Alice in Wonderland Reviews

Tripy as always Burton does a great job with this adaptation. It's everything you loved about the original, with a whole new list of great additions thrown in.

Wow, my favorite Disney spin off. Depp is electric as always. Who knew Anne could be so odd, in a good way.

In theory this should have been a slam-dunk; a perfect combination of auteur and material. And for much of the running time is a fun excursion into Wonderland until the final twenty minutes or so takes us on a strange detour. While not the best literary adaptation in Burton’s repertoire, nor is it his best film, it is an enjoyable, utterly charming, and visually stunning film for much of the running time.

The story, which has been told so many times that you’ll probably feel like you’ve read the book a half-dozen times even if you haven’t read it…ever, concerns a young girl’s journey into adolescence, and, eventually, adulthood. She is smart, logical, questions the rules yet tries to enforce them, and she is prone to flights of wild imagination. That is the Alice of both the film and the novel. But here is where her character differs: no longer is she the plucky girl of seven-and-a-half who envisions Wonderland as a beautiful topsy-turvy nonsensical fever dream, but a young woman of nineteen who is trying to reinforce, to rediscovery her purpose and sense of self-worth.

It works really well. The Alice tales were never really, entirely, for children. They taught no lessons, they had no real logic, but they could inspire the imagination to take flight. And John Tenniel’s drawings were quirky, mordantly witty, and frightening all at the same time. I loved it as a child, but I cherish the story more as an adult. The story is strong enough to work as a parable for reclaiming your strength and sense of wonder in your inner child to propel you into adulthood, to reclaim your power and freedom to live without fear.

Burton visually captures Carroll’s words and Tenniel’s illustrations and brings his own mad-cap, darkly quirky vision to it all. It makes logical sense that Alice has pallor this side of death, Burton loves to make people as close to grey as possible. That her eyes appear sunken in is from Tenniel’s drawings. The Bette Davis-esque styling of the Red Queen (a combination of the Queen of Hearts and the chess piece from Looking Glass) is Burton, but her bulbous head is Tenniel. Each character’s design meets somewhere in the middle of these two different yet similar aesthetics. I loved to just immerse myself in the world that was unfolding in front of me. It was how I had always pictured Wonderland in my head. (The Mad Hatter is close to a visual depiction of what I always say in my head, but lets not talk much about Johnny Depp's performance.)

So why does it have to end in such a silly little action scene?

The Joan of Arc armor Alice wears is visually stunning, and a close match-up to the armor that the (male) knight wears in the poem. And the Jabberwock, a scary and menacing sight, is a literal interpretation of the illustration provided in Through the Looking Glass. (Minus the vest, of course.) Watching the chess pieces square off against the card pieces was cute enough. So was seeing fellow “Jabberwocky” mythological creatures the Bandersnatch, which looks like what would happen if a bulldog mated with a prehistoric bear, and the Jubjub bird, which has a strong resemble to a Phorusrhacos. But must it end in such a busy way? Was Disney worried that little ones wouldn’t have held their attention if the movie didn’t feature a prominent battle scene? It’s possible. We have been conditioned within the last few years to expect every movie to feature grand battles and huge explosions. We know the battle scene is coming as we've been warned about it from the beginning, but it's so lifeless and dull in comparison to the quieter scenes like Anne Hathaway's White Queen making a potion, or the reunion tea party with a tweaked out March Hare and violent, manic Dormouse. 

But the battle scene is not the only problem. The futterwaken, or the silly little dance that the Mad Hatter does, sounds like a dirty term and looks like a dance that has been beamed in from a different film. It doesn’t fit the tone of a film which earlier had Alice making her way through a moat of served heads to get to the Red Queen’s castle. And that is why this version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland isn’t the definitive one that it could have been. After perfectly capturing the tone, essence, and spirit of Daniel Wallace's paternal conflict in Big Fish and Roald Dahl's wicked fairy tale world in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton, probably because of decisions by Disney, made some odd choices for this film. It’s still utterly charming and a fun time, visually stunning, and a decent expansion of the characters and story, but not as great as it could have or should have been.

Growing up with Lewis Carroll's wonderful stories, and being a big fan of the 1972 film with Peter Sellers, I didn't know what I'd make of Tim Burton's 're-imagining', although Burton himself doesn't like his film to be called such a word. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised, quite impressed even. I love that the film is so colourful and vibrant and much more of a fantasy land. I though it was very clever to include the Jabberwocky, which of course appeared on one of Carroll's more bizzare poems, unrelated to Alice. And Christopher Lee provides it's voice - cool. Mia Wasikowska is rather lovely too as Alice, with great support from Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway as the red and white queens. I can't make my mind up whether I enjoyed Johnny Depp's portayl of the mad hatter, and his rediculous dance with some sort of techno music, at the end of the film was put in there purely for the kids, like something I'd expect to see in the Shrek franchise. The same goes for Matt Lucas' Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Other than those few criticisms, I loved it. Carroll's wonderland? Or Burton's? Well, actually, cleverly, a bit of both.

4/5

É inegável o talento de Tim Burton para traduzir e construir mundos particulares (e peculiares) e ao assumir o comando da nova adaptação dos contos de Lewis Carroll, foi possível nos antecipar para um espetáculo visual recheado fantasia. Entregue. Os cenários surrealistas (de Carroll) e sombrios(de Burton) ainda receberam uma terceira dimensão que nos submerge juntamente com Alice no mundo mágico em “Alice in Wonderland“(2010).

O segundo talento de Burton, em delinear personagens marginais, que fogem a conveniências pré-estabelecidas, não apareceu no roteiro de Linda Woolverton (“A Bela e a Fera”(1991) , “O Rei Leão”(1994) e “Mulan”(1998)). Um tanto quanto confuso e superficial, a demanda dos padrões Disney, em oposição a aleatoriedade da viagem episodial de Alice contra o tédio.

Entre outros artifícios, Woolverton amadureceu Alice e entregou um tedioso prólogo para apresentar um dilema existencial para a protagonista. A nova Alice é agora uma adolescente libertária e feminista que confronta o uso do espartilho e questiona a decisão da mãe viúva em lhe arranjar casamento com um almofadinha, um tanto quanto repulsivo, conveniente para a família. É durante a cerimônia de noivado que Alice segue o emblemático coelho branco e retorna ao mundo onírico de seus sonhos de infância.

Em meio a fraca combinação, e muitos beiram apenas a citação, de exóticos personagens dos distintos Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (publicado em 1865) e Through the Looking Glass(1871), a narrativa Disney impera e Alice ganha status de heroína com a missão de salvar o submundo do reinado da Rainha Vermelha de um monstro que facilmente poderia estar em Nárnia ou Hogwarts numa apoteótica batalha final da insossa Alice contra a fera, batalha que resume o longa: visualmente exuberante porém massacrado pela condução bestial- imperialista da estória e sua personagens alegóricas.

Nessa linha melindrosa entre o alegórico e o ridículo, segue a explicitamente forçosa Princesa Branca, mas, pelo conjunto da obra, a culpa não cai sobre Anne Hathaway pelos excessivos maneirismos, sua irmã má(!) é a Rainha Vermelha, que nos livros não é a que sentenciava compulsivamente as cabeças alheias, a de Copas. Apesar da falha é a única que invoca alguma curiosidade e simpatia do espectador, apesar de ser a vilã. E ainda os excelentes Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry e Alan Rickman como Valete de Copas, Gato Cheshire e a centopéia respectivamente, são igualmente minados pelas prioridades da superprodução:

Como o novo Chapeleiro, que passa por uma fonte da juventude para ganhar status de coprotagonista, numa versão completamente inacertada da doçura traumada de Edward (“…Mãos de Tesoura”) transvestida com uma peruca laranja latente, esbugalhados olhos verdes claros e dentes separados num resultado que facilmente se assemelha com uma Madonna a la Tim Burton. Além disso, Johnny Deep sujeita-se a um embaraçoso momento numa dança (break!) comemorativa que certamente deve agradar (somente) o público infanto-juvenil dos longas da Disney, e que ainda é repetido no epílogo por Alice quando retorna para a festa de noivado.

Absolutely gorgeous looking movie, Wonderland has never looked this good on film before. Unfortunately, the story is not up to scratch. Instead of a straight adaptation of the book, the film makers decided to be clever and crafted up a 'sequel' of sorts with a grown up Alice. Despite the beautiful conception of Wonderland, the movie is pretty dreary for the most part. In the process of growing up, we've lost the sparkle of the original story. Such a wasted effort, really. As a side note, I absolutely loved Stephen Fry's voicing of the Chesire Cat, it complemented the beautifully rendered cat on-screen perfectly.

3D experience was cool. but it still doesn't worth the price.
to be honest, I was expecting more craziness from burton.

O segredo pra assistir esse filme é, primeiramente, não criar expectativas. O roteiro é TOTALMENTE diferente do livro, e muita gente não consegue aceitar esse fato. Funciona, talvez, como uma continuação do primeiro filme, por assim dizer. Adorei a fotografia, a animação, os efeitos e os figurinos. A personagem Alice, agora com 19 anos de idade, faz jus à criança mimada, cheia de curiosidade e aventureira da história original. Além disso, sendo dirigido pelo Tim Burton, o toque misterioso e estranho, muitas vezes ignorado por quem acha que 'Alice no País das Maravilhas' é só um conto de fadas bonitinho ou algo assim, foi extremamente bem trabalhado. Tornou-se uma história real com outra irreal dentro, mesclando muito bem. Não deixou-me a desejar. Ótimo trabalho de Tim Burton (quem, devo lembrar, nunca desejou repetir a história original em tela de cinema, a qual tornou-se apenas uma "memória-esquecida" por Alice).

A 19 year old Alice finds herself back in the land she thought she dreamed up as a a child. Only this time around Alice learns her true destiny, she must be the one to save Wonderland from the clutches of the read queen. Alice has help from her old friends including the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit. Alice is reluctant to take on such a heavy burden but with the help of her friends she decides it is what she is meant to do.

Tim Burton is a visionary master, he is known for creating worlds that are vastly different from the one we live in. Burton has a knack for brining pictures to life that most directors would otherwise never dream of making and he continues to pull it off. Alice in Wonderland was a Burton project through and through not just because of the offbeat settings but because of of the all too familiar faces we see in this film. Johnny Depp is Burtons go to guy and he has never failed before. Johnny once again proves how versatile he can be, and he gives another character he can be proud of. When people mention great actor-director teams they always seem to mention Burton and Depp and usually with high praise. They have made many solid films together and probably will continue to make solid films together until one of them decides to stop.

Alice had made for 3-d affects and yet the 2-d version is enough to wow any audience. You have a wide array of colors, creatures that will blow your mind and the element of fantasy which is enough to take any film fan away from their normal everyday lives. All though the effects were stunning it was not that really tipped the scale for me as far as liking this film goes. The main reason I liked this film is because it was good to see a fresh face in the lead role when Burton could have easily cast some who is already known. Mia Wasikowska was brilliant in an innocent way, Alice was such a quirky lovable girl and Mia was really able to make the audience feel that about her character. Like Alice we all have those childhood fantasies that we wish would be true, so when we are able to see these fantasies come true on the big screen we instantly fall in love with what we are shown.

Alice in Wonderland is a superb film from start to finish; you really can’t get enough of all these characters. Mia, Johnny, Helena and the rest of the cast make this a film that is not only focused on the effects but on making this whole other world come to life and breath on its own. Burton has created yet another gem of a film and words cannot express how much I really enjoyed this film.

"Off with their heads!"

A visionary treat. A fantastic fantasy. Love love love this.
For those who think that Burton is losing his touch, try seeing this film before badmouthing it and revel in the glory that is Burton, Depp, and Bonham Carter. The entire film caters to the deepest, darkest corners of your imagination and makes the childhood story of Lewis Carroll come alive. Actually, the movie starts off in an un-Tim Burton fashion, with Charles Kingsley comforting his seven year old daughter, Alice, who has woken up from another nightmare. Fast forward to thirteen years later, Alice is all grown up and is on her way to a party held by her father's closest friend and whose wife has been planning a wedding between Alice and Hammish. Burton doesn't keep audiences waiting; he quickly introduces the White Rabbit (with a fun performance by Sheen), who lures Alice back to the world she thought she only visited in her dreams. It so happens that Wonderland has been taken over by the Red Queen (played with hilarious perfection by Bonham Carter), as she has usurped the throne from her younger sister, the White Queen (portrayed by Hathaway, whom I have to commend for giving a weirdly ethereal performance) and has been ruling Wonderland with an iron fist - or, more appropriately, with a sharp, silver axe. Alice is now the only person whom the residents of Wonderland believe can stop the Red Queen's cruel rule by slaying the Jabbawocky (or, as the Red Queen lovingly calls it, the Jabba-baby-wocky) and bringing the White Queen back into power.
Do not expect this to stick to the Disney version, as Tim Burton, being the genius that he is, made the story as a sequel void of any emotion save for the apprehension of the Wonderland denizens over ending the Red Queen's rule and Alice feeling unsure of her ability to defeat the Jabbawocky. If you are looking for something unusual but amusing, this film is definitely for you.