Review of Alice in Wonderland (2010) by Alex F — 30 May 2016

This movie was one of the first Disney films to have been reimagined into live-action. It seemed like a good idea to present the story of ALICE IN WONDERLAND for a new generation, and an even better idea to hire Tim Burton as the director. A visionary director taking on the story of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, you'd immediately think that they go hand-in-hand.

In spite of me loving the story of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, I did not want to see this movie. It just looked completely different from the animated film, the characters didn't really look like the ones from the original and the color scheme looked boring and ugly. And I was only eleven when this movie came out, so for me as a kid to think that I wouldn't enjoy it, you know there's already a problem. But I eventually saw it for myself on TV, and I can definitely see where the critics are coming from. The consensus is that it looks visually stunning, but it can't make up for its poor storytelling. And that's pretty much what I think.

As a kid, I probably would've liked the movie fine. I wouldn't care for the story or characters, I would just want some good eye candy. That's honestly one of the few good things I can say about this film, the visuals do look pretty creative. Burton always does a great job making his films look like something out of a fantasy, and I give so much credit to him for that because I've always loved his style. Also, at times, the film does seem to capture the spirit of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. I liked how they portrayed some of the characters like the Cheshire Cat, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and the Queen of Hearts, they were fairly enjoyable.

I really wish that the rest of the movie was like that. Even though the visuals look very imaginative, they also look ugly. That's mainly due to the color scheme. You have these boring red, green, and purple colors mixed with a grayish tint. You could argue that it's just his style because pretty much all of Burton's films have a dark tone and it's partially due to the dark color scheme. It works with films like BATMAN, BEETLEJUICE, and SLEEPY HOLLOW. But when he needs to add brighter colors like in EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BIG FISH, and even CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, it also works well. My point is that a film like this should have plenty of vibrant colors to make the setting more of a world of wonder and surrealism, like a place you want to and live in. I wouldn't want to live in a world that looks boring, ugly, and colorless. The movie also gets gruesome at times. This is a film that is derived from the original animated film. A lot of kids saw it and are willing to go see the remake. But I don't think they would be expecting some very grotesque imagery. We see a decapitation, an eye gouged out, and a tongue cut off. If I was like six years old and I saw this movie, I would be traumatized. So I don't think this movie is appropriate to be a family film.

But the biggest flaw this movie has is its story. I say that because this film shouldn't have a story, it's not supposed to. That's the spirit of Wonderland, it's meant to be world of nonsense, nothing should make sense. Instead, we get a very clichéd story that has to do with resolving a conflict. It says that Alice can stop the Queen of Hearts from terrorizing Wonderland because she's the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky. Wait, how come only she has to do it? And how would she do that if she has no military experience? And how did this situation happen to begin with? And why is there any logic to this anyway? Having something that would make sense in a world where nothing makes sense makes no sense.

I know a lot of people seem to like this movie. Fair enough, there isn't really anything in it that was truly awful (except for that incredibly forced dancing part at the end). Like the film all you want, I'm not here to change your mind about it, I'm just sharing why I personally didn't like it. For a director that has a brilliant imagination, this movie could've been way, WAY better, and it kind of ticks me off because I love the story of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Because of this, I'm not even going to bother to go watch the sequel that just came out, I have absolutely no interest. I hear it's more of the same anyway. But don't let me stop you from going to see it.

Grade: C-.