Alice in Wonderland - % % % %

Alice in Wonderland is the perfect project for morose, quirky director, Tim Burton. The scraggly trees and fog that greet Alice upon arrival in Wonderland are straight from his repertoire, such as Sleepy Hollow or The Corpse Bride. But along with the shadowy darkness and child-like fascination with death, there is the beauty and charm of the fanciful and vibrant world created by Lewis Carol. And Burton develops this fantasy in beautiful fashion. In Wonderland fire is not just flame colored, it’s got sharp bursts of pink electricity.

Again we have the team of Burton and Johnny Depp, in crazy teeth with a variable accent that jumps around the British Isles according to his mood and eyes that change color accordingly like a mood ring. I am stunned by how many crazy-drunk voices he can create and still establish a unique character.

This is not the usual story of Alice, which is brilliant since we all know the original and it would be difficult to keep the film suspenseful or interesting if one simply followed the book. Instead we meet Alice as a young adult about to be trapped into a marriage with a sniffling wimp. She disappears down the rabbit hole again and discovers that she is not a heroine any longer, because she isn’t much like a hero. She has lost her muchness. This film follows her gaining confidence and muchness through rescuing the Mad Hatter and others and standing up to the Red Queen. The plot is weak in this part and the devices that serve to strengthen Alice are not as innovative or moving as the visual creativity on display in every nook and cranny of the film.

I’m totally impressed by Burton’s creation of a scary fantasy world of beheadings and madness that never becomes too scary for kids or too lame for anyone. The macabre cruelty of the Red Queen is enhanced by the tortured birds carrying her chandelier or the monkey butlers holding up her chairs and tables. And who doesn’t want monkey butlers? Awesome.

In fact one of the most child-like aspects of the film is the deep love of animals from the affection of the delightful monkeys and frogs in the Red Queen’s service to the hound dog who saves Alice and the grizzly Bandersnatch whom Alice befriends. It’s sweet without being bubblegum and it fits so well into a story in which animals are both deceitful and mad, as well as the oracles to wisdom.


It’s really good and although the plot could be more inventive, I think it’s Burton’s best film in years.