I'm indifferent about the film.
I never cared much for Alice in Wonderland. Although, I haven't read either book and I only have the adaptations to go by, I much prefer Alice Through the Looking Glass.
It's been ages since I've seen the first Disney film. A couple of things stayed with me when watching it my youth. 1)Sterling Holloway voicing the Chesire Cat; 2)Mary Blair's artwork; 3)the way the Caterpillar would pronounce "Who"; and...that's about it really. :\
Hearing that Tim Burton would be working on an Alice film seemed like a perfect match to me. It's a sequel of sorts to the story in general and not any particular adaptation.
Personally, I enjoyed it outside of the rabbit hole with all it's awkwardness. Mia Wasikowska, by the way, makes a great Alice.
When we first go down the rabbit hole, I was pleased. Things were colourful at first (particularly due to the Tall Flowers), and familiar characters were there. I really enjoyed Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, now called Absolem apparently (again, I never read the book. Was he always named that?)
It is a visual film. But not what I thought it was going to be. It didn't feel much like a Burton film to me. I went in thinking of a twisted and colourful world like we saw with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Nope.
Wonderland, now Underland (again, I haven't read the book. Fill me in here) is dry, barren, and war-torn. It's a downer. XD
Burton tried to address something that truly bugs me about the story. Being that there is no story. Alice wonders around from character to character and goes "my, you're odd" and then leaves. With Burton's film he tries to give Alice a bit more character (this is welcomed) and weave a story in that feels out of place.
Alice, being 19, and returning to Wonder....Underland is interesting. And I think it works. It's much like the movie Hook where a grown up Peter Pan returns to Neverland. But the additional story of slaying the Jabberwocky so that the White Queen can rule Underland instead of her sister the Red Queen just falls flat. It feels forced and unnecessary.
Disney's backing this film and I'm not sure why. They didn't produce Hook. And let's face it, the Disney films are what most people associate with these stories, not the original books unfortunately (unlike Alice, I have actually read Pan).
Depp....hmm.... I hate the Mad Hatter as a character. In both films. And any interactions I have with a cast member playing the character at a Disney Park. I never get a long well him XD (nor the Tweedles who take a liking to rubbing my stomach O_o). Depp is more enjoyable as the Hatter than he was Wonka. But he's delivering key dialogue (I think) and I couldn't understand what he was saying. His voice changes, he mumbles, he speaks nonsense. When he was acting "normal" or as normal as the Hatter can be, it was an enjoyable performance. Otherwise, I had no idea what was going on.
But then again it's Alice. It's nonsense, after all, and maybe that's the point.
I did enjoy Helena Bonham Carte as the Red Queen and Barbara Windsor as the Dormouse (or whatever name they gave her now).
Talking animals, evil queens, sword fights. Felt like I was watching a warped version of Narnia. :|
