ALICE IN WONDERLAND- Watching Tim Burton’s reinvention of Lewis Carroll’s literary masterpiece, it’s impossible not to imagine its dazzling Technicolor imagery as a video game or theme park ride. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends entirely on your viewpoint.
Burton’s flamboyant gothic humor makes him the perfect match for Carroll’s sly, sadistic fable, and the film wisely updates the classic tale by introducing us to Alice (Mia Wasikowska) as a rebellious 19-year-old resentful of being told what to do or who to marry. Once she falls down the rabbit hole the story seems a bit too familiar, relying on Burton’s brilliant visuals to drive the pacing.
For the most part he succeeds, providing a hallucinogenic kaleidoscope of colors and gleefully twisted characters voiced by killer thespians (Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, Stephen Fry as as the Cheshire Cat and Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit). Perfect casting has always been one of Burton’s trademarks and, from Helena Bonham Carter as the huge-headed Red Queen and Crispin Glover as her malevolent henchman to Anne Hathaway as the ridiculously regal White Queen, Wonderland is no exception. The lynchpin (as usual) is Johnny Depp, whose Mad Hatter looks like the bastard offspring of Bozo the Clown and Madonna. Once again hiding his leading man looks behind the bizarre visage of a quirky crackpot one small step from utter insanity, Depp’s tightrope walk along the thin line dividing “just enough” from “over the top” proves the film’s most fascinating element.
Unfortunately, things go completely off the rails in an action-centered third act that feels entirely unnecessary, almost as if the powers-that-be couldn’t believe that a well-told fable full of colorful characters and spectacular scenery would hold our attention for 90 minutes. Ultimately, it proves a disappointing end for an idea that begins with remarkable promise. (C+) –Bret Love
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