Director, Tim Burton has done it again, adding another burtonified film to his list of enigmatic successes (Vincent, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber Of Fleet Street), he should be proud of his accomplishments on his part though, because I am. After what’s been months of critical levels of anticipation and a huge amount of new underwear needed due to excitement, will there be any surprise at all when you read through this review? Well, there certainly might be…
The Lewis Carroll classic has astounded many, and disappointed few. And many film-makers have each respectably attempted their own interpretation as a bid for success or self-fulfilment. When I had the pleasure of seeing it yesterday, I was flabbergasted by the visuals as the film got curiouser and curiouser, but that’s not what made it so fantastically nonsensical. Alice In Wonderland is balderdash, complete nonsense, whimsical and bizarre, with clusters of phantasmagorical genius on the side and that is why this film is so beautiful.
Tim Burton’s dark, outlandish mind in combination with the sheer intensity of Carroll’s creativity and imagination come together, hand in hand and it’s a fantastic sight. With stunning visuals (even in 3D where people have experienced 30% colour loss), remarkably cast characters and Oscar winning director, what could go wrong? Not much, but there are a few things.. The most important being this. The plot line. What seems at first to be relevant to the works of Carroll soon ventures off course, as the film progresses, the plot digresses, and whilst the film remains entirely visually stunning throughout, it feels as if Burton felt the aesthetics would fill in the void where the lack of plot now resides. Alice In Wonderland ended abruptly, and that was the final twist of the dagger, the plot did not seem at all incredibly strong, rather as if it were linked with rope and not steel chains.
That being the only problem I had with it, I have to conversely admit that acting on all accounts was impressive, having particularly enjoyed the efforts of the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse) and Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), who is charming, witty and surprisingly nonchalant.The White Queen (Anne Hathaway) whose character limits her to slightly more than few scenes, the White Queen is refreshing in small doses, so don’t expect to see too much. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) who takes change rather well in the end, displays her strength more than effectively. Or even the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) whose previous endeavours as Willy Wonka seemed to have rubbed off on him. But the acting throughout is commendable at least. Overall, Alice In Wonderland is a fantastical tale worth every penny.