Of course I had to comment on the new film! It just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t…
Initially I wanted to see this the minute it came out, but due to work and wanting to see it with the boy I had to wait over a week and travel to Sheffield to see it with him at Ciniworld (much better then the crappy Odeon here in Lincoln). Needless to say it was well worth the wait!
This is not a strait forward Alice adaptation, set 10 years later it has a different feel to the original book, I guess the more mature version of Alice has had some of her curiosity knocked out of her. However I think this is partially why Alice fans love it! Anything that is a direct adaptation/ remake brings up countless arguments about weather or not it was done right, weather it stayed true to the book and where it went wrong, and with Alice in Wonderland/ Alice though the looking glass, staying true to the book is near possible while keeping any form of structure, something all directors have had problems with
I loved the style strait off, the transition from “normal” life to wonderland seemed effortless. The weakest point in the film I believe was the scenes outside of Wonderland (or Underland), this sort of “Alice needs to make a decision and then falls into Wonderland, helping her make the decision when she arrives back” is way too over done for my liking and is not a product of the original book. Also the sexual tension between the mad hatter and Alice seemed a little odd, anyone who is a fan of bria-chan’s work on deviant art *cough* I’m a beautiful palm tree *cough* will know that she has played on this between the Disney versions of Alice and Hatter for some time, but here however the vibe seemed different, making it awkward to watch at times. Sometimes I get the feeling script writers feel that EVEY film must have a love story somewhere in it and this can spoil things
The new Alice played by Mia Wasikowska, was very good, she is different to other portrayals of Alice but there was just enough about her to make you believe that she is who Alice could have grown up into. However at the start if the film I was ready to hate her, in the “real world” scenes at the start she was totally flat, cold and uninviting, it was hard to believe the ever curious and giddy Alice could be so plainly acted. However this changed throughout the film.
To be honest, part of me wanted to hate Jonny Depp’s version of the Mad Hatter, not because I think he’s a bad actor, I rate him as one of the best, but purely because of the over marketing he has received. Months before the film’s release his face was everywhere, on TV he was the main focus, on ridiculous merchandise everywhere (the entire Clare’s collection was dedicated to Depp) and in all the posters. In short, I thought the “look, Jonny Depp is in this film” stuff was just far too much. It took for too much focus away from Alice, the person who it was meant to be about. However as usual Jonny excelled, his version of the ever accent changing Hatter was a strange one, but still a character who you could engage with, despite his madness.
My two favourite characters in this version were the dog Bayard, who I totally thought was a real dog till he started talking (10 points to the animation team on that one), his talk about his wife and pups made me feel for him instantly, and the March Hair, who I totally loved! His quirky and outright mad ways I thought were hilarious and had me actually laughing out loud in the cinema. On the whole most of the new characters worked well, the touch of making the Red Queen look how she does in the book (big out of proportion head among other things) was a nice touch
To be honest, part of me wanted to hate Jonny Depp’s version of the Mad Hatter, not because I think he’s a bad actor, I rate him as one of the best, but purely because of the over marketing he has received. Months before the film’s release his face was everywhere, on TV he was the main focus, on ridiculous merchandise everywhere (the entire Clare’s collection was dedicated to Depp) and in all the posters. In short, I thought the “look, Jonny Depp is in this film” stuff was just far too much. It took for too much focus away from Alice, the person who it was meant to be about. However as usual Jonny excelled, his version of the ever accent changing Hatter was a strange one, but still a character who you could engage with, despite his madness.
My two favourite characters in this version were the dog Bayard, who I totally thought was a real dog till he started talking (10 points to the animation team on that one), his talk about his wife and pups made me feel for him instantly, and the March Hair, who I totally loved! His quirky and outright mad ways I thought were hilarious and had me actually laughing out loud in the cinema. On the whole most of the new characters worked well, the touch of making the Red Queen look how she does in the book (big out of proportion head among other things) was a nice touch
Before seeing the film my boyfriend was worried about Disney dumbing down and cleaning up Burton’s work, which he had heard from friends had occurred. Apart from the fact that Burton had previously worked with Disney doing Nightmare Before Christmas, a film I don’t believe is light or stereotypically “Disney” at all, I don’t believe it was made to be lightened. Admittedly it wasn’t as dark as some of Burton’s work but it was focused around an entirely different film style and audiences’, it still had plenty of suggestions to show Burton’s gothic nature. I think lot of people were expecting something similar to American McGee’s Alice, which I would also love to see a version of! Weather the boy agreed after the film? Well you will just have to as him :)
The only other thing to mention about it really are two little nerdy moments me and my boyfriend picked up, the first being when the red Queen says “dwinkies” to one of the guards, me and my boyfriend both turned to each other and uttered “Blackadder” did anyone else find this part reminded them of Queenie from Blackadder the second? And the final bit was when Alice was talking to the Cheshire Cat, the tree’s as she walked away spelt out Alice (see of you notice!)
Overall it was very enjoyable, the animation and 3D worked well and the attention to detail was amazing, very dark, very fantastical, very Burton, very Disney and most importantly, very Alice, I MUST have the special edition DVD as soon as it comes out.
P.S Notice how the Mad Hatter has one dilated pupil and one normal? This is a sign of brain damage, very clever!
The only other thing to mention about it really are two little nerdy moments me and my boyfriend picked up, the first being when the red Queen says “dwinkies” to one of the guards, me and my boyfriend both turned to each other and uttered “Blackadder” did anyone else find this part reminded them of Queenie from Blackadder the second? And the final bit was when Alice was talking to the Cheshire Cat, the tree’s as she walked away spelt out Alice (see of you notice!)
Overall it was very enjoyable, the animation and 3D worked well and the attention to detail was amazing, very dark, very fantastical, very Burton, very Disney and most importantly, very Alice, I MUST have the special edition DVD as soon as it comes out.
P.S Notice how the Mad Hatter has one dilated pupil and one normal? This is a sign of brain damage, very clever!
P.P.S sorry for sloppy writing style, spelling and grammar, I’m writing this at work so it’s kind of rushed shhhh!
“You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are”
Industiral_Alice
“You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are”
Industiral_Alice
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