Tim Burton’s take on the Alice story seems to have all the right parts: A vibrant, committed, perfect-fit cast, spectacular costuming, and a focused end-point from the get-go. But somehow all these parts didn’t seem well-edited together. Taken individually, the scenes are fine, but I often found myself asking “is this what I’m really concerned with right now?”
In that vein, let me continue this post with a disjointed series of random thoughts:
1. Just how much incomprehensible, demented madness can you tolerate? This movie embodies weirdness, and an example of such is that much of what the Mad Hatter says is like a completely foreign language (though that’s not exclusive to him).
2. As I said before, the costuming is amazing. Alice goes through numerous costume changes as she grows/shrinks and changes company, and even some of the minor characters don’t adhere to the cartoon-character same-clothes-every-day standard.
3. I get Johnny Depp is a bankable name, but I think it’s completely strange that this is being sold as his movie. Which is not to say he doesn’t play a prominent role in it–which he does. I never read the original stories and it’s been a decade or two since I last saw the original Disney cartoon adaptation, but I don’t recall the Mad Hatter being such a central character. Still, in this politically-charged story, his role as a leader in the “tea party” revolution makes sense. Make no mistake, though, this is still Alice’s show all the way through.
4. I think all this movie needed was some cool-down time. Everyone was always rushing around, determined, almost every scene a little too urgent. Can we have a little time to simmer and reflect over what’s going on before throwing the next beat at us?
5. Avril Lavigne. I’ve been wondering what you’ve been up to. Did they not invite you to perform at the Olympics? (If they did, I didn’t follow the games, so I plead ignorance.)
6. Crispin Glover seems as tall & lanky as ever. But then again, almost everyone is caricaturized by CG augmentation. I think I only saw three untouched humans in Wonderland. It works, though.
7. I loved all the side/minor characters except the Mad Hatter. That dude’s just disturbed/disturbing.
It’s not the most easily digestible movie, but I think this is one of those times where the effort is worth appreciating.
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