Burton’s ‘Alice’ Is All Style and No Substance
Recently I was gifted with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland on Blu-ray which I was interested to see because I never caught it in theaters. It appeared enjoyable since Tim Burton directed it, but I was never motivated to spend money on seeing it. Receiving the Blu-ray was the perfect excuse to view the film without sacrificing any hard-earned cash.
In all of its high-definition glory, this film is incredibly beautiful, exploring colorful environments inhabited by CG characters and live actors heavily coated in makeup. That being said, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is all style and no substance. To entertain its viewers, it relies on lavish colors and whimsical interpretation of the classic characters from the novels by Lewis Carroll. Burton’s version lacks substance though because the motivation for returning Alice to Wonderland is never clearly explained and Alice herself is incredibly bland.
Burton’s version places Alice, from Lewis Carroll’s classic stories, into the rabbit’s hole yet again as a 19-year-old. Unbeknownst to her, she has been brought back by the citizens of Wonderland, who have been suffering under the Red Queen, an evil queen that beheads her opponents. The people of Wonderland believe that Alice will slay the evil monster known as the Jabberwocky, which the Red Queen uses to keep her subjects under control. With the Jabberwocky gone, the citizens hope to restore the former ruler, the White Queen back to power. Under the reign of the White Queen, they can return to the happiness they once knew.
Alice has her own doubts about her destiny and importance to these people, although with enough convincing she comes to blindly accept her role in defeating the Jabberwocky. Burton fails to explain what about Alice is so special though and why these people think that she can save them from the Red Queen. Since Alice never really questions her destiny, or seeks answers its difficult to care much about her.
According to the story, the people of Wonderland are supposed to be created by Alice’s imagination. However for a young woman with a vivid imagination, Mia Wasikowksa does not seem to fit the part. She says things that sound like they should come from a whimsical personality, yet the statements do not seem legitimate. As a result some of her lines sound as if Alice herself does not even buy into what she is saying. Her lack of imagination makes Alice a bland character that is hard to relate to.
Even as the Mad Hatter, Johnny Depp is unable to save this movie. His makeup looks fantastic, though at points his dialogue is hard to understand. Since you never get to know him that well or come to understand why he cares so much for Alice, he is another character that is difficult to identify with. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a clear example of the negative impact when plot takes a backseat to special effects. The end result is a movie that is unclear and uninteresting to the average viewer.