Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton takes us back to Wonderland as the 19 year old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to her childhood imagination to discover herself and end the reign of the terrible Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter.) The lovable childhood characters are back with a twist to spin a tale, and throw one crazy tea party!
When you hear the name, Tim Burton, great films of dark excitement immediately pop to mind, and none below the standard fantastic. With that specific thought in mind I expected none the less from Alice and Wonderland. Yet, to put it lightly I was really disappointed with this film. I had built it up so much that I was quite disappointed with the end result. My expectations of Tim Burton’s directing were in no way met with this film. I still think the film was alright despite the numerous flaws, just not what I was expecting. The screenplay was not up to par by any means, and the lack of story development was once again a huge disappointment.
The pace of the film was entirely too slow and boring. There would have been much better success with the classic story by Lewis Carroll. The 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland falls very short in comparison to the original. The casting was there and the fantastic CGI was there, but the writing unfortunately was not. I promise I really did want to love it, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are favorites, but the best I can come up with is indifferent to slightly good. However, I do think it meshes well as a kids film and an adult film. There is a very fine line between the two, but in this case in falls comfortably in the middle. Kids will probably get more enjoyment out of the film than an adult. The Futterwacken Dance will definitely appeal to the younger audience.
The acting was fantastic, even if other aspects of the film were missing. Ann Hathaway presented a wonderfully odd White Queen full of unique entertainment. Johnny Depp gave a fantastic performance as the Mad Hatter. He really pulls off mad extremely well! Helena Bonham Carter was the Red Queen of interesting sorts. She and Depp always make for a great acting pair. Those were by far the strongest characters and most memorable. You would think that Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, would have been one of the more memorable, but the character was a bit too odd. She did do a good job in the keeping of character throughout the overall film, but Alice as a character just wasn’t as interesting as the rest of the bunch.
Now, as far as visuals (1080p High Definition/1.78:1) and sound went, there are no complaints. I thought Wonderland was fun and creative. The colors were extremely vibrant and pleasing to the eye. The sharp lines and contracts of light and dark were a perfect combination for the bold coloring of the film. Both the young and old audience can appreciate the fantastic visuals. The sound (5.1DTS-HD Master Audio) was very crisp and clear. I really enjoyed the marching scenes. The sound just surrounded you and placed your right in the middle of the action. Visually and sound wise I wasnt disappointed in the slightest.
Special Features
Disc 1- Blu-ray Feature film + Bonus
Wonderland Characters
– Finding Alice
-The Mad Hatter
-The Futterwacken Dance
– The Red Queen
-Time-Lapse: Sculpting the Red Queen
-The White Queen
Making Wonderland
– Scoring Wonderland
-Effecting Wonderland
-Stunts of Wonderland
-Making the Proper Size
-Cakes of Wonderland
-Tea Party Props
Disc 2- DVD Feature Film + Bonus
-The Mad Hatter
-Finding Alice
-Effecting Wonderland
Disc 3- Digital Copy of Feature Film