Alice in Wonderland - C

 Quick Hit: Visually stunning when seen in theatres (in 3D), it loses some of its thrill on a 2D DVD, and the movie isn’t as good for it.
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Welcome to Sequel Week here at DoubleFeaturePreachers! We are going to give you multiple posts per day, just because we love you: a movie, and its recent sequel.  As I mentioned before, Johnny Depp has a lot of star power. He can elevate projects from obscurity with amazing performances (like Captain Jack Sparrow, or Edward Scissorhands), and put in performances of manic people that need some sympathy (like Ed Wood) or some hate (Whitey Bulger in Black Mass). He is one of the headliners in this obviously Tim Burton film.

Lots of people use Tim Burton as a bad thing, and it’s obvious that the man has begun to falter in recent years when it comes to story. This may be because he is relying more on others for the stories that are told, whereas previously he had a heavier hand and got involved more in other 

aspects of the film. Here though, Burton obviously had a vision for what Wonderland (which is apparently Underland… I can’t even describe how dumb I think that is) should look like. When I originally saw this in theatres, many moons ago, it was when 3D was being described as the next big thing. Avatar had just grossed a billion dollars, and Alice in Wonderland was right behind it. The visual capabilities of 3D were pushed to the max in these films, and I was astounded at the brightness of the colors that were portrayed in the scenery shots of Wonderland (I’m calling it Wonderland… Just dismissing that other name).

​However, when I came back and watched it on DVD (I don’t even have a Blu Ray copy), I was really disappointed. Most of the visual panache was gone, and I wasn’t entirely happy with the story in the first place. It’s not bad, but it follows a predictable path. I did enjoy that they took parts from the story of Alice as a child and  

worked them in organically, so it didn’t seem like we were just getting an adult Alice in Wonderland.

The performances in this film are incredibly varied. Burton brings his classic troop with him, bringing Johnny Depp (The Mad Hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (The Red Queen), Alan Rickman (Absalom), and Timothy Spall (Bayard) (and surprise surprise, Danny Elfman did the music). I think that Rickman as Absalom was spot on, and Timothy Spall was practically unrecognizable as Bayard. Carter wasn’t bad, and in fact, she is so loud and perfectly obnoxious that you have to enjoy her dedication. Depp falters a bit here, falling in and out of accents, and obviously drawing on other characters for inspiration to the Hatter’s many personalities. If asked my opinion, I’d say Depp had an idea in mind for what he wanted to do (Hatter as someone that has multiple personalities as well as other mental deficits), but it isn’t brought to screen as well as you would hope. However, because he is a strong actor, the Mad Hatter is at least always watchable and enjoyable his best. Mia Wasikowska gives a very strong performance as Alice, perfectly capturing a strong woman that is on the cusp of so much more in life than what she is being told to do. She is consistently the best reason to watch this movie, despite the fact that Anne Hathaway has a silly airiness in her few scenes.

The best advice that I can give to someone who wants to watch this movie is to find a 3D copy, a 3D Blu Ray, and a 3D TV (they are still selling those right?). Without the visuals, the movie isn’t worth nearly as much. But, because I think that initial theatrical impressions are important, I’m going to give this movie a “C”.

Here's what I thought about the sequel.

For more on this film, check out IMDB.