Through the Looking Glass...Again
By: Zachary Serrett  

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a 3-D adventure that focuses on Alice’s grand return to the mystical and psychedelic world of Wonderland.
     The movie hits the ground running, quickly thrusting viewers into a discombobulated story with a mess of characters. The story revolves around Alice’s quest to recover an Excalibur-esque sword in order to slay an overgrown lizard so that she can dethrone the Red Queen. Along the way she meets a variety of companions from the original story such as the Cheshire Cat,the White Rabbit, Absolem and, of course, the Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp. The story reaches its apex as Alice and the White Queen battle against the Red Queen’s forces, randomly flailing a sword until she lops the Jabberwocky’s head from its shoulders.
     One of the film’s selling points is its 3-D animation. However, here the 3-D, rather than being immersive like Avatar, comes off gimmicky and cheap. The film has an all- star cast of actors. The show is stolen by Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, whose silly antics amuse and maybe force a giggle. Johnny Depp does a fairly good job as the Mad Hatter although he seems to be just playing Johnny Depp rather than any particular character. The story is graced with a variety of voice acting talent: Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas. This would be great if Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, didn’t have the personality of a wet blanket. Her performance is comparable to someone who is expecting a bowl of lucky charms but getting luke-warm oatmeal instead.
     In classic Burton style, the film rides the edge of seedy and whimsical and childish. Here the movie falls to pieces. The story and dialogue is bleak and watered down, easily boring any intelligent person; however, the movie also has parts too dark for small children such as the scene where Alice crosses a river of blood on severed heads or the Dormouse’s habit of ripping out creature’s eyes. While the movie attempts reach out to audiences of all ages, it fails to deliver anything worthwhile.
     In short, Alice in Wonderland doesn’t impress. It feels like Burton is grasping for straws and only manages a mediocre performance by relying on his bread and butter Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Helena Bonham Carter. I give Alice in Wonderland two out of five stars. Please, directors, leave our childhood fantasies alone.