Everything has a beginning, though I doubt this was the intention of both Disney and Tim Burton when this film started production. I think they expected their 2010 rendition of Lewis Carroll's famous nonsensical stories as the next big fantasy franchise, a la The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. What they got instead was something far worse: the beginning of a new dark era of filmmaking which frowns on originality and instead praises and props up those who would rather remake and "re-envision" better movies and stories for the big screens. And, oh boy, was Alice in Wonderland a huge step in the wrong directions for both paths. Disney is still lacking that big fantasy franchise (Star Wars is clearly sci-fi) and has now moved onto remaking more live action versions of animated films (which most staunch Disney fans hoped would fail). Ordinarily, a crossover between Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton would seem to be like a match made in heaven. After all, Burton is the genius behind some of the most surreal and outrageous films of all time, including Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Edward Scissorhands. Much like how certain people seem tailor made to play certain roles (Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams, Christopher Lee as Saruman), Burton seemed almost completely born specifically to make an Alice in Wonderland movie. And yet, it seemed that every single step he and his team took while making the film was a misstep. From completely missing out on the source material, to effortlessly shoveling in tired cliches, to turning Wonderland into a George Lucas CGI wet dream, this film was literally throwing fifty or so ideas into a melting pot and hoping that just one would stick. And, not a single one fit properly.
Plot: A fully grown Alice finds herself as an oddball in a highly snobbish 19th century British society. She wants to break free from cultural norms and become the eccentric thinker her father thought she could be. But dreams from her childhood start to come back to her as she follows a white rabbit in a waistcoat with a watch down a rabbit hole and into the mystical realm from her dreams. All of the people in "Underland" seem to remember her and believe her to be the final piece they needed to help save their land from the evil Red Queen and her Jabberwocky. Despite her insistence that this is just a dream, Alice plays along far longer than anyone would have thought, even becoming somewhat personally involved when the Mad Hatter sacrifices himself to allow Alice to escape the Queen's guards.
Determined to rescue her "friend", defy the so called "prophecy" and prove to herself and the rest of the world around her that this is just a dream world she created, Alice sets out on a journey of self-discovery and intense fantasy esque battles, culminating in meeting the famed Jabberwocky on the battlefield.
What's Wrong: And therein lies the ultimate flaw in this film: the complete and utter disregard for the source material. The entire point of Alice in Wonderland is the chaos Alice encounters along her journey, while comprehending that there is a reason rules and order are needed in a society. The characters range from loud and bombastic, to quiet and scheming, but the one thing they all have in common is that they are delightfully insane and bear no qualms about it. This film's universe depicts everyone in Wonderland (oh I'm sorry "UNDERLAND") as politically involved good guys who hate the evil Red Queen and hope to put the White Queen, her sister, back on the throne. What is the point of having this story take place in Wonderland, when the plot can be ripped from almost any Fantasy Series that was out at the time?
But the flaws don't end there. There is also the needless and tired usage of cliches in the flowing narrative. By 2010, the whole "Chosen One" narrative had been so overused and worn out that even the Fairly Odd Parents took a shot at it in one of their spoof movies. Everywhere, from Anakin Skywalker to Harry Potter was using both "Chosen One" and "Prophecy" narratives to move their stories along instead of coming out with something unique and original. Of all the stories that could possibly be built on this, why oh why would someone choose Alice in Wonderland, a world that does not require order or balance for it to work?
Not to mention the fact that the acting in this movie is flat out mediocre at best. No one is allowed to be themselves in these roles, as two staples in Burton films (Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp) fall into shallow second rate imitations of themselves in their roles as the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter. Adding to it the blandness of Anne Hathaway, the sheer randomness of Crispin Glover's appearance as a Captain of the Guard, and the passable cameos of Christoper Lee and Alan Rickman, the entire cast would definitely bring the cast of the Prequels up for a challenge in blandness and uninterested line reads.
What's Good?: As with most of the poor Tim Burton movies, the cinematography and the set design is incredible. If there is one thing Burton almost never shorts us out of, it's his brilliant set design, hence why I've always thought he'd be a better set designer than a director. If this was one of the few things Burton could do right with this source material, I'm happy he chose this.
Overall: To put it bluntly, the film is an utter mess. The positives surrounding the set design and cinematography cannot possibly outweigh the weaknesses in story, adaptation, acting, or characters. Yet, this is only one part of the coming storm of remakes and "reimaginings". And if this is any inclination of how weak the coming films would be, we have a LONG way to go...
Final Grade: F
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