Well I just saw the film, and to be I didn't think it was all that good. Well it was good, it was enjoyable but it just didn't sit right. I see what Burton was trying to do with the story, however I would of much prefer if it was kept to the original that everyone knows and loves. That said the only other versions i have seen of Alice is the Disney and Svankmajer animations, and the 70s "adult musical".
Comparing it to the Disney animation is probably unfair, but I just feel that it was done more correctly. The characters were introduced one by one, they didn't really know or have concern for each other, they didn't know Alice and they didn't really want to. Whilst here they've been long awaiting her return. In fact they aren't even sure she is the right Alice. The story in fact reminds me a lot of the hapless Return To Oz, where Dorothy returns to a war torn Oz to find her old friends are now prisoners and she sets out to save them. Even in the opening scene when a young Alice tells her father of a strange dream she had had I was thinking how appropriate a nice round of electrotherapy be. When it came to final scene, it looked more like Joan of Arc in some sort of Lord of the Rings rip off. And that's what the visual style was more akin to, one of these modern made, cgi dragon fest fantasy films, when really it should something more humble and childlike with that Grimm-esque fairytale undertone. The Svankmajer version especially would be liken with European fairy tales.
There was a scene I recall from the Disney animation, where Alice starts to sob and her surroundings suddenly starts to become silent and grow dark and eerily lonesome. The characters around her were genuinely more oddball and alienating, making her desire to go home ever increase. In the Burton film the characters seemed more down to earth and in fact only the Hatter and the Hare truely seemed to be suffering from madness. There's a great sense of community, everything seems to in fact be the opposite from the story I know. Even Alice is a much more independently spirited person who sets out to defy the social norms (which goes back to that Joan of Arc comparison) and really her desire to go home isn't really that great.
As for the film itself the performances and accompanying cgi weren't that that bad, I participating found the Red Queen and her castle of frogs to be excellent, whilst Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat to be pure perfection. Johnny Depp wasn't as bad as i was expecting and his makeup turned out to be not as distracting as I originally thought it would be. However he does stick around too long and i feel the story may of been changed purely to give him more screen time and a higher billing (even though this script had in fact been around for several years). As I said before characters originally came and went, whilst here they are around for the long run. Depps charcter really should of ended once he was capturing by the Red Queens knights. Mia Wasikowska, the actual star of the films gives an okay performance.
One thing I found annoying was the continuous use of one liners and catch phrases that seem to be repeated throughout (Alice shouting out 'Off with head', when battling the Jabberwocky), made the script seem completely cornball.
This was the first film I've ever seen at the cinema in 3D, a lot of people have been saying you're perhaps better off seeing this in 2D and I think I'd have to agree. For thing it's £1.50 more and you don't even get to keep the glasses. Seriously though for my first experience with 3D, I thought it was impressive, it gave a great depth to the film. The few moments that the film did try to take advantage of the technique; flying swords and thrown teacups coming in my direction I in fact just found absolutely annoying and didn't add to the film in a positive manner. The that the shot is sudden;t set up like that for that purpose is enough to put a viewer out of the flow. It makes me wonder what the actually purpose of it really is, is film meant to suddenly become some sort of ride like experience. The film in fact was never even shot as a 3d film with the proper cameras and all the effects were added afterwards in post production.
Overall not how I envision 'Alice', it's a story that many people have always said that Burton should make into a film and how he has. Being a consider myself a huge Tim Burton fan (though more of his earlier works I'd admit) I would of most likely have never bothered watching this film if his name wasn't connected.
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Apologies for any mistakes above, this was written in one shot without any checking.
