Tim Burton is back, reimagining the stories of Lewis Carroll, and you'll know it as soon as you follow Alice into Wonderland. The first thing that pops out at you are those kooky Edward Scissorhand garden sculptures that are prominently featured in the background. But this isn't the Alice that we grew up with. Though the blue caterpillar, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen are back, "Underland" is now the setting for a showdown between good and evil. Following the prophecy of a magical scroll, Absolum the snarky, hooka-loving caterpillar declares that Alice is to face off against the Jabberwocky, a creature of unimaginable power. But while the story is abundant with creative creatures, it lacks in original story telling. Instead, it meanders towards a tale as old as time. Alice in Wonderland: Trippy and Wonder(land)ful
Tim Burton is back, reimagining the stories of Lewis Carroll, and you’ll know it as soon as you follow Alice into Wonderland. The first thing that pops out at you are those kooky Edward Scissorhand garden sculptures that are prominently featured in the background. But this isn’t the Alice that we grew up with. Though the blue caterpillar, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen are back, “Underland” is now the setting for a showdown between good and evil. Following the prophecy of a magical scroll, Absolum the snarky, hooka-loving caterpillar declares that Alice is to face off against the Jabberwocky, a creature of unimaginable power. But while the story is abundant with creative creatures, it lacks in original story telling. Instead, it meanders towards a tale as old as time.
Alice is well-played by Mia Wasikowska, a 19 year old woman that maintains the innocence of her 6-year old self. The movie is heavy with symbolism: A sword, a dragon, a scroll of prophecy and a “good” and “bad” Queen. Considering that many children are being exposed to these themes for the first time via this movie, I suppose that’s okay. One of the most noble aspects of this film is the fact that it’s an empowering film for women. Alice is strong even in the face of adversity, though she constantly doubts her own ability to “slay the dragon” up until the moment of truth. The Queens themselves seem a bit more cookie-cutter than the rest of the characters, but they are mere representations of the powerless female (the White Queen) and the ego-driven female (the Red Queen.) Between the two polarities is where we find ourselves, following Alice through her strange journey. That journey, as strange as it is, has it’s own shamanic figure: The Cheshire Cat.
The infamous Cheshire Cat is brilliantly voiced by Stephen Fry (V for Vendetta, Narrator of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). He steals the show whenever he comes on screen, delightfully mocking Red Queen and Alice alike. Crispin Glover makes for a believable “bad guy,” and compliments Johnny Depp well.
And then there’s the curious case of Johnny Depp.
Johnny does his best to make the Mad Hatter his own, with dueling accents and a pretty silly payoff in his form of Pop-lock-and-drop at the end of the film. This actually seems to work better than the major payoff in the form of a dragon slaying. It works, but I’d rather have a walk-about around Wonderland. Depp fills the strange shoes of The Mad Hatter better than his previous incarnation in the Disney film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In the end he creates a noble, nuanced character that desires revenge on the Red Queen but is too crazy to actually get it.
The movie somehow follows a logical pattern through illogical Wonderland. Burton takes a decidedly adult look into the world of Wonderland (a bunch of parents with kids in tow walked out of the showing I went to), and he hasn’t lost his touch with filmmaking. Check it out.
March 12, 2010 at 11:10 am, Ivan said:
Good news, Johnny-Cakes! I’ve decided to ease up on the hating. Not entirely, of course – offensively uninformed and/or self-satisfied columns such as your “Unemployment Benefits” atrocity deserve evisceration, and as such shall receive it. However, I’ve recently been blessed with a correlated pair of minor revelations, and I’m trying to apply them where I can in my life. First, I’ve decided to take a more measured approach to all of those annoying little things that life presents, such as gentrification, bad tippers, 3 a.m. teething fits, and of course, the vast majority of your writing. These things so slight, so utterly ephemeral in relation to the wide world, that it is not even close to worthy of my wrath. Railing against posts such as this one would be akin to castigating a brisk wind for blowing the cap from my head. The wind doesn’t fight back, and it certainly doesn’t apologize; better to dust off my cap and keep going.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to try and see the more positive side of those things that bother me that I cannot change: bad tippers aside, it’s good to have a job; hipsters come and go, but I’ll still have my home and my family; teething is yet another sign that my baby girl is growing up healthy; and finally, there are aspects of your writing that deserve some appreciation.
Don’t misunderstand me, now. Your style hasn’t improved a bit, your subject research remains spotty, and you still have yet to bring anything of substance to your pieces. No, I’ve found myself enjoying your blog much in the same way I enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Happening’, a masterpieces of sublime mediocrity. Unlike ‘The Happening’, however, your drivel is 100% free. It’s like going to a trendy bar and getting comped on all your drinks. Yes, the décor is pretentious. Yes, the company’s awful, and the conversation shallow. Yes, they charge premium prices for what is essentially well booze. But fuck it! You’re getting that foul shit for free anyhow, so sit back and revel in the vapidity that surrounds you!
March 13, 2010 at 5:35 pm, anonymous said:
Perhaps what Johnny really needs is a good mentor – like Ivan!
March 15, 2010 at 6:28 pm, Ivan said:
Flattered, but no. He doesn’t listen to me already.