Burton Bags a Winner

Admittedly I went into this movie prepared for the worst. Lately I haven't been very thrilled with Tim Burton, his once unique vision has lost its impact over the years. His success has been very touch and go from one film to the next, and all he ever tends to do is stick with the formula.

Haunting music + gothic imagery * Johnny Depp - original thought = Tim Burton Film

So I watched Tim Burton's latest Alice In Wonderland expecting that it would be just a terrible rehash of Lewis Carroll's familiar story. Instead I must admit that this film was very charming and likeable.

It has always been Tim Burton's fashion, when re-making an older film or basing his ideas off of other peoples work, to change the story in some way. In previous films his changes have been less than complimentary, but surprisingly everything seemed to work quite well this time. Picking up the story later in Alice's life we get to see her return to "Underland" where she must fulfill her destiny and slay the Jabberwocky. The story presented in this film comes across as being an approvable addition to Lewis Carroll's writing. What's more, the style of the film felt very appropriate for the source material. Ordinarily Tim Burton will obliterate the style and substance of the source material, an example being his film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Not so in this case. It seems that Burton has dropped the ego slightly and tried much harder to incorporate more of Lewis Carroll's vision into the film.

Because I enjoyed this film quite a bit I don't want to spoil any of the key points for others. I found this to be very engrossing, fun and enjoyable. The banter between tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum was spot on, and the dialogue overall was a perfect homage to Lewis Carroll. Johnny Depp was, of course, in this film, but his portrayal of the Mad Hatter was entertaining and even well thought out. Mia Wasikowska did a wonderful job playing the grown-up Alice, and her coy smile and soft features made her perfect for the role. I found Helena Bonham Carter's role as the red queen to be very humorous, and even though her CG big head was a bit strange it actually served a purpose in the plot.

This is definitely not a film that anyone should miss. Those who have lost their faith in Tim Burton may feel differently about him after watching Alice In Wonderland. It's charming, well thought out, and is sure to be a favorite among many for years to come.