Review: Alice in Wonderland

A not-so-merry unbirthday

By Stan Heaton

I’m not a purist, especially when it comes to books being made into movies. When Peter Jackson brought The Lord of the Rings trilogy to life on the silver screen, I wasn’t nostalgic for J.R.R. Tolkien’s sporadic poetry—quite the opposite, really. Film was a fantastic medium for those books because a fifty-foot theater screen simply has some powers that books don’t.

On the other hand, Lewis Carroll’s books, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, strike a special playful tone that mirrors the exploration of language and youth, something hard to do in film. But even though I love those two books, I didn’t walk into the theater for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland with a snobby smirk and bad attitude.

The film is a sequel to Carroll’s stories, in which a teenage Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Wonderland as an escape from the pressures of growing up, namely, an arranged marriage to a noble twit of a man. After she falls down the rabbit hole and manages her size in all the familiar ways, she emerges into Wonderland, and the film begins to dazzle the viewer with its scenery. The landscapes, castles, and battlegrounds are intricate, expertly rendered, and visually stunning. The use of 3D makes the scenery all the more impressive, adding depth that extends the frame, enhances the characters against the background, and draws attention to some of the more obscure characters, like the Rocking-horse-fly. The use of 3D to enliven the environment is especially effective because the mood of Wonderland is supposed to be strange and, well, wonder full.

The acting is also enjoyable. Wasikowska delivers the necessary innocence mixed with confusion for which the Alice character calls, and Helena Bonham Carter is particularly adept at recreating the bipolarity of the Red Queen. The strongest performance comes from Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar. He nails the pomp and arrogance that embody that sage character.

It’s interesting and fun to watch Johnny Depp switch oddly between a lisp and a Scottish accent as the Mad Hatter, a choice that serves to ramp up the character’s schizophrenia. Depp also delivers the “Jabberwocky” poem from Through the Looking Glass quite well. The combination and balance of moments like this from both books is very well done.

That’s about where the goodness ends. The strange truth is that Alice in Wonderland just isn’t weird enough. With Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Lewis Carroll’s source material, you would think that this film couldn’t fail, but it does. The problem stems from the fact that the narrative is far too linear and much too Hollywood: hero gets put in difficult situation; hero gets magic weapon; hero slays beast; the end. “Jabberwocky” is treated as prophecy, rather than poetry.

This straightforward plotline leaves little to no room for the nonsense that make Alice stories so good. Where are the Walrus and the Carpenter? Where is Humpty Dumpty? Where are all of the puzzling sidetracks and talking wildlife that frustrate and challenge Alice? And where, oh where, is the humor? I expect the general Wonderland nonsense to at least create a chuckle, but this film has almost no comedic moments.

The lack luster of this movie could also come from the fact that the Burton/Depp freak show is losing its appeal. Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, and Sweeney Todd is a good track record, but it’s played out. Johnny Depp can be weird; we got it. That’s not to take away from those movies or the talent of Burton and Depp. I think both men have incredible careers; they just come up short in this film. As I said before, I’m not a purist, but this Hollywood odd couple simply doesn’t capture the bizarreness necessary to make this movie interesting.

If you’re a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, you should check this movie out. The fact that it’s a return to Wonderland is reason enough to watch it once, and there are enough references to the books to at least awaken your inner child. For everyone else, I’d say pass.