To paraphrase an old political saw, “we get the motion pictures we deserve.”
If director Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” isn’t quite like the cherished children’s book of our youth, it’s because deep down he knew audiences wanted something different.
Something darker, to be exact, with more action and adventure than author Lewis Carroll had in mind.
So while the Burton/Carroll union seemed a marriage made in cinematic heaven, it’s really just another chance to spin a new film franchise from a classic brand.
The new, but not so improved “Wonderland” stars Mia Wasikowska as an older than we expect Alice. She’s a feisty young woman who resists a stuffy, but suitable paramour as the story opens.
Good thing she spots an enormous rabbit hole to duck into during an intolerable soiree.
From there she’s in Wonderland, or Underland, to be precise, that magical realm featuring the Cheshire Cat, Tweedledee and Tweedledum and, of course, The Mad Hatter.
The latter, portrayed by Johnny Depp like a greatest hits collection of past nutso roles, helps Alice in her battle against the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter’s head atop a tiny body).
“Wonderland” features the by-now standard Burton storyline of the outside who simply doesn’t fit in. But this Alice is more than just a square peg in a round hole. She’s a warrior just waiting for her call to arms.
Her evolution to warrior status comes in fits and starts, reminding audiences how uncomfortable Burton can be with narrative basics.
The film’s second half suffers no such speed bumps, as the action takes center stage and the film’s wondrous CGI work shoves away the mental cobwebs.
Young Wasikowska is negligible in the title role, a star-making opportunity in search of tomorrow’s star.
Carter has no such qualms stealing every scene as the combustible Red Queen, a performance aided by some truly magical effects. Can’t wait for the DVD version which, we hope, will pull back the curtain on the Oz-like trickery.
The film’s 3-D elements are often negligible. The effects were added after the fact, and many scenes play out as if the third dimensional didn’t bother showing up.
“Alice in Wonderland” will rake in the cash even if the story takes liberties with the source material and neglects to mirror its timeless whimsy.
Modern film franchises have been built on far, far less.
(Photo: Helen Bonham Carter, center, is the wicked Red Queen in “Alice in Wonderland.” Disney)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Alice’s character sounds quite different, as does the insertion of action sequences, but the books have always seemed pretty dark to me. (Maybe because the Tenniel illustrations scared me as a kid.)
Does Helena Bonham Carter play the Red Queen or the Queen of Hearts? I ask because the Red Queen (and Tweedledum and Tweedledee) are from “Through the Looking Glass,” and it seems odd to have the first film in a franchise plunder all the best bits from the second book.
Sorry! Forgot to close my link.
…Burton’s been skewing darker with his whimsy since “Batman Returns” (where I loved the darker theme) and “Sleepy Hollow” (where I did not).
Like Jones’ “Where the Wild Things Are,” considering this a children’s film for adults is a misnomer – but it IS entertaining.
D.
Another butchery not to see.