A visual treat with a so-so script and an uninteresting protagonist

Rating: 6/10 (18 April 2010)

Tim Burton's extension of the classic Alice in Wonderland story is definitely a feast for the eyes. Script-wise, however, it is a bit of a let-down.
The movie's first act is a humdrum experience for the most part. When we first meet Alice, she is a little girl plagued by "dreams" of falling down a hole into a land filled with various odd creatures. We then fast-forward 17 years later to find she has become a fanciful young woman wanting to break free from her uptight aristocratic society, one that expects her to accept a marriage proposal from a complete dweeb. Instead, she chases a waistcoat-wearing, pocket watch-brandishing white rabbit into the forest and falls down a rabbit hole.
For the the next few minutes, the movie plays out much like the usual Alice in Wonderland story (you know, "Drink Me," "Eat Me," shrink, grow, yada yada yada). It's when she finally arrives in Wonderland (oh, sorry... "Underland") where things take a completely different turn. As it turns out, the Red Queen has taken over "Underland" and has made life itself a living hell for everyone. There is doubt amongst the denizens of "Underland" that this Alice is the right Alice -- you know, the Alice that visited "Underland" as a little girl. This is kind of a big deal because this Alice is apparently the "Underland" version of "The One:" she is prophesied by some mystical scroll as the one who will slay the terrifying Jabberwocky and end the Red Queen's reign of tyranny over "Underland" once and for all.
During the first, oh, 30 minutes or so, I found myself more interested in the CGI (and the 3D) than in the story or the characters. That did change, at least to some extent: I actually started to care about characters like The Mad Hatter, Bayard the bloodhound, and the Cheshire Cat, as well as their roles in the story. But one character I never became attached to was Alice herself. I blame this mostly on Mia Wasikowska; her portrayal as Alice was, well... a bit dull, really. She began to bring a bit more life to the character in the third act, but that's a bit too late: for the rest of the film, she struck me as surprisingly one-dimensional. Considering Alice is the one with whom we're supposed to have the most emotional connection, Wasikowska's predominately one-note performance was severely damaging to the film. It's never a good idea for the protagonist to be the least interesting character in the narrative.
My primary issues with the picture, however, lie with the script. I felt the story was not as engaging as it should have been, or as it strives to be. There were a lot of truly enjoyable moments, buoyed by lovable characters and some creative twists on the original Alice stories. To me, however, it felt as though the script wandered back and forth between inspired madness and uninspired hokeyness; between moments of pure delight and moments of pure blah. Of course, it didn't help there was very little emotional interest between myself and Alice. Then there's the climactic battle, which, even though it looked cool and took place on what looked like a mega-sized chessboard, seemed surprisingly generic and out-of-place in this film.
While the story and script were fairly hit-and-miss, the visual aspect of the film was outstanding (which is to be expected in a Burton movie). The effects were amazing (for the most part), and the designs (like the armor worn by the playing-card soldiers and the aforementioned chessboard battlefield) were a mix of inspired originality and creative adaptations.
Aside from Wasikowska, the actors gave some delightful (if not particularly outstanding) performances. Johnny Depp is suitably zany as The Mad Hatter; he is indeed mad, but not to the extent that it interferes with his judgment (well, usually) or his humanity. Helena Bonham Carter is great as the sadistic Red Queen, depicting her not only as a short-tempered tyrant but as an internally vulnerable woman seeking love and acceptance. Anne Hathaway is fine as the White Queen, making her an elegant eccentric, leading one to believe she, too, has a touch of madness. Then there's Crispin Glover, who is awesome as the Knave of Hearts ... heck, he's Crispin Glover, he's always awesome. The voice actors also do great work, notably Alan Rickman as Absolem the caterpillar and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat.
Like many of Burton's recent films, his Alice in Wonderland is really a mixed bag for me. It is at some moments (mainly in the beginning) dull and meandering, and at other times delightful and fun. A tighter, more energized script and an actress who can bring vitality to the lead role would have done wonders. Kudos to Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton for attempting to make Alice "feel like a story as opposed to a series of events" (as Burton put it) in an attempt to make it connect emotionally, but they were only halfway successful. Going down that rabbit hole was certainly not a horrible experience... but it could have been better.