What's Wrong in Wonderland?

SPOILER ALERT - This article discusses key plot points of the new Alice in Wonderland movie from Tim Burton and Disney pictures.

The new Alice in Wonderland from Tim Burton and Disney pictures has a lot of things going for it. It has a well-known director, fantastic special effects, a fairly convincing world, at least four big-name stars, and an interesting premise. The new Alice has all the parts, but none of the whole. The experience of watching it about as exciting as getting a hair cut.

Why? Several reasons, but one stands out as the major culprit; the lazy-fantasy-screenwriter's favorite plot device: THE PROPHECY. As soon as a scroll is rolled out that shows Alice slaying the Jabberwocky to restore the kingdom to the white queen, the movie is dead. The screenwriter has told us the end of the tale and no matter how much Alice protests, we know what will happen; Alice will fulfill the prophecy. The rest of what happens is inevitable. There is no risk, and even when the white queen tells Alice that it's all her choice, there is no real decision to make. Alice can either live as a prisoner under the rule of red queen or slay the Jabberwocky. All that's left is to have a series of uninspired scenes and chase sequences based on the scenes from the original book. Why have a story at all? This is the core of the movie's failure.

Other problems:

It is difficult to believe that Alice will choose the young man she's supposed to become engaged to at the opening of the film. If we know from the beginning that she will refuse his proposal, what suspense is left in this tired plot device? If Alice had been given a more sticky, difficult dilemma to solve on her return to the real world, it might have heightened the suspense. As it stands, this is both cliche and a missed opportunity.

I like Anne Hathaway, but her performance in this film was disappointing. Even Helena Bonham Carter, a personal favorite, can only say, 'off with his head,' so many times before it becomes stale. This is another screen-writing shortcoming. All the characters are one-dimensional. Not even a fine performance from Johny Depp and Alice can overcome the poor scripting.

As I said in the beginning, there are good things about this movie. It is a feast for the eyes and the 3D is fun, but don't expect to experience any modicum of suspense or character connection.