Movie: Alice In Wonderland 2010
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway.
There is no doubt that director Tim Burton has his own unique visual style. That style seems like a perfect match for a story like Alice In Wonderland. Unfortunately this movie spends way too much time getting the style right and ignores things like developing an interesting plot or clever characters. It's as if they are trying to see what would happen if Wonderland were devoid of charm and wit. In this story, which is part remake and part sequel Alice is a teenage girl in 1865 who is about to be forced into marriage. She also has been having "dreams" of a magical land called Wonderland. Alice is a bit awkward and doesn't quite fit in with the rest of society. During a party she again travels to Wonderland through the rabbit hole. Only this time Wonderland is in trouble and needs to be saved from the Red Queen.
In this way Alice is not really exploring Wonderland and meeting new characters instead the movie relies on the audience's previous knowledge from other films and the book. We are made to believe these characters are interesting and clever but the movie lazily avoids having to develop any of this itself. For example when Alice meets the Mad Hatter it is only because of the visuals and our previous knowledge that we know he is mad at all. It's as if by putting Johnny Depp in a funny costume they thought they had created a character. For someone who is "mad" it is odd that he doesn't have one clever line in the whole film.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway.
There is no doubt that director Tim Burton has his own unique visual style. That style seems like a perfect match for a story like Alice In Wonderland. Unfortunately this movie spends way too much time getting the style right and ignores things like developing an interesting plot or clever characters. It's as if they are trying to see what would happen if Wonderland were devoid of charm and wit. In this story, which is part remake and part sequel Alice is a teenage girl in 1865 who is about to be forced into marriage. She also has been having "dreams" of a magical land called Wonderland. Alice is a bit awkward and doesn't quite fit in with the rest of society. During a party she again travels to Wonderland through the rabbit hole. Only this time Wonderland is in trouble and needs to be saved from the Red Queen.
In this way Alice is not really exploring Wonderland and meeting new characters instead the movie relies on the audience's previous knowledge from other films and the book. We are made to believe these characters are interesting and clever but the movie lazily avoids having to develop any of this itself. For example when Alice meets the Mad Hatter it is only because of the visuals and our previous knowledge that we know he is mad at all. It's as if by putting Johnny Depp in a funny costume they thought they had created a character. For someone who is "mad" it is odd that he doesn't have one clever line in the whole film.
