Alice in Wonderland

The weakest Burton film ever. Unfortunate, but it's true. Alice is too digital, it drags (it only really picks up in those moments when the images are finally supported Danny Elfman's good motif) and is very uninteresting in terms of plot. Moreover, with perhaps two exceptions (Hatter's farewell, the digital dog and his family), it lacks any emotion. The pros: The aforementioned music (including an Avril Lavigne song), Helena Bonham Carter, a great feline named Cheshire Cat and a few funny moments. Otherwise, there’s not much, I'm sorry to say.__P.S. The return to wonderland worked much, much better in Spielberg's Hook. (08/17/2010)

It's very hard to review this film because a five-star scale is too narrow in this case to express feelings. On one hand, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is certainly mainstream, as the strong influence of Walt Disney Studios is indisputable in shaping the final form of the film. This Alice is simply much more epic than its literary predecessor and corresponds to the classic model of the battle between good and evil, with stereotypical fairy tale characters. The studio has already tried this pattern many times and will definitely not change it because of Lewis Carroll's fans. So Alice fights a dragon and cannot avoid a romantic motif. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to blame Tim Burton for succumbing to commercial temptations and selling his artistic vision to Walt Disney Studios. In the American concept, the director is merely a craftsman, the owner of the work, and the actual creator is effectively the producer, who can dictate. We do not know what Alice would have been if it were made as an independent film, but it would probably be much less elaborate and might not even exist. Tim Burton might be able to produce it if it were exclusively an animated film. Even in this studio version, there is plenty to see, as the visuals are not bad at all, and there are several excellent special effects. Most likely, children will like it, as it was written by Lewis Carroll as a fairy tale for children. Those who seek artistic depth and an adult version will have to look elsewhere. If I were to criticize Burton for being too Disney-like, then I would discard the Disney version from 1951 altogether. The fact is that intellectual depth and ambiguity are missing in the newest adaptation of Alice, but it is still a grand and enjoyable spectacle. Overall impression: 75%. (03/11/2010)

Burton didn't tell a story, he simply narrated. The most frequently asked question by me was why the film is not fully animated, since everything is as artificial as the interior of a Chinese car. In the overload of "Burton-esque visuals," completely in CGI, everything is lost... except for Mia Wasikowska, who carries the whole confused (!!) mess to the end. This time, that’s liberation. It’s sterile, boring, kitschy, plastic... the perfect repellent for viewer empathy. (05/16/2010)

I had a great time. The film was off the rails just like the book on which it was based. Mia Wasikowska was extremely convincing, Anne Hathaway was hilarious, and I’m not exactly a fan of hers, Johnny Depp was at his wackiest, Helena Bonham Carter was fantastic ("I need a pig here!” and "Off with their heads!" – brilliant) and Crispin Glover was sleazy to the core. Except for a few minor details, I was satisfied. (11/20/2016)

I welcome stories derived from the stories embedded in the Disney portfolio that bring something new to the table (such as Snow White or Maleficent, in addition to Alice). That's how Disney came up with their version of Alice in Wonderland in 1951, and almost 60 years later they expanded the story with a sequel. Now we meet Alice, who is no longer a little girl, but a nineteen-year-old girl about to be married. She is once again lured by the white rabbit into the world of the Queen of Hearts, the Hatter, and other strange creatures. Lewis Carroll would probably have been surprised if he had been told in 1865 how inspirational his Alice would be. I don't particularly enjoy Burton's films, some I like more, others less, in the case of Alice in Wonderland I'm satisfied that his group is spot on: Elfman in the recording studio, Depp and Bonham Carter in front of the camera. (08/24/2019)