Film Review: Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” is Better than “Avatar”
Unable to imagine a title better suited to current 3D technology than “Alice in Wonderland,” I am happy to report that Tim Burton’s new version of the Lewis Carroll stories fulfills James Cameron’s empty boast of initiating a new era in cinema technology. “Alice in Wonderland” puts “Avatar” back in the dollhouse with the rest of the toy stories and shows the world how live-action and animation can truthfully be blended into a new art form.
One of the biggest problems with 3D cinematography is the tendency for objects, not only to become smaller as they move away from the camera, but to lose their dimensional stability. Most of the current 3D movies choose to ignore this altogether, the result being a nightmare in visual perspective. Burton doesn’t solve the problem, but he adapts it to his subject matter. With altered perspectives being integral to Wonderland, the drastic variability of movable forms just adds to the delight of frustration that enchants and exasperates Alice.
Paramount went to great trouble in trying to replicate Sir John Tenniel’s drawings for the 1933 live action version of the story, but when compared to the flights of imagination on display in the 1951 Disney cartoon, one sees how impossible it was to make even a semi-realistic film from Carroll’s stories. All this has changed today, and Burton has the advantages of a live cast at the service of a full animation staff to manufacture imaginary characters made of flesh and blood.
Helena Bonham Carter, she with the face only Kenneth Branagh could love, finds her true calling as the Red Queen, her bulbous head the centerpiece of a court where her subjects curry favor by adding prosthetic grotesqueries to their alarmingly normal features. The 1933 version may have had W. C Fields as Humpty Dumpty, but 2010 finds Matt Lucas getting even rounder with his double duty as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. There are even some retro-surprises to be found, such as the inspired casting of usually popular Crispin Glover as The Knave of Hearts. And of course, that man turned cartoon himself, Johnny Depp adorably running hither and yonder as The Mad Hatter. Compared to all these characters, Mia Wasikowska is almost too bland as Alice, who knows it is all a dream, but cannot arouse herself to re-enter a reality that is duller than Dorothy’s Kansas.
The sets and costumes are unmistakable Burton, but refreshingly inspired by Tenniel’s drawings, and the whole affair is turbo-charged with 3D effects that hurtle us through the rabbit hole right along with Alice. One of the smart choices Burton and screen-writer Linda Woolverton have made is to raise Alice’s age to eighteen, set the story on her second trip to Wonderland, and to explore alternate material rather than simply retell the familiar episodes. Alice is also presented as something of a proto-feminist, and her resistance to marriage and contemporary fashions adds interest to the otherwise dull introductory scenes.
This “Alice in Wonderland” is both a throwback to the days when children’s stories weren’t only for children, as well as a challenge to the makers of today’s family pictures to get their heads out of sandbox and start coming up with some ideas that will stimulate young people, not lobotomize them.
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Well, either this is the greatest film ever made, or you channeled Bill Walton to write this review..
If you added the phrase “Throw it down, big man” somewhere, it would fit perfectly…
I’m hoping this is a good movie, and it looks very good.
But I was disappointed by Sweeney and Charlie a bit. Good movies, but didn’t meet the hype for me..
Let’s hope that this movie is a percentage as good as you railed..
one of the greatest movies ive seen in 3 d in a long time depp was outstanding
Saw it, it was crap compared to Avatar. This review is a joke.
You say, “Helena Bonham Carter, she with the face only Kenneth Branaugh could love”. I say, not so, I have loved her – face and all- since seeing her in “The Heart of Me”.
thx Bill!!!
I love you Johnny!
this made my day ^____________^!!!!
says an analphabet who never was read to
I pity you!
quite a wide range of responses bill! seeing it sunday – we’ll let you know.
James Cameron spent millions of dollars to create new technology to make 3D seem realistic, and from what I have heard he hasn’t sold it to anybody yet. So, it is immpossible for anyone to have a 3D as good or better than Avatar by now.
Do some research before you write for public consumption. Alice was converted to 3D in postproduction. It was not shot in 3D. When you convert in post, you lose planes of perspective because you rotoscope elements in frame then decide where to place them in depth which limits how many points you can have. That’s why Alice looks like those pop-up books you buy as a kid. Avatar was shot in 3D and that’s why it looks immersive.
Avatar was filmed in 3D using 2 different cameras the same width apart as the human eyes, to simulate the vision of the human eye. If you wish to look into it more there is an article on it in the December issue of Popular Science.
Our teens loved it!
Thanks for helping me understand why.
Sounds like I better go see it myself. Not a whole lot of things that teens and grown-ups can both embrace with delight but this sure sounds like one. Thanks again!
“Alice is also presented as something of a proto-feminist, and her resistance to marriage and contemporary fashions adds interest to the otherwise dull introductory scenes.”
Lol, every the dandy unspoken plug from the left for failed (miserably) ideas.
I question any article that even dares to compare Avatar with Alice. Alice was converted to 3D in postproduction; not shot in 3D. Perhaps the author just isn’t cut out for watching movies in 3D if he believes the “biggest problem in 3D cinematography is the tendency for objects to become smaller as they move away from the camera” What a pile of bull crap!!! I’ll print this article out and wipe my dirty ass with it!!!!
Paramount $$$
Yeah, I saw it too and it totally blew. I want my money back!!
ha ha ha ha ha… I totally agree!!!
Too bad by printing this rag they’ve lost a lot of credibility with, myself at least.
http://www.singularity2050.com/2010/01/the-misandry-bubble.h
“her resistance to marriage and contemporary fashions adds interest….”
Why would that “add interest”? Taking what is obviously going to be seen by every young girl on the planet and planting a big fat “marriage sucks” in their little heads? WT*? *UBAR!
Can Hollywierd do ANYTHING without packing it with anti-social feminazi messages?
“What is wrong, however, is the cultural and societal pressure to shame men into committing to marriage under the pretense that they are ‘afraid of commitment’, while there is no longer the corresponding traditional shame that was reserved for women”
Wow…what a bummer. Probably a brilliant and beautiful film ruined with the feminazi bomb message.
Hey, just like the rest of our civilization!
“biggest problem in 3D cinematography is the tendency for objects to become smaller as they move away from the camera”
Horseballs. Everything gets smaller as it moves away from the camera that’s called “perspective” and it’s rules were discovered and analyzed by artists in Europe many centuries ago.
Eh, I actually prefer the visual look of Avatar over the over-the-top, exaggerated look of Wonderland. What I respect about Cameron is that he didn’t use 3D as an in-your-face gimmick, like most 3D movies do.
You know, I read this review for one reason, to read whatever garbage this guy wrote as if he really intended to compare it with Avatar. What a joke. It was just a ploy to get readership! Well Seattle Post Globe, you can eat my cake!!!
Yeah right am I gonna donate money to your “news”!!!! Sounds like Paramount already donated some to Bill White…
I’m disappointed – what a shallow article. I would recommend you see Avatar before you cite it in your Movie reviews, as it is an insult to your readership to make such groundless claims!!!
Article to read to back up the conversion in post
http://venturebeat.com/2010/03/05/legend-3ds-work-on-display
As for the “millions of dollars spent” maybe you haven’t seen beowulf. The same technology.
This movie was fantastical, and I see almost every movie that comes out in theatres each year.
Burton is genius and the performances are amazing. This is truly a work of art, it is so good, I will probably watch it a second and third time in the theater.
The only thing in which I disagree with in this article is the statement “Helena Bonham Carter, she with the face only Kenneth Branaugh could love” I think she is one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, definitely in the top 10 beauties in film.
P.S. it is Kenneth Branagh, not Branaugh
’Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation, and destroy the male sex.’
-Valerie Solanas, the SCUM Manifesto
~o0o~
‘The simple fact is that every woman must be willing to be identified as a lesbian to be fully feminist.’
— National NOW Times, Jan.1988
~o0o~
‘Men who are unjustly accused of rape can sometimes gain from the experience.’
— Catherine Comins, Vassar College,
Assistant Dean of Student Life in Time, June 3, 1991, p. 52
~o0o~
‘From birth till death it is now the privilege of the parental state to take major decisions – objective, unemotional, the State weighs up what is best for the child’
-Lady Helen Brook, founder of the Brook Organisation for sexual health advice and services to the under 25’s, in a letter to The Times 16 Feb 1980
~o0o~
‘The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it’
-Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, in Women and the New Rage, p.67
~o0o~
‘God is going to change. We women… will change the world so much that He won’t fit anymore.’
- Naomi Goldenberg, Changing of the Gods: Feminism and the End of Traditional Religions (Quoted at beginning of From Father God to Mother Earth)
~o0o~
‘Destroy the family and you destroy society’
-Lenin
…to read what these comments said. What a joke!
I tend to agree with the criticism being leveled at the author and his point of view. Has the author (or editor) actually seen Avatar? Is there an IMAX in Seattle?
Since I can’t seem to find any clear financial connection between the author and Paramount pictures, this article is no doubt a low-brow attempt to increase web traffic hits for advertisement revenue. Now I’m just laughing at the Post Globe for their stupidity! When did this paper join the ranks of the National Enquirer?!
I haven’t seen Alice yet, but I in no way benefit from supporting Avatar, or criticizing this author and his point of view. That being said, I disagree, simply because Avatar was quite a good movie, and this guy says it’s crap. Whatever!
unfortunately I think we expected something much more surreal and darker as the story.
Unlike the previous films, as “the nightmare before Christmas,” the soundtrack was not as strong. I thought that Danny Elfman was not the composer until I saw the end credits. That disappointed me.
The trailers did not show that there would be so great a distortion of the original “Alice in Wonderland ‘. The movie was sold with scenes that relate to the other scenes we already knew as the “eat me” or “drink me”. but the truth is that this story is more epic and more like Narnia than the story we wanted to see.
Graphically it’s beautiful, every detail of design, costumes, makeup, characters, cinematography, photography, light, are simply incredible.
The performances are of very high level, Deep and Carter do a job that has nothing to envy of their earlier work. Congratulations to Mia Wasikowska, excellent work.
I am a big fan of Alan Rickman, but I think Severus Snape seemed too but like a caterpillar.
3D effects are not impressive, especially if we consider that “Alice in Wonderland ‘now replaces the” Avatar “that it is impressive with 3D
I give 80% of my recommendation
I see this one in my neighborhood occasionally.
You’ll Hate it.
“My Goddess gave birth to your God.”
Isaac, chill.
Did you even watch Alice?
In the first couple of minutes of the film, the 3d illussion is desolved. I noticed a tree that looked like a sphere. In avatar you forget it is 3d because it is so perfect. Alice however was a eye pain except for the very last part. When the credits started (no joke, it had plants growing around in 3d). It may in some ways be a good film but it has nothing on Avatar.
Alice was a good movie, but better than Avatar? Hardly. Avatar’s effects are above and beyond the effects in Alice. The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking this looks more like an animated cartoon with live characters in it. I don’t see how anyone can compare the cartoonish effects of Alice with the near realistic effects of Avatar. This guy is a terrible reviewer and Alice is nothing more than a visual feast. The acting, outside of Depp, Carter and Glover is terrible, the story is so-so and the effects are ok, but far from great and the 3D was no where near as good as Avatar. That said I still enjoyed it and had a fun time watching it.
avatar is better than alice in the wonder land avatar is the best and no one can said that alice in wonderland is better
avatar is the most beautiful that i saw in all my life
it’s hard to said that alice was better than avatar…cz avatar effects are above and beyond the effects in alice…alice is a good film but for me avatar is the best film if all the world
I havn’t seen avatar, but i loved alice in wonderland. this was not supposed to be “the origianl alice in wonderland” it was through the looking glass, the second part basically. BUT! apparently both avatar and alice in wonderland were done in 3-d differently, so there should be no comparison whatsoever. i absolutely loved this movie, but maybe the author of this should have thought before he wrote.
I absolutely loved Alice. The film was a great visual for the book. Kudos to Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.
is the only word that comes to my head when I read comments like these, reducing the value of a movie to a matter of which one has the better graphic special computarized effects, christ, what a bunch of empty headed losers
What happened to Disney? Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland does not compare to the original animation. I remember when I was a child I would watch films like The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians and be amazed! Now, Disney has gone downhill and its films seem to be getting worse and worse as time goes by. If you ask me, many kids websites like Disney’s should not be listed on the top category of sites like http://www.twitter.com/dozenkids. Is it time for us to realize that Disney is not really what it used to be and in fact it now scraping the barrel of entertainment?