Return to Wonderland

By JENNIFER CHAN
Bulatlat.com

When news first broke out of another adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland hitting the big screen, everybody was excited. But when news of Tim Burton taking the director’s chair spread, there were mixed reactions. Fans of The Nightmare before Christmas and Sweeney Todd were elated at it, of course, but others were a little apprehensive as to what Wonderland would turn out to be like. Casting Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter (obviously Burton favorites) in the movie only seemed to heighten speculation.

Will there be blood? Will Alice be a little demented? How loyal will the movie be to the original story? As expected from Burton, the movie was everything in between, hovering on normalcy one second and bizarre the next.

It starts off with five-year-old Alice recounting her dream about talking rabbits and mad hatters and asking her father if she had gone bonkers, to which he replies that she is most assuredly so but that the truth is, all the best people are. This thought makes little Alice smile and frankly, it’s the last real smile you see on her for a good while.

Fast forward to the future and Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, is now 19-years-old. She finds herself attending her own surprise engagement party to a person named Hamish who could not be more different from her (and whose nose is perennially stuck up in the air).

This Alice is obviously not made from the same cookie cutter mold as everyone else which is why Wasikowski seemed like the perfect choice for the role. Her acting may seem a little deadpan to others but it’s probably under the direction of Burton who imagines a strange sort of Alice—a seemingly indifferent yet always ready with a retort Alice.

And while it takes a while for her to reach the rabbit hole, it’s interesting to note that there are already Wonderland counterparts wandering about aboveground. Two sisters resembling Twiddledum and Twiddledee, for example, corner Alice at the party and unwittingly reveal the reason for the celebration.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Eventually, Alice makes her way down to Wonderland (now known as Underland) and it’s definitely not the sort of place anyone would call wonderful. 3D or not, it is clear that much has changed since Alice’s last visit (not that she remembers it very well). Underland has Burton’s fingerprints all over it. Creepy with a touch of whimsical.

Familiar characters such as Twiddledum and Twiddledee, The White Rabbit, The Dormouse and the Dodo give her a once over and debate over whether she is the right Alice. They take her to see Absolem the Caterpillar, unmistakably voiced by Alan Rickman, who then proclaims that she is “hardly Alice.”

There is no time for another debate though when a cat-like creature attacks. An army of red cards, led by Stayne, the Knave of Hearts, noisily clank through the field and snatch up every creature they can. Played by Crispin Glover, Stayne is highly entertaining as a sneaky adviser to the Red Queen considering that the actor himself didn’t speak a word as the Thin Man in the Charlie’s Angels movies. Dastardly suits him well.

The rule of the Red Queen has clearly not been very peaceful. The subjects live in fear and the pretentious mask themselves with fake body parts to keep the despot of a queen from chopping their heads off. Perhaps the only ones who can actually save Wonderland are those who have already lost their heads.

Covered in make-up, the Mad Hatter, played by Depp, seems saner than any other character in the movie. Despite his sudden mood swings (which his face paint matches perfectly), he alone believes in Alice and seems to have a genuine fondness for the heroine. You can’t help but turn to putty yourself when the Mad Hatter displays his own vulnerability. Depp plays the tragic candy-colored Hatter well enough but his long dialogues seem a little too reminiscent of his days as Willy Wonka.

On the other hand, the Red Queen, played by Carter, garnered a lot of attention and it wasn’t only for her big head. Alongside her terrifying demeanor is a childlike petulance although you wouldn’t want to try chastising such a child.

Growing up Alice

It takes more than a cake that says EAT ME for Alice to grow up. Hers is ultimately a journey of self-discovery. It takes a while for Alice to become the right Alice but when she does, she does so complete with a Joan of Arc armor and a sword that may or may not have a life of its own.

To make decisions for yourself and to have the courage to face the unknown, that is the lesson Alice leaves Wonderland with.

Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland is not for everybody. There are no singing flowers in this one but there is something good in it that makes you wonder just how many impossible things you can think of before breakfast. (Bulatlat.com)

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  1. I agree. Big names will always steal the show. And few names can hold their own next to Johnny Depp. I’m also a huge Depp fan myself. But if you’d like to see more of Wasikowska (without Depp’s intimidating glamor), she’s also in Amelia (although for some reason, I didn’t recognize her until I looked up the character list).

  2. · Edit

    Being a fan of both Jonny Depp and Tim Burton I cannot help but to be a bit biased on my take of this movie. If you ask me, the time is just right to have this odd version of the classics.

    I am a bit concerned though on who the real star or this movie is. As it is apparent that Johnny Depp owns more scenes than Mia.

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