Alice in Blunderland

Rating: 4/10 (27 March 2010)

Alice in Wonderland is one of several adaptations based on Lewis Carroll's books about a girl who wanders into Wonderland, a place filled with strange, comical fellows and some nightmarish creatures. We find Alice (Mia Wasikowska) on the brink of engagement to a man she does not like. Instead of facing her fears, she runs away. She comes across a hole, almost like a rabbit hole. She falls in and is thrust into the twisted world of Tim Burton, I mean Wonderland, or as the inhabitants call it, Underland.
She is confronted by several characters, including Tweedledee, Tweedledum, the White Rabbit, the Dodo bird, and the Blue Caterpillar. They are excited because they believe that she is the same Alice who had been in Wonderland before and has returned to slay the Jabberwocky. Alice doesn't remember being there before except in her dreams. In fact, she continues to believe that she is still dreaming. Things get real for her when the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) sends out her minions to find Alice. She seeks help from the Cheshire Cat, who leads her to the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
Without going too far into the story, Alice is faced with several challenges dealing with her belief in Wonderland and her role in restoring order to the land. The Red Queen has brought bloodshed and tears to the once harmonious land. Her sister the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) willfully waits in the wings until her champion (hopefully Alice) will take on the Jabberwocky.
Wow. That was a mouthful. And you know what, I don't really mind the story. Much like the Disney animated classic, the story is so bizarre, outlandish, and colorful that I can handle almost anything as far as bizarreness and an over the top story. What I don't like is bad film-making and storytelling. That is where the film goes horribly awry.
Starting with the character of Alice, I never felt like she really cared enough. Yes, she is proper and holds a sense of dignity, but at the beginning of the film she seems so headstrong and opinionated. She never questions what happens to her, only saying here and there that it is all a dream. What bothers me even more is how much she says she cares about others like the Mad Hatter, whom she barely knows! I don't understand.
The look of the film might be my least favorite aspect. A filmmaker like Terry Gilliam can get away with a film like this. Take for instance The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It has a lot of special effects and green screen work, but there are actual sets and tangible things, as well as bizarre creatures and settings. Burton goes almost completely green screen with the exception of a couple of the actors. It's very fake looking and very forced. Things that should be somewhat natural are distorted. Yes, I understand that Wonderland is a very strange place, but that doesn't mean that a horse has to be CGI. Horses can be used in movies.
The colors in the film were too saturated and gloomy looking. The animated version and other remakes include vibrant colors as well as dark, and gloomy ones. Here we see very dark blues, bloody reds, and jungle greens. A lot of overcast skies and grey looking sets. The real world looks more vibrant than Wonderland.
The acting too was a bit off as well. Depp's character is supposed to be crazy, but I think he goes a little too far with the accents. I liked his enthusiasm, but was not completely sold. The White Queen was a confusing character. She was almost floating around, holding her arms above her hips like a fairy. I was never sure what to make of her. She seemed so fake. As I mentioned before I thought that Mia as Alice was a bit boring. Her face did not have much emotion, though she looked perfect for the part. I wanted more out of her.
Had I watched this film in standard 2D I would have probably given it a much worse review. The 3D visuals do help make the film look better, but it should make it look amazing. The colors popped a slightly, but were I to watch it in 2D the foreground and background would almost certainly blend together, creating a very flat and uninteresting surface.
I didn't have high hopes for this film and still I was disappointed. I wanted more from the actors (though the voice acting was pretty good, especially Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat) and I was hoping for a more pleasant looking Wonderland. A word of warning for those planning on taking young ones to the film: the PG rating is very lenient. There is a lot of disturbing and frightening imagery that could upset children. There is some eye plucking, head rolling, and some scary looking creatures. It could be too much to handle. I'm sure Disney pushed hard for the friendlier rating, but don't be fooled.