Brightest Young Things

Lewis Carroll’s fantastical imagination and Tim Burton’s creepy/cute aesthetic should be a match made in heaven. Surely fans will remember Burton had his start in Disney’s art department, so in an unlikely way, Alice in Wonderland is a return to his roots. Despite the rich source material, the director’s latest effort is a mixed bag (at best). There are some clever ideas and an intriguing premise, yet Burton’s depiction of Wonderland does not capture the imagination. Underdeveloped supporting characters and a predictable conclusion heighten disinterest, and what’s worse, the 3D effects darken the visuals when they should be striking and bright.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has grown from a girl into a young woman, and her memories of the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) are more dreamlike. In the English countryside, the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) catches Alice’s eye at an inopportune moment. With all of Society watching, she’s about to decide whether to accept a wedding proposal from the stuffy Hamish (Leo Bill). Her curiosity is too great, so she leaves the garden party to follow the rabbit. After tumbling endlessly down the famous hole and altering her size, Alice returns to a Wonderland of muted color. The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) has left her kingdom is disarray, and her subjects aren’t too pleased. They hope Alice can defeat the Jabberwocky and return power to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), thereby restoring to Wonderland to its previous harmony. Everyone (including Alice) must first decide whether Alice is the same Alice from thirteen years ago, if you follow. Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman) is the only one with any answers, but he’s too baked to offer direct assistance.

With vibrant color and bizarre character design, the movie’s posters suggest an immersive experience in a peculiar land, and it succeeds for its first half hour. There’s a sense of exhilaration as Alice chases after the rabbit. Her initial encounters with Dormouse and Tweedle-dee/dum are oddly whimsical, as is her reintroduction to the Mad Hatter. These scenes work precisely because introductions are just that - depth and character development are reasonable expectations for later, yet they never arrive. The predictable story certainly doesn’t help matters. Alice’s development and subsequent realization her destiny will be familiar to all fans of fantasy fiction. Wit and stunning visuals can be substitute a predictable story, yet Burton succeeds only some of the time. There is a clear production design effort, but thanks to the inadequate brightness of 3D (Avatar not withstanding), it’s difficult to appreciate the work of Burton and his animators. Two dimensions is the right way to see this movie. Images will be far clearer, particularly when Burton opts for a darker palette. It’s not a good sign when the rejuvenated Wonderland looks similar to the wasteland which defines the Red Queen’s reign.

Depp is no stranger to quirky roles, and does what he can with the Hatter, yet his character’s madness is surprisingly tame. Carroll’s work is a distant memory from childhood, so I don’t remember whether the Hatter’s original; still, a CGI pottery-hurling rabbit should not have more energy than a film’s biggest star (Depp’s performance culminates in a dance sequence that’s frankly embarrassing). Similarly, heart-shaped lipstick and a bulbous head are no substitute for genuine menace. The Red Queen’s frequent “Off with their head!” demands sound petulant when they should be at least a little threatening. Not surprisingly, the least made-up characters are also the most engaging. Wasikowska, who is in nearly every scene, has just the right mix of pluck and ethereal beauty (Burton got ample use of his costume designer, as Alice switches outside every ten minutes). And as the Red Queen’s number two, the inestimable Crispin Glover is delightfully loathsome. Yet for every believable passage of dialogue, there are numerous instances of a novelty character overstaying its welcome. Even the shtick of the floating Chesire Cat fails to capture the imagination.

Burton and his screenwriter Linda Woolverton use this re-imagining of Carroll’s characters to tell a story of female empowerment. The lengthy middle section is a half-hearted rumination on the fate versus choice idea, and once Alice saves the day, the lessons learned have implications in her everyday life. Like the movie’s other elements, these ideas are superficially considered, and left me craving a deeper exploration of the source material. I wish I could say it succeeds in terms of visual wonder. Individual images such as the Red Queen’s castle and the massive White Army are striking, and would work as a framed picture. I guess that’s all Alice in Wonderland amounts to. As with Burton’s weaker features, it’s a movie where production stills are more enthralling than the final product.