Painting the Roses Red

I have many warm memories of watching the original Alice in Wonderland(Disney, 1951) as a child. In fact, I viewed it so many times that the particular tones and inflections of each character's voice, from Alice through to the timid violets, are etched into mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Movie_alice_in_wonderland_flowers.png

When I heard that Alice was being brought to life once again, this time by Tim Burton, I was filled with nostalgia and hopeful that this reinvention would maintain the integrity of the original Disney classic. Although apprehensive about Burton's vision for Alice and the prospect of wearing irksome 3D glasses, Ax and myself ventured to the cinema on Saturday night, with about three hundred other movie goers, to witness Burton's creation.

(Like this but not quite so glamorous!)
http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/695413-live-it-up-in-a-3d-cinema-dimension

Apart from the awful cinema experience (overcrowded, people arriving half an hour into the movie, texting, chattering, starting the film while the lights were still on and the sound being too low to carry across the rustling chip packets), I found Burton's Alice in Wonderland quite enjoyable, but not particularly memorable. Actually, the parts that were memorable were rendered so for being not particularly enjoyable (in my opinion)!

Firstly, a few words about Johnny Depp, an amazing actor who sadly seems to be carving out a niche in 'quirky' roles. Unfortunately, his wide eyed glances and mousy character voices have become all too predictable. This is not to say that his performance as the Mad Hatter is bad, but rather that it is boring.

Secondly, the battle scene is all wrong, out of place and completely unnecessary. The muted grey, black and red colour scheme is reminiscent of Zack Snyder's 300 (2007), a film based on a graphic novel of the same name about the battle of the 300 Spartans. As if forming this association wasn't disturbing enough, in the climax of the scene, Alice dashes up a spiral stone staircase and upon reaching the top slices off the head of a Jabberwocky, which bumps and tumbles its way to the ground. I understand that Burton's vision for Alice is meant to be grittier than Disney's (and probably truer to Lewis Carroll's text in some ways), but this battle scene is inconsistent with the vibrancy, quirk and humour of the rest of the film.

What I enjoyed about the film was Alan Rickman, perfectly cast as the voice of the caterpillar. Helena Bonham-Carter was also enjoyable to watch, and delivered most of the laugh-out-loud quotes.

An illustration or two to come...