Nostalgic Review: Alice In Wonderland (2010)

I remember the amount of buzz this film was getting up to its release in the summer of 2010. I certainly remember hyping it up.

The main reason was that Tim Burton was directing it, and his style seemed almost too perfect for this type of story.

With an all-star cast and amazingly looking visuals, there was little chance that this could disappoint us.

Well, I cannot deny that I was disappointed and the story does take a while to warm to. But I still felt it to be a pretty solid watch. Also, despite the trailer suggesting a re-make. The story actually turns out being a clear a follow-up from the events of the fantastic 1951 animated classic.
The tone was certainly more depressing then I expected. There is little wonder and amazement in this Wonderland, that is actually known by another name in this version which confused many people that saw this.

The cast on the whole I felt was good. Mia Wasikowska was a perfectly fine Alice. However, Johnny Depp's character of the Mad Hatter seemed to be given a much bigger story then you think. He seemed to be a much more important and influential character than any of us would have ever thought. He even has an origins scene and was given a random Scottish accent at times. I don't know if it was because Depp was cast and they had to make him the lead, or that the books do actually have him in an important role.

Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen was as good as you would expect. As for other roles, Anne Hathaway as solid as the White Queen. It was great to see Crispin Glover back on the big screen as the Knave Of Hearts. Other notable voice performances that worked well was Matt Lucas as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Barbara Windsor as Dormouse and Alan Rickman as Absolem.

The use of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter felt a bit too safe and obvious for many people with Burton directing. I  was fine with both. But I can definitely see why, and casting someone else would have been a more refreshing approach.

The big highlight performance for me was Stephen Fry as the voice of the Cheshire Cat. It was probably the only character that exceeded my expectations. It had that perfect mix of the character from the animated version and Burton's vision of it.

The main problems I had with it was the story and using too much green screen. The story did not grip me enough. I had me confused more than anything else. An Alice In Wonderland film should entertain and amaze you. There was definitely too much green screen. I felt it needed more physicality that could mix in with the CGI landscape.
There are also some really random moments that totally take you out of the film. Most notably, a freaky looking dance by Depp's character towards the end. I understood why they did it. But the execution of it felt separate to everything we had just seen.

There are definitely a series of Burton films that are making him look like a pastiche of himself, and I would probably include this one. We've had others like Planet Of The Apes, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (which I thought was pretty solid) and Dark Shadows.

I definitely don't hate it as much as the majority. There is stuff in here that I liked. I like the general look of it, the design of the characters was impressive to look at, especially the Cheshire Cat and the Queen's Playing Card and I like the performances as a whole and I love the score by Danny Elfman. But it is first and foremost, a disappointment.

Rating: 7/10