Film Review: Alice in Wonderland (3D) (Spoilers)

Director Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is a good film; sadly though because it’s also a Disney film it stops itself from being a great film. As fun as it is (and the 3D rendition is a lot of fun), this sequel to the original cartoon suffers from the same problem as ‘Avatar’ – no plot. Or rather there is a plot, but it’s so Disney-fied and insubstantial that it might as well not have had one at all. Right from the outset the twin conclusions are telegraphed, both in Wonderland and in the real world, and, well, Disney doesn’t disappoint. Burton’s Alice – Mia Wasikowska could just as well be Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries – screenwriter Linda Woolverton doesn’t exactly take any risks in her storytelling, but this film isn’t even carried by that film’s charm. For that matter it doesn’t even rely on the original cartoon’s charm, or rely much on the Lewis Carroll source material. Burton may have visual flair, boundless imagination, a sense even of the absurd, but it’s a film with no heart; despite some delightful touches – the Cheshire Cat, Helena Bonham-Carter’s Red Queen and Anne Hathaway’s White Queen, it’s actually quite dull.

Much has been made of Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter and much has been said of newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice, but neither impresses so much as to make much of an impression and whilst Wasikowska may have Gwyneth Paltrow’s looks, she doesn’t have her presence or her ability. Alice is a curiously 2D character in a 3D film, and epitomises the wasted opportunities which litter this film. It’s frustrating, considering the interesting clashes available in telling the story of an adult Alice returning to the Wonderland she’d forgotten she’d visited as a child. Depp in turn unquestionably entertains but you’ve seen the crazy man ‘thing’ many times before; his amalgam of Jack Sparrow, Sweeney Todd and Willy Wonka is enjoyable but exactly what you’d expect of him.  The supporting cast however is an utter knockout – Alan Rickman, Geraldine James, Matt Lucas, Michael Sheen & Stephen Fry all have enjoyable turns, but they fail to lift this from substandard fayre. Great for the kids, amusing for the adults, but not terribly entertaining.

6.5/10

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