Where is "Whimsical"?

Rating: 5/10 (29 December 2010)

To say I had high expectations for this movie is such an exaggeration, it's pathetic. This is Tim Burton, one of the few semi-deviant/non-mainstream directors and one of my favorites of all time teamed up with Danny Elfman and Johnny Depp!! It should have been WHIMSICAL, TWISTED and DARK...but instead we get stereotypical good-vs-evil, child-destiny movie that tried so very hard to be more than what is it and too much "Narnia". That had to be said. Again.
Alice's character in this movie is what I disliked most. She is very bland and colorless with absolutely no imagination (or common sense, though that wouldn't have been a problem in the original "Alice") and through, oh, 90% of of the movie believes Underland is a dream. Very...VERY annoying.
Also, when I did some research and realized more than half of the movie is CGI, that became an instant turndown for me. I can't really understand why, but for sure it's disheartening.
I liked the fact that they gave the characters names, but not last names. It makes it more like Our World. There was also a lot of character-favoritism in this movie, which I understand, but also a severe LACK of characters!
This is what I always tell people about this movie: 50% of the population saw this and hated it for not being true to the original book. The other 50% saw this and loved it for one of two reasons: Johnny Depp was in it/it's a Tim Burton movie. I, honestly, am one of those who saw this and loved it solely for Johnny's character portrayal...that is, 90% of the time. The other 10% I found myself sighing in disappointment because it's just...severely lacking something. All of it.
I understand the 50% who wished this was more like the book, but I also understand most people LIKE to create a more "realistic" or semi-realistic Wonderland. In this movie's case, however..it makes too much sense. That cannot be.
Nothing in this movie was surprising (sans what I adored about Johnny's portrayal of a truly mad hatter) and...I was overall so disappointed after seeing it, I can only say it gave more inspiration for a truly twisted "Alice" of my own...and left me sad that once again, I failed to get my dark, twisted Wonderland that I've waited ten years for.