Burton and company dive down the rabbit hole

Friday, March 12, 2010

Click here to enlarge this photo Disney Enterprises Alice (Mia Wasikowska) explores the wonders and terrors of a fantastic new world in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland." E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

In this era of 3-D spectaculars, it makes sense that Disney would resurrect Lewis Carroll's "Alice" stories. And Tim Burton is perfect for the job. The director is a master of blending fantasy with the macabre, which is the exact combination that has captured the imagination of children and recreational drug users since 1865.

It's hard to count all the "Alice" adaptations. The most famous version is Disney's 1951 "Alice in Wonderland," and Syfy's reimagining, "Alice," appeared last year. The cable channel did a fine job with the visuals, but it didn't have a big studio budget.

Several years after her first tour of Wonderland, Alice (Mia Wasikowska, "Defiance") is on the verge of womanhood. Her mother (Lindsay Duncan, "Starter for 10") tries to marry her off to the detestable Hamish (Leo Bill, "Me and Orson Welles"). But Alice wants nothing to do with the aristocracy. At a gala that was supposed to be her engagement party, she follows the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen, "Frost/Nixon") into the earth and into Wonderland.

Old friends like the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry, "V for Vendetta") insist that Alice has visited before. She doesn't remember a thing. But the goal is clear: slay the Jabberwocky, dethrone the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter, "Big Fish") and the loyal Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover, "Willard"). If this happens, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway, "Valentine's Day") will assume her rightful place as ruler.

Since the film is in 3-D with a full helping of CGI stunners, the visuals nearly overwhelm the story. Wonderland offers endless possibilities, and Burton takes full advantage. Anchored by the two queens' castles, the world presents a geography vast enough to rival that of Middle Earth. Mushrooms loom as large as trees and unexpected creatures pop out from behind massive bushes. The scenery is nearly as breathtaking as the Pandoran Jungle featured in "Avatar." And James Cameron had to integrate human characters into only a few scenes.

All the whimsy and trippy landscapes wouldn't matter if the characters weren't strong. Starting with regulars Depp and Carter, Burton has pieced together a nearly perfect cast. Both actors produce chills in a humorous, vaudevillian kind of way. And one couldn't imagine a better Alice than the Australian-born Wasikowska. She's the ideal proto-feminist — brash, curious and stubborn. Perhaps the smartest move was casting Alan Rickman as the wise, shisha-smoking blue caterpillar.

In interviews, Burton said he wanted to add depth to the parade of characters that have become daffy caricatures. Mission accomplished. Alice is a headstrong, complicated teenager, and the Mad Hatter contemplates his sanity. Even the Red Queen grows melancholy as she wonders whether it is better to be feared or loved.

This leads to the film's only flaw. Burton focuses too much on character development. When the White Queen muses that the Red Queen's head is oversized due to a growth pushing on her brain, the conversation becomes too real. Modern quips like this threaten to yank the viewer out of the fantasy. Perhaps Burton would have been better off diving headfirst into the absurd.

It's not clear whether this adaptation will become the cinematic standard. In any case, lovers of Victorian literature should look elsewhere. Alice is tired and needs a break. This "Wonderland" is a nice way to end. It deserves praise not because of the acting or effects. The movie succeeds because it avoids the episodic trap to which previous adaptations have fallen prey. This is a fully realized, engrossing adventure.

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"Alice in Wonderland," a fantasy, is rated PG and is 109 minutes. It is directed by Tim Burton. The cast includes Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Barbara Windsor, Tim Pigott-Smith, Timothy Spall, Leo Bill, Lindsay Duncan.