Alice in Wonderland, a departure from Disney's first attempt
Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland is a sometimes sardonic, perpetually self-aware interpretation of Lewis Carroll's classic novels. The screenplay, written by Linda Woolverton, combines plot elements from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There with new components added to develop additional structure and motive within the plot, which puts a spin on the classic Alice story.
The movie seems to be obsessed with over-riding the audience's preconceived notions of Alice, especially those they might have formed after seeing Disney's 1951 treatment. Wonderland, known in the movie as Underland, utilizes a sinister color palette and feel to depict the world as complicated and nuanced. Burton's characteristic aesthetic is put to good use in this regard, and Underland is a fully realized universe in terms of visual continuity.
Alice begins and ends in the "real world," a visually, but not emotionally, idealized Victorian England complete with horse drawn carriages and highfalutin lawn parties. These portions of the film set up Alice's (Mia Wasikowska) personal conflict, namely her desire to reject the man who is intending to propose to her. The plot boils down to a coming of age story mixed with themes of self-actualization.
At the beginning of the movie, the viewer appreciates this attempt at cohesion. It is clear that the film is meant to be driven by an overarching plot, unlike the previous Alice which consisted largely of unrelated vignettes. Yet the momentum stemming from this storyline lags as Alice's time in Underland drags on, and at times Alice's emotional struggles are one-dimensional and transparent.
In spite of this, the quirkiness of the characters helps to bolster the plot and make up for some of its shortcomings. For example, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) is imposing in spite of her small stature and over-sized head, an attribute frequently discussed during the movie. Her mantra, "Off with their heads!" is delivered repeatedly with appealing and malevolent conviction.
The movie seems to be obsessed with over-riding the audience's preconceived notions of Alice, especially those they might have formed after seeing Disney's 1951 treatment. Wonderland, known in the movie as Underland, utilizes a sinister color palette and feel to depict the world as complicated and nuanced. Burton's characteristic aesthetic is put to good use in this regard, and Underland is a fully realized universe in terms of visual continuity.
Alice begins and ends in the "real world," a visually, but not emotionally, idealized Victorian England complete with horse drawn carriages and highfalutin lawn parties. These portions of the film set up Alice's (Mia Wasikowska) personal conflict, namely her desire to reject the man who is intending to propose to her. The plot boils down to a coming of age story mixed with themes of self-actualization.
At the beginning of the movie, the viewer appreciates this attempt at cohesion. It is clear that the film is meant to be driven by an overarching plot, unlike the previous Alice which consisted largely of unrelated vignettes. Yet the momentum stemming from this storyline lags as Alice's time in Underland drags on, and at times Alice's emotional struggles are one-dimensional and transparent.
In spite of this, the quirkiness of the characters helps to bolster the plot and make up for some of its shortcomings. For example, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) is imposing in spite of her small stature and over-sized head, an attribute frequently discussed during the movie. Her mantra, "Off with their heads!" is delivered repeatedly with appealing and malevolent conviction.
Be the first to comment on this story