Click above for the FBOTU review of Alice in Wonderland.
As a child, Disney and He-Man taught me that evil never wins, and stooping to the level of the enemy is no victory. I’ve known for a while, of course, that evil does win, and rather frequently, I might add. But it’s only been recently that I’ve begun to reject the notion of the high road. Perhaps it’s the political climate. I’ve reached a point in my life, an age, where I don’t want my elected leaders to negotiate or compromise. I want them to roll right over the opposition, exactly as they would do if the roles were reversed. Keen politicians know, exactly as the Red Queen knows in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, that it’s far better to be feared than loved. And Alice, a young woman experiencing her own identity crisis, must take up arms against an enemy purely because they are taking up arms against her, with no high road in sight.
I think there is an innate desire in all of us to return to childhood realms once we’ve grown. Whether it’s visiting an old schoolyard, or returning to a fantastical land like Oz or Wonderland. (And I would argue that Oz is actually the bigger influence here in Tim Burton’s vision of the Alice story.) Alice (played by the luminous Mia Wasikowska) is a young woman haunted by dreams of a magical and dangerous place. As a girl, her father assured her she was quite mad, as “all the best people are.” But now her father is gone, and her mother and sister are assuring her that marriage, conformity and duty await her. With that sentence hanging over her head, it’s high time for another trip down the rabbit hole.
I wonder, at this point in our progress as a species, if anyone believes there’s a possibility that Alice will return from her adventure and fulfill her role as dutiful wife and daughter. This particular slant has been told for generations now, or longer, if you count Shakespeare’s and Austen’s thoughts on the subject. So, what is the significance of another story about anachronistic 19th century girl power? The significance this time around is that Alice, unwittingly, is dropped into a classic hero’s quest. One she doesn’t ask for and repeatedly tries to avoid based on her own beliefs and non-violent nature. While Dorothy avoided the moral implications of murder by accidentally killing off the majority of the witch population in Oz, she was never handed a sword and told, “Here, now go kill.” Alice, however, is told exactly that. Slay the Jabberwocky. Depose the Queen. Free the people. What’s a nice English girl to do?
Like Dorothy, Alice has friends to guide her. They may look like wacky sidekicks, but their message is surprisingly desperate. The Red Queen is a tyrant, and the slaughter and destruction she has wrought is truly horrific (note the river of severed heads surrounding the castle). Johnny Depp‘s Mad Hatter witnesses the carnage firsthand and has the mental scars to prove it. His relationship with Alice becomes a focal point in the movie. She sees her father’s whimsy and enterprise in him; and he sees her great potential, even if she doesn’t. However, Alice’s ultimate decision to help the people of Wonderland is about defining the kind of person she wants to be. The indecisive girl who ran from her suitor to avoid making a decision must now make one on a much grander scale. Evil picked up a sword, so she must, too.
When I pay $16.50 to see a movie, I sincerely hope that it will be worth it. I’m pleased to report that Alice in Wonderland is worth it and more. Burton, who can be a bit too Burton for Burton’s sake, has actually crafted a dark, stirring, thought-provoking political and personal allegory. He wisely keeps a sharp and sinister edge throughout the film, so that even the good guys come off as more than a little creepy and suspicious. Depp could have phoned this one in, but instead makes his madness both terrifying and tragic. Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen certainly looks like an editorial cartoon of a monarch, but the right amount of humor and pathos make her one of the more sympathetic villains we’ve seen in a while.
I will see Alice in Wonderland again. The visuals deserve a closer look, though I feel like the 3D added a layer of murkiness I didn’t really need. I’m also curious to examine Alice’s transformation a little more closely. She certainly returns home a wiser, sharper character, but at what cost? Dorothy could have gone home anytime she wanted, with a click of her heels. Alice’s ticket home could only come from the blood of battle. How’s that for a trip through the looking glass?
On the FBOTU Scale of Fabulousness, I give Alice in Wonderland 4 out of 5 crazy people: After all, all the best ones are.
I agree that the film is something to behold but also agree that the film was something else entirely. Since watching the film I’ve been trying to figure out what was nagging me while it was obvious that the 3D was part of it, TOTALLY unnecessarily annoying, the other part though is definitely the hero’s quest.
Admittedly it’s an interesting spin and I always believe the little girl lost story is always a journey of self-discovery and any ‘champion’ worthy fight is incidental. Here Alice had no real choice; it wasn’t a fight of necessity but rather a destiny whether she likes it or not.
While a destiny as a warrior/champion isn’t necessarily a bad thing, look at Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Buffy Summers, the idea is kind of a loss on Alice and her foray into Wonderland. more to the point while those characters are destined to be great warriors most reject the idea of a destiny and instead choose to fight as they often see they have a chance to escape this fate.
Alice apparently had none while the choice to fight is noble, when isn’t saving innocents from the wrath of a tyrant, in the end it was harsher than it really needed to be. Still i think the film was a success and i REALLY need to see it in 2D as 3D really ruins it all making us focus on the visuals instead of the story.
The quest was actually what made the film not entirely gel for me. Grafting a hero’s quest onto the story of Alice seemed ill-fitting. It helped make a decent narrative, but it just seemed kind of cheap.
I do agree that Matt Lucas was wasted. I think the problem was that there were far too many characters, and since all of them were variations of “whack-a-doo”, it was hard to give them a lot of personality. I wanted to see more of the Tweedles, though.
Oh, I did have my complaints. I agree that the dance felt very out of place, but I think that was mainly the hip hop sound of the music. If the music had been more Elfman-esque, it would have been less distracting.
I also felt Matt Lucas was wasted. I had just read an interview with him where he talked in length about the Tweedles and their complexity, so I was expecting him to steal the show.
But I still found myself getting swept up in the quest.
I didn’t enjoy it as much as you. I think the hero’s quest didn’t always fit the story. Burton himself said he always thought the story didn’t lack a coherent narrative, but that was the whole POINT of the original work. Regardless, often times I felt like I was watching the best Chronicles of Narnia film and not Alice.
The cast was great, with Helena Bonham Carter being the stand out. Johnny Depp was good, but he and Burton really need to start seeing other people. And I adore Anne Hathaway, so to see her wafting through the film as if she’s auditioning for a Lunesta commercial was a treat. Also a treat? Christopher Lee as the voice of the Jabberwocky.
Although the visuals were impressive, even if the CGI was often off especially when Crispin Glover’s Knave was on screen, this is probably the least Burton-esque film Burton’s ever done. It had a distinctive mercenary vibe to it that I just couldn’t shake. And that horrible, horrible “Mac & Me” moment at the end where the Mad Hatter breakdances? Everybody involved should be entirely ashamed. I actually shouted “Oh, Jesus f-ing Christ!” at the screen, to the dismay of the families around me. It cost the film a point, to be sure.
Review: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
By Chance
March 08, 2010 at 3:23AM EDT
As a child, Disney and He-Man taught me that evil never wins, and stooping to the level of the enemy is no victory. I’ve known for a while, of course, that evil does win, and rather frequently, I might add. But it’s only been recently that I’ve begun to reject the notion of the high road. Perhaps it’s the political climate. I’ve reached a point in my life, an age, where I don’t want my elected leaders to negotiate or compromise. I want them to roll right over the opposition, exactly as they would do if the roles were reversed. Keen politicians know, exactly as the Red Queen knows in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, that it’s far better to be feared than loved. And Alice, a young woman experiencing her own identity crisis, must take up arms against an enemy purely because they are taking up arms against her, with no high road in sight.
I think there is an innate desire in all of us to return to childhood realms once we’ve grown. Whether it’s visiting an old schoolyard, or returning to a fantastical land like Oz or Wonderland. (And I would argue that Oz is actually the bigger influence here in Tim Burton’s vision of the Alice story.) Alice (played by the luminous Mia Wasikowska) is a young woman haunted by dreams of a magical and dangerous place. As a girl, her father assured her she was quite mad, as “all the best people are.” But now her father is gone, and her mother and sister are assuring her that marriage, conformity and duty await her. With that sentence hanging over her head, it’s high time for another trip down the rabbit hole.
I wonder, at this point in our progress as a species, if anyone believes there’s a possibility that Alice will return from her adventure and fulfill her role as dutiful wife and daughter. This particular slant has been told for generations now, or longer, if you count Shakespeare’s and Austen’s thoughts on the subject. So, what is the significance of another story about anachronistic 19th century girl power? The significance this time around is that Alice, unwittingly, is dropped into a classic hero’s quest. One she doesn’t ask for and repeatedly tries to avoid based on her own beliefs and non-violent nature. While Dorothy avoided the moral implications of murder by accidentally killing off the majority of the witch population in Oz, she was never handed a sword and told, “Here, now go kill.” Alice, however, is told exactly that. Slay the Jabberwocky. Depose the Queen. Free the people. What’s a nice English girl to do?
Like Dorothy, Alice has friends to guide her. They may look like wacky sidekicks, but their message is surprisingly desperate. The Red Queen is a tyrant, and the slaughter and destruction she has wrought is truly horrific (note the river of severed heads surrounding the castle). Johnny Depp‘s Mad Hatter witnesses the carnage firsthand and has the mental scars to prove it. His relationship with Alice becomes a focal point in the movie. She sees her father’s whimsy and enterprise in him; and he sees her great potential, even if she doesn’t. However, Alice’s ultimate decision to help the people of Wonderland is about defining the kind of person she wants to be. The indecisive girl who ran from her suitor to avoid making a decision must now make one on a much grander scale. Evil picked up a sword, so she must, too.
When I pay $16.50 to see a movie, I sincerely hope that it will be worth it. I’m pleased to report that Alice in Wonderland is worth it and more. Burton, who can be a bit too Burton for Burton’s sake, has actually crafted a dark, stirring, thought-provoking political and personal allegory. He wisely keeps a sharp and sinister edge throughout the film, so that even the good guys come off as more than a little creepy and suspicious. Depp could have phoned this one in, but instead makes his madness both terrifying and tragic. Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen certainly looks like an editorial cartoon of a monarch, but the right amount of humor and pathos make her one of the more sympathetic villains we’ve seen in a while.
I will see Alice in Wonderland again. The visuals deserve a closer look, though I feel like the 3D added a layer of murkiness I didn’t really need. I’m also curious to examine Alice’s transformation a little more closely. She certainly returns home a wiser, sharper character, but at what cost? Dorothy could have gone home anytime she wanted, with a click of her heels. Alice’s ticket home could only come from the blood of battle. How’s that for a trip through the looking glass?
On the FBOTU Scale of Fabulousness, I give Alice in Wonderland 4 out of 5 crazy people:
After all, all the best ones are.
Comments
I agree that the film is something to behold but also agree that the film was something else entirely. Since watching the film I’ve been trying to figure out what was nagging me while it was obvious that the 3D was part of it, TOTALLY unnecessarily annoying, the other part though is definitely the hero’s quest.
Admittedly it’s an interesting spin and I always believe the little girl lost story is always a journey of self-discovery and any ‘champion’ worthy fight is incidental. Here Alice had no real choice; it wasn’t a fight of necessity but rather a destiny whether she likes it or not.
While a destiny as a warrior/champion isn’t necessarily a bad thing, look at Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Buffy Summers, the idea is kind of a loss on Alice and her foray into Wonderland. more to the point while those characters are destined to be great warriors most reject the idea of a destiny and instead choose to fight as they often see they have a chance to escape this fate.
Alice apparently had none while the choice to fight is noble, when isn’t saving innocents from the wrath of a tyrant, in the end it was harsher than it really needed to be. Still i think the film was a success and i REALLY need to see it in 2D as 3D really ruins it all making us focus on the visuals instead of the story.
The quest was actually what made the film not entirely gel for me. Grafting a hero’s quest onto the story of Alice seemed ill-fitting. It helped make a decent narrative, but it just seemed kind of cheap.
I do agree that Matt Lucas was wasted. I think the problem was that there were far too many characters, and since all of them were variations of “whack-a-doo”, it was hard to give them a lot of personality. I wanted to see more of the Tweedles, though.
Oh, I did have my complaints. I agree that the dance felt very out of place, but I think that was mainly the hip hop sound of the music. If the music had been more Elfman-esque, it would have been less distracting.
I also felt Matt Lucas was wasted. I had just read an interview with him where he talked in length about the Tweedles and their complexity, so I was expecting him to steal the show.
But I still found myself getting swept up in the quest.
I didn’t enjoy it as much as you. I think the hero’s quest didn’t always fit the story. Burton himself said he always thought the story didn’t lack a coherent narrative, but that was the whole POINT of the original work. Regardless, often times I felt like I was watching the best Chronicles of Narnia film and not Alice.
The cast was great, with Helena Bonham Carter being the stand out. Johnny Depp was good, but he and Burton really need to start seeing other people. And I adore Anne Hathaway, so to see her wafting through the film as if she’s auditioning for a Lunesta commercial was a treat. Also a treat? Christopher Lee as the voice of the Jabberwocky.
Although the visuals were impressive, even if the CGI was often off especially when Crispin Glover’s Knave was on screen, this is probably the least Burton-esque film Burton’s ever done. It had a distinctive mercenary vibe to it that I just couldn’t shake. And that horrible, horrible “Mac & Me” moment at the end where the Mad Hatter breakdances? Everybody involved should be entirely ashamed. I actually shouted “Oh, Jesus f-ing Christ!” at the screen, to the dismay of the families around me. It cost the film a point, to be sure.
Still, worth the watch.
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