An anti-climax and essentially a disappointment

Rating: 5/10 (8 March 2010)

In the 1970's the door on New Hollywood was emphatically shut with blockbusters Jaws and Star Wars taking millions. Studios took it upon themselves to reign in the indulgent artistry of a director like Burton to focus on selling a product. This is what this film represents. It is the death of a once visionary director who suffers at the hand of marketability.
To focus on the film it is grounded by an 'against-all-odds' story seen in most generic child/teen films of today. The problem is anyone who has read the stories will know that this isn't the setup. This wouldn't have been a problem had the new story been original and anywhere near good. Burton did say he struggled to make it a story but who ever said a story meant good vs. evil, the frame of the story just didn't suit the characters he initially presents and then in an act of disloyalty to Carroll are made as forgettable and generic as the film itself. The entire thing is centered, not so unpredictably, around Burton's proxy, Depp, who serves to fill every desire Burton see's fit in the most crass and at times atrociously cringe-worthy manner. (there is a moment when you feel a Jar Jar Binks cameo might save it, it's that bad) It's really too obvious that he should have such a significant role for Depps character who is mentioned no more than any other in the original stories and in trying to create such a role has greatly hampered the film.
Knowing what you know about Alice in Wonderland and Tim Burton makes this film intensely disappointing in every conceivable way. His vision was lost, having said this you have to question if it was ever there with the narrative being as poor as it is. It is true, escapism for the audience is possible at times, largely due to the novelty of 3D but it isn't enough and the precedent set by the '51 film makes Burtons seem a little easy and feeble. The screenplay is cheesy fueling the fire in your head that this film is for one purpose only, money. Burton said he wanted something that was more than a series of events but went too far in creating a story I think no one really wanted or expected from Alice in Wonderland. It is true of course the success of the film at the box office is undeniable but in the modern era of film I feel we are crying out for some director with an alternative vision, with the resolution and much needed luck to evade studio criteria so that they may take us to somewhere we haven't been before. The novelty of 3D gave Burton the advantage but he still fell short of delivering a film that was memorable and encapsulating for its audience. It all felt set up to win over younger audiences and that seems to be what mattered.