I would agree with two of the negative reviews I've read

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2010)

Ebert says the ending is hollow and far below the level of its preceding scenes. He's right, but I wasn't as upset about it as he was. It's a convention to end a movie that way and though it was definitely an opportunity to do much better, it's familiar and a fairly good way to back out of a pleasant experience.
And then there's Disenchanted's barb stating that Burton may be a better set designer than director. He may be right as the sets are very, very good while the movie has rather obvious flaws. Still I was more often caught up in this Burton film than I have in any of his others. I think he's reached a new level as a director, achieving something quite difficult to capture, a dream-like quality as a child would have experienced it. That's not bad.
I enjoyed Depp's and Bonham-Carter's performances the most though I was quite happy with Mia Wasikowska's as well. She has a wonderfully light touch that I found easy to accept as lead, even as an young English maiden. There's something about her that makes her an ideal guide and though Burton shows much more intense vision in this film than in his others, she's especially integral to it and the movie would have suffered greatly without her.
All in all a good movie, with many brilliant parts.