I never thought I’d have to say that about a Tim Burton movie. But there just isn’t anything particularly remarkable about “Alice in Wonderland.” It is a professionally crafted, reasonably entertaining Hollywood blockbuster. I was hoping for a little bit more from the great director.
Tim Burton is the cinematic equivalent of The Cure: he is THE undisputed mainstream goth filmmaker of his generation.
Burton actually has a better hit to miss ratio than Robert Smith. “Beetlejuice,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Ed Wood,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” are funny, quirky masterpieces that only Tim Burton could have created.
Even his lesser films like “Edward Scissorhands,” “Batman,” “Big Fish,” and “Sleepy Hollow” are bold, ambitious, and have moments of inspired lunacy and genius.
Burton’s movies give voice to the strange, the gloomy, and the disenfranchised while still remaining enjoyable for a mainstream audience of normal people.
With “Alice in Wonderland,” Tim Burton has delivered another perfectly watchable, easily marketable blockbuster. It is easy on the eyes and quite entertaining.
But it isn’t special. It isn’t quirky. It isn’t WEIRD. I expect to see something weird when I go to a Tim Burton film.
2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” puts a little spin on the classic Lewis Carroll story. In this version, Alice is 19 years old and on the verge of being married off to an undesirable nobleman against her will.
Just as she is faced with the hardest decision of her life, Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole and into the three-dimensional world of Wonderland. There she finds some beverages and pastries that keep changing her size and she meets a bi-polar hat maker played by Johnny Depp.
Alice finds out that it is her destiny to slay the fearsome Jabberwocky and overthrow the evil Red Queen, who in turn would like to have Alice and many other people decapitated.
Blah.
We know the story. “Alice in Wonderland” simply doesn’t have enough surprises or laughs or cool characters to elevate it from a decent picture to a Tim Burton classic.
That said: I certainly didn’t hate the movie. The story is well-crafted and moves at a good pace. I was never bored and I never stopped rooting for Alice.
But “Alice in Wonderland” just isn’t as weird or fun as it should have been. It’s a shame to see the great Tim Burton direct a movie that is so darn average. Skip it and watch “Beetlejuice” again instead!
