she may have been the mis-cast of the year with this role and I do not look forward to her future work if her ‘big break’ was some of her best work.

Final Note
I want Cameron, Lucas and Burton to teach a course on how to step up the visual game of Hollywood and invite these masters to create a blueprint for future success.
See Alice in Wonderland on the big screen in 3-D and you will get a lot more out of it then you could possibly get by simply watching it at home. What is a great visual ride gets lost in itself at times but carries a charm and uniqueness that compensates for a questionable star.