Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (29 August 2018)

"Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, directed by Tim Burton (whom I love), starring celebrities like Johnny Depp (whom I adore), Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman and legendary Christopher Lee, with technical capabilities of year 2010 and a $ 200 million budget ... You can not blame me for having high expectations. And when you see this wonder of wasted potential you won't blame me for being disappointed either.
The film is visually impressive and I really have no complaints, but everything else is lousy. Tim Burton didn't really fail, but we all know that he can do it much much better. Mad Hatter is one of Depp's weakest roles, Mia Wasikowska is sweet and she played Alice quite decent, and only Helena Bonham Carter really made an impression on me. The story is cute but lousy, it's not boring, but it doesn't engage you as much as such adventure should. You will not have the urge to turn off the movie, but you will not be upset if you need to leave it in half. However, I'm not sure how much is that the fault of unimaginative screenwriter and director (it certainly isn't Carroll's fault), and how much is this actually result of this being Disney movie primarily intended for children, which imposes many limitations. But the fact that the film is intended for children is just an explanation, and not an excuse for a naive, shallow and too simple story. A quality movie for children should be multilayered, on the first glance simple enough to entertain children, but with a certain depth that will intrigue adults. This movie doesn't have that. If you are out of elementary school you're too old for this.
6/10