Matthew Fox

Film Critic

There are some directors and actors who come together in such a unique and powerful way that it makes the work of both better.

Director John Ford frequently cast John Wayne, while Martin Scorsese forged dynamic creative partnerships with both Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. For Tim Burton, that collaborative partner seems to be Johnny Depp.

Together the pair have made some wonderful and wonderfully memorable films, including “Edward Scissorhands,” “Ed Wood” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” In 2005, the pair teamed to tackle the children’s classic “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” adding their own colorful, bizarre twist on the tale.

Now, the pair have added their unique signature to another classic children’s tale, “Alice in Wonderland.”

There have been more than 60 incarnations of Lewis Carroll’s classic tales, including the 1951 animated Disney classic “Alice in Wonderland.” But it’s fair to say none of them have ever looked quite like Burton’s “Alice.”

The film centers on a 19-year-old girl named Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) who is being pressured to marry a wealthy young suitor with whom she has nothing in common. Soon, Alice finds herself distracted by a white rabbit in a waistcoat (Martin Sheen), and follows him down a rabbit hole.

What Alice discovers is a unique world that she refers to as “Wonderland,” but the locals refer to it as “Underland.” Alice believes she’s caught in a strange dream, but the strange characters she meets believe she’s there to rescue the inhabitants of Underland from the wicked Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and restore the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to power. The pair of queens — sisters — have distinctly different styles, and under the leadership of the Red Queen, Underland has become a darker, more violent place.

Among those who Alice meets on her journey are a pair of dundering twins — Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), a sage-like blue caterpillar (Alan Rickman) and the wily Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry). But by far the most memorable rogue who crosses Alice’s path is the Mad Hattar (Depp). The Hattar helps fill in some of the blanks for Alice and sets her on a path to save Underland while protecting her from falling into the hands of the Red Queen’s henchman, Stayne (Crispin Glover), the Knave of Hearts.

In the end, Alice must find the courage within herself to do what is needed to save Underland.

There are several films of this type that follow a familiar formula. Both the “Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Wizard of Oz” are about heroes and heroines that discover a doorway to a magical world that seeks salvation from a tyrant. But “Alice in Wonderland” has always lent itself to a more eclectic feel.

In the same way that “Return to Oz” felt totally disconnected from the original, in a lot of ways Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” plays like “The Chronicles of Narnia” on LSD. The world is weird, wild and just a little bit crazy.

Burton is the master at setting a stunning visual palette. The same holds true with “Alice,” where the use of colors, exotic locales and vibrant characters set the tone. The film offers even more in 3-D, though it’s not the most exciting 3-D experience. The special effects also aren’t on par with the best innovations in the genre, such as the visual aesthetics of a film like “Avatar.” But “Alice” is unique, and uniquely Burton.







For the complete article see the 03-12-2010 issue.

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