He also decided to stray from Carroll’s original story. Why not adapt that? I think it would been great for Burton if he had chosen to not deviate from the original novel. Then again modern movie goers don’t want to go to anything if there is not some sort of action sequence.
No, Burton didn’t stray from the material- Disney hired Linda Wooverton and told her to stray from the material. totally different (not that Burton is remarkably talented to begin with but).
My apolpgies then. I still think a deviation was his a mistake however.
Well it was a sequel and not a remake like we all thought. So deviating was kind of a non-issue.
My biggest issue was that dance. I mean, really? Really? And yeah, the big battle scene was dumb. I would much rather have had another off-the-wall series of crazy things happening in 3D. On the other hand, the cheshire cat was pretty awesome.
For all the craziness of the source material, it felt very forgettable. Scene for scene, everything was so predictable and uninspired that any chance for surprise or tension was all but destroyed. You had to wonder what exactly was going through Burton’s mind when he made it. Did he see this as his opportunity to experiment as a “studio hire”?
It really is shocking how half-hearted this movie felt.
It really is shocking how half-hearted this movie felt.
I think Clint summed it up there. I wasn’t expecting much, & this still seemed “eh.” The target audience appeared to be Hot Topic- going girls, but just because a movie is clearly targeted to a demo doesn’t mean it’s supposed to be that much of a hack job.
The cat was fun, & Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen was one of the more fun villains I’ve seen in awhile. But from Burton down to the rest of the cast, it’s not even entertaining. I’m sorry to be Spoiler Steve here, but it’s a halfass Hook retread.
Nathan pretty much summed up my take on Burton, but not Disney. I’m a bit of a Disney dork, but for a studio that does put out plenty of potboilers, they take some risks too. Most of the Pixar output is superb, & they seem to have actually started to take risks with mainstream films ( I’ll call Princess & the Frog an example; Tron 2 is too; it looks neat, even if I don’t get the financial or artistic points to doing a big-budget tentpole sequel to an obscure 30-year old cult movie.) This may change as they’ve just had an executive shakeup.
What really gets me is how damn conventional it is. Even the original animated version had plenty of moments of alluring surreality (the first thing that comes to mind is the March Hare pouring tea into the air, only to have a tea cup and sugar cubes emerge fall out the teapot and into his hand).
I mean, jeez, Wonderland is a place where all physics and logic don’t apply (We get a little hint of this when Alice is hanging upside down after falling through the hole). Burton seems to have forgotten to take advantage of this opportunity.
Yeah, just compare the sequence of falling through the rabbit hole in the original animated version to this new version, and you get a sense for just how much less imagination Burton put into this than those old-school Disney folks.
That said, I dug it enough. More than any Burton in 13 years (haven’t seen SWEENY TODD, though) I actually thought the movie’s intro framing device was full of funny stuff even if the bookend to that framing device was rushed and…surprising (the moral of the story is…trade more with China? Really?). Glover and Bonham Carter were great, as was their CGI conceptualization and the incorporation of their real-life performances into the animation. But, yeah, the old Disney one sure is great.
I just watched this and what a disappointing piece of drivel. I can’t imagine what Burton was thinking.
There are some interesting ideas in the story approach the actual result is trash. The score is a joke. The only good thing – some of the sets, mostly early on, are interesting, but the ‘effects’ were childish and overdone.
I’ve seen many, many Alice films, but this was the worst (and that includes the porno version).
I noticed a lot of complaints regarding Mia W. I won’t debate them but I don’t think it is material to the overall quality of the film.
This film first made me so angry now it just makes me sad…
The book was great and I worship Tim Burton but this movie…seriously?
If there’s something i can’t stand it is commercial films, but by Tim Burton? Adapting Alice? No please no.
When I heard about the project I was so excited, they’re both dreamlike it should give a perfect combination! haha that was so stupid, it made me realise there can be many ways to deal with the dreamlike aspect. While Alice looks more like Terry Gilliam’s films (you completely lose yourself, just like in dreams) Tim Burton is more like Roald Dahl’s (you find elements that remind you of dreams but there is still a story)
now I know Tim Burton + Alice = BAD IDEA
Tim burton has got fantasy but he needs an actual plot, it ended up in a Narniesque story called “Alice in Wonderland”
I was not just disppointed, there is no word to describe the way i felt, i don’t even mention the moment when Avril Lavigne started to sing. Has anyone usurped Burton’s identity or is this some kind of joke? not funny anyway
Since when does he need 3D and extra effects? that’s not what made his previous films great, that was all about his fantasy, humour and poetry….
what about Danny elfman? what did the production do to him to make him accept to be on the same soundtrack that Avril lavigne??
I hope you will brig a great film next time Mr Burton, just like you used to do
doubleposted sorry sorry
I could not be less interested in this film – - – - except for the presence of Mia Wasikowska! Watched the first season of In Treatment and she’s just freaking wonderful. Dream casting someday.
I don’t know what Mia Wasikowska was told to do but the naivety of Carroll’s Alice, her simplicity are just gone. Mia Wasikowska’s frowns are so annoying. It might have been a choice to show she’s a grown-up or something, though i really doubt that.
Redrum4
While I like some moments of this film. It looks great (even though it is all just animation), but it didn’t work. It wasn’t as great a film as it should have been.
My problem is 2 things. Disney and Burton.
1. Disney knows exactly nothing about filmmaking except the Michael Bay formula: “big boom make audiences buy tickets.” I have no idea why this film needed to end in a battle. It was idiotic.
2. Tim Burton. He just doesn’t really have what it takes. He’s made a few decent films, but no masterpieces and this film could have been a great one if not close to a masterpiece. In his hands it was mediocre.