"Alice in Wonderland" (2010) Movie Review

Tim Burton makes a bold choice to direct a live-action Alice in Wonderland sequel-to-the-animation film that takes place between the first and second Alice in Wonderland stories. He attempted to make it his own and for that, I give him credit for trying. He has one hell of an imagination to design the look of Wonderland and then bring it to life in the way only Burton can.

The acting was quite good, with the exception of two characters, Crispin Glover surprisingly being the worse of the two, and the other being Anne Hathaway. I had high hopes for Anne but she just couldn't nail her character quite right. Crispin tries to be a combination of his usual creepy self and a soldier just doing his job. The rest of the cast is splendid in their roles, Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp especially. Now, Johnny might have been born to be Captain Jack Sparrow, but his take on the Mad Hatter is fun and all kinds of crazy. Mia is a perfect Alice. She's a rising star who is sure to go far in her future.

The thing that hinders this film is the CGI. That might sound like an impossibility considering this is a fantasy film, but the thing is is that it was made for 3D. If you don't watch the film in 3D, then you can pick out the awkward things, such as Glover's elongated body. It looks like the effects team dropped his head on an ultra thin, ultra tall paper doll and hoped for the best. The animals, however, were very well done. The Bandersnatch and the Jabberwocky might frighten younger viewers but the pigs, mice, and rabbits will be the selling point for them. And I can't forget how fun Tweedledee and Tweedledum were! They looked and acted exactly as they were meant to and that's one treasure we can all walk away with.

In conclusion, I feel that Tim gave it his best shot, but it could have been so much better. I enjoy Tim's work and I look forward to his next project as well as the rest of the casts' projects. I have to give this a 2 out of 4.