Very entertaining but somewhat lacking

Rating: 6/10 (16 April 2010)

The idea of Tim Burton directing a live action/animated crossbreed of the famed nonsense story "Alice in Wonderland" seems like a match made by the arch angels of cinema heaven and even though the final result is pretty good, you can't help but feel a sense of botched potential.
The story is slightly tweaked from Lewis Carroll's original. Thirteen years after her original visit, Alice is lured back to Wonderland (or Underland, apparently) in order to fulfill her destiny: slay the monstrous Jabberwocky.
First off, this film has many great virtues: the visual style is perfect (with Burton nicely contrasting the real and fantasy worlds), there's a shipload of great performances, and the movie moves at a good pace. Plus, it's fun to see the the magnificent Christopher Lee and Michael Gough in a movie again.
However, on the whole, there's something amiss. Although fun and entertaining, it's sad that Burton didn't just do a straight version of the original book. On top of that, Johnny Depp turns in a shockingly two-dimensional performance and the infamous "futterwacken dance" is a little out of place.
Overall, "Alice in Wonderland" is something special but feels a little empty.