Alice in Wonderland (2010)
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 The film that started the trend of Disney live-action remakes.
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Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay written by Linda Woolverton and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film stars Mia Wasikowska in the title role, with Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and Crispin Glover, while featuring the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall. A live-action adaptation and re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's works, as well as a remake of Disney's 1951 traditionally animated film, the film follows Alice Kingsleigh, a nineteen-year-old who accidentally falls down a rabbit hole, returns to Wonderland, and alongside the Mad Hatter helps restore the White Queen to her throne by fighting against the Red Queen and her Jabberwocky, a dragon that terrorizes Wonderland's inhabitants.
Alice in Wonderland began development in December 2007, when Burton was asked to direct two 3D films for Disney, including the remake of Frankenweenie. Production began in September 2008 and concluded within three months, and was shot in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was followed by an extensive post-production and visual effects process where filming included live-action and motion capture sequences. Burton's frequent collaborator Danny Elfman composed an original theme for the film, which premiered in London at the Odeon Leicester Square on February 25, 2010, and was released in the United Kingdom and the United States through the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats as well as in conventional theaters on March 5 to mixed reviews from critics.
The film generated over $1.025 billion in ticket sales and became the fifth highest-grossing film during its theatrical run, and it is also the second-highest-grossing film of 2010. Amongst Disney's live-action adaptations, the film is tied for third-most-expensive, alongside Mulan, and fourth-highest-grossing readaptation to date. It received three nominations at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. At the 83rd Academy Awards, it won Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and was also nominated for Best Visual Effects, while the film received numerous other accolades.
While not the first such film in its genre, Alice in Wonderland is credited with starting a trend of live-action fairy tale and fantasy films being green-lit, particularly from Walt Disney Studios. A sequel, titled Alice Through the Looking Glass, was released on May 27, 2016.
Plot
A young girl when she first visited magical Underland, Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) is now a teenager with no memory of the place -- except in her dreams. Her life takes a turn for the unexpected when, at a garden party for her fiance and herself, she spots a certain white rabbit and tumbles down a hole after him. Reunited with her friends the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Cheshire Cat, and others, Alice learns it is her destiny to end the Red Queen's (Helena Bonham Carter) reign of terror.
Bad Qualities
- While the movie is meant to be a sequel/successor to the 1951 animated film, there's some poor grasp of source material from the book and the animated film in general.
- Queen of Hearts was fat in the animation, but here she is thin.
- Speaking of the QoH, she is unfortunately miscast as the Red Queen from the original book's sequel "Through the Looking Glass", serving as a combination of herself, the Duchess, and the Red Queen.
- Mad Hatter appears to be younger than in the 1951 movie and book.
- Dormouse is female, but in the 1951 movie, he was male.
- The King of Hearts appears never to have existed and is replaced by the Jack of Hearts.
- The Alice in Wonderland Wiki reveals that many years prior to the events of this film, it could've been implied that the Red Queen had him killed.
- The Blue Caterpillar remains a blue caterpillar which doesn't make a ton of sense, as he became a butterfly when he met Alice, as seen in the 1951 movie and book.
- Alice's last name is "Kingsleigh" when her real last name is "Liddell".
- The primary location world itself isn't even called Wonderland, but instead rather Underland.
- Queen of Hearts was fat in the animation, but here she is thin.
- Some scenes are too scary for children. (ex. the dormouse pulling the Bandersnatch's eye, the victims' heads on the Red Queen's river, and when Alice slices off the Jabberwocky's head.)
- Jumbled and confusing plot that can't decide if its really a sequel or a remake.
- The Mad Hatter is creepy for the wrong reasons.
- Depending on your view, the Cheshire Cat's new design is really disturbing.
- The Futterwacken dance upon defeating Jabberwocky is way too modern and out of place.
- Johnny Depp's performance as the Mad Hatter isn't that great, since he seems to juggle between incomprehensible accents.
- The film actually has a story, making it a rebellious war epic, but this doesn't work because this is an Alice in Wonderland movie, a story about a world that rejects sense and order.
- It's made even worse when you realize that considering the enlarging cake and the Cheshire Cat, the war could be over in five minutes.
- It is never explained what happened to the Dodo after being captured by the Red Queen's soldiers.
- False Advertising: The Mad Hatter and Johnny Depp's name appear in the posters, trailers and DVD cover, implying he's the leading character, when he isn't, Alice is.
- The colour pallette of the film is just dull and faded compared to the colourful and playful pallette of the original.
- Cheesy, bland and corny dialogue, such as when Alice yells “Off with your head!”, just before killing the Jabberwocky.
Good Qualities
- The acting, especially Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter, is pretty good.
- The characters are somewhat interesting.
- This remake makes changes to the story, unlike Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King. A different perspective is given, which is more than welcome.
- The special effects and CGI characters are well done.
- Beautiful cinematography, just like every Tim Burton movie.
- Good costume and set design that clearly puts Burton's best talents to good use.
- Danny Elfman's soundtrack is probably the best-selling point. "Her Name is Alice" is a great song, and all the scores like "Doors", "Alice's Theme", and "Little Alice" are awesome too.
Reception
Alice in Wonderland received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, although praised for its soundtrack, visual style and special effects, the film was criticized for its lack of narrative coherence and sombre tone. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 51% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 278 reviews; the average score is 5.73/10 and 55% score from audiences. The consensus is: "Tim Burton's Alice sacrifices the book's minimal narrative coherence—and much of its heart—but it's an undeniable visual treat.". Metacritic gave it a score of 53 out of 100 based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews" and 5.9/10 from user scores. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. On Letterboxd, the film collected the score of 3.0/5.
Videos
External links
Alice in Wonderland (2010) at the Internet Movie Database
Alice in Wonderland (2010) on Rotten Tomatoes
Alice in Wonderland (2010) on Metacritic
Alice in Wonderland (2010) on Letterboxd