Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen
There are few modern directors who have such a distinct style that their signature is evident even if you only glimpse a few seconds of footage. Tim Burton is among them. From Beetle Juice to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he selects projects that he knows can best be told with his unique vision. His direction can make the surreal become tangible. It was only a matter of course before he tackled the most famous nonsense fiction of all time.
Burton’s Underland (which a 6-year-old Alice mistakenly called “Wonderland”) is a once-beautiful fantastical realm now rife with fear and darkness. The script by Linda Woolverton (whose previous credits include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King) presents us with the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) who has seized complete control of the kingdom. She has murdered her husband and all others who would oppose her, and uses the threat of unleashing the Jabberwocky to keep the people in line and her sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), in exile. (As in the 1951 Disney animated version of Alice in Wonderland, the characters of the Red Queen from Through the Looking Glass and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland are combined.)
While the original novel’s Alice went through a transformation from a child to young adult, the film’s 19-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is faced with the task of rediscovering the necessary bravery she possessed as a child to follow her own dreams, as she returns to Wonderland with no memory of her first visit. As the Hatter (Johnny Depp) puts it, Alice has lost her “muchness” and cannot save her Wonderland without it.
The film on the whole is truly wonderful. The visuals are stunning, including the costumes by Academy Award-Winner Colleen Atwood. The dress Alice wears at the Red Queen’s palace is nothing short of fantasy-inspired haute couture, worthy of the late Alexander McQueen. Bonham Carter’s scene-stealing performance is pitch-perfect as a Red Queen whose fondness for execution is a direct result of her deep-seated jealousy of her sister and her decision that it is “better to be feared than loved”.
Depp’s portrayal of the Hatter gives new depth to an often one-note character. His Hatter is prone to fits of rage that are signaled by an at-times creepy, but mostly-sexy Scottish accent. Depp stated in several interviews that he felt the character’s insanity was brought on by the use of mercury in making hats (which is the historical source of ‘mad as a hatter’), exemplified by his bright orange hair and his mood-changing eye color. However, the film suggests that witnessing the Jabberwocky’s destructive, murderous rampage traumatizes the Hatter. In flashbacks prior to the Jabberwocky incident he is shown to be joyful and playful with 6-year-old Alice. Afterward, he is often seen flying into one of his rages and has to be calmed by the Dormouse or Alice. In the end, he seems to regain some of his sanity when the Jabberwocky is killed; his head is restored when the monster’s is violently lost.
Unfortunately, all is not perfect. The Hatter’s futterwacken dance seems awkward and out of place. It is jarringly modern in this otherwise classic fantasy setting. The ending is lackluster, seemingly thrown together as an afterthought. Most surprising is the amount of violence. Parents beware; there are at least 3 instances of sharp objects poking out eyes. The attack of the Jabberwocky, voiced by Christopher Lee, could be as traumatizing for small children as it was for the Hatter. Aside from the Red Queen’s constant execution verdicts, there are several other allusions to violent murder. At one point, the Red Queen requests that the children of a recently death-sentenced frog should be brought to her so she may eat them, saying she likes “tadpoles more than caviar”. This is not a movie for little kids.
Despite a few missteps, I would highly recommend the film to any fans of the novels, the director or the stars.
A note regarding 3D:
What is with the resurgence of this once-thought antiquated technology? Wasn’t this relegated to fad status when it seemed to die out in the early ‘80s with bad horror movies like Friday the 13th Part III. Then came IMAX and HD cameras, and suddenly everything is in 3D again. Let me be clear, I am not against technology, and I am a lover of well-done SPFX. I am more of a technological geek than the average woman. I love my 50” flat screen HDTV. At the same time I’m using the same old DVD player that I’ve had for 8 years. I saw Avatar in both 3D and in regular, old 2D. While I appreciated the difference and the experience, I’m not sure it was worth the $10 extra to see it in 3D. I certainly didn’t see its necessity in Alice in Wonderland. During the current economic crisis, it’s a good idea for people to save money when and where they can. My opinion is skip the 3D version, and go for the cheaper 2D. It’s the same movie, but without the stupid glasses.
