Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Fails to Impress Critics

Making a film based on one of the most famous and popular stories of all times is always a gamble. It is difficult to please fans of the original work as well as the average movie-goers, the fans of the director, and of course the critics. Tim Burton is certainly no ordinary director, however, and has has experience in creatively depicting classics in the past with his 2005 film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That film also starred Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and was given a score of a 7 or 8 out of 10; a good score. For Alice in Wonderland, however, critics have been giving about a 5 of 6 out of ten. What has made this film a disappointment in their eyes compared to previous Tim Burton films?

Alice in Wonderland opened with $116.3 million for its first weekend in America, breaking the record for a March weekend opening previously held by 300 with only $70 million. This was the sixth highest grossing of all time! Overseas it made an additional $94 million, going about $10 million over its $200 million production cost. With such a popular turn out, it would seem that the film must have something supporting it, if only great advertising and a strong cast and director. So what are the reasons that this film has struggled in reviews?

Tim Burton's Style

Most fans of Tim Burton marvel at his ability to create a dark landscape and cast of characters and yet keep a certain whimsical and jovial air throughout the film. Particularly for a Disney film rated PG, this would be expected, but critics find that Tim Burton has allowed the darkness of this film to take over. Alice is devoid of much humor at all and at times seems to reflect more of a parody of the Tim Burton style than anything else. That is not to say that Burton does not accomplish anything. His film is designed in a beautiful and dark way that will please fans of Burton's art. His characters are likewise well designed for the most part.

The Script

The script, written by Linda Woolverton, the writer of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, is humorless and treads over old lines from the original Alice book while still trying to maintain a different storyline. The result is a painfully obvious split between trying to please Alice fans and trying to create something new. It almost seems as if the characters are going through the motions without any real heart during certain parts. The film tries too hard to appeal to a young audience while still engaging itself in deep psychological questions, which make the audience lose the thread of the story.

The Experience

Alice seeks to escape her fate as a Victorian woman betrothed to a man she does not love and ends up falling deep into a world of dark chaos that she must save. With a basic storyline similar in my mind to the Chronicles of Narnia series, Alice becomes a female heroine that you may not expect. The film is bloody and includes multiple beheadings including the execution of the Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter. Alice in Wonderland takes a decidedly darker view of madness than previous Alice stories, which will certainly please some viewers while disturbing others. The acting is good, but lost often in the effects of the movies; clearly the focus here is not particularly the characters. The Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp, is done well and will be one of the pleasant memories that fans take away from this movie. The 3-D effects are surprisingly disappointing, perhaps because viewers have been spoiled by the effects of Avatar.

The film is certainly not without its its strong points, but the overall feel of the film is that something in the storyline was less than satisfying. The film seeks to please large numbers, which it will be sure to do with its stunning visuals, but as for storyline critics have been quick to point out the weaknesses.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_%282010_film%29