Alice in Wonderland 2010 | Movie Review

October 2, 2020December 6, 2020

Source: https://pacejmiller.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/movie-review-alice-in-wonderland-2010/

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🎥 Cinematography by Dariusz Wolski

👗 Costumes by Colleen Atwood

🎬 Directed by Tim Burton

🎞 Edited by Chris Lebenzon

🎼 Music by Danny Elfman

📋 Produced by Jennifer & Suzanne Todd, Joe Roth, & Richard D. Zanuck

📝 Screenplay by Linda Woolverton

🌟 S T A R R I N G

🐛 Alan Rickman as Absolem / The Caterpillar

👑 Anne Hathaway as Mirana / The White Queen

🐭 Barbara Windsor as Mallymkun / The Dormouse

🐉 Christopher Lee as The Jabberwocky

🃏 Crispin Glover as Ilosovic Stayne / The Knave of Hearts

👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻 Eleanor Gecks & Eleanor Tomlinson as the Cathaway sisters

👵🏻 Frances de la Tour as Aunt Imogene

💬 Frank Welker as Additional Voices

🌹 Geraldine James as Lady Ascot

♥️ Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth / The Red Queen

💐 Imelda Staunton as The Talking Flowers

🪓 Jim Carter as The Executioner

🎩 Johnny Depp as Tarrant Hightopp / The Mad Hatter

💍 Leo Bill as Hamish Ascot

👩🏼‍🦱 Lindsay Duncan as Mrs. Kingsleigh

👨🏻 Marton Csokas as Mr. Kingsleigh

👬🏼 Matt Lucas as Tweedledee & Tweedledum

👩🏼 Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh

🦩 Michael Gough as Uilleam / The Dodo

🐇 Michael Sheen as Nivens McTwisp / The White Rabbit

🐰 Paul Whitehouse as Thackery Earwicket / The March Hare

🐱 Stephen Fry as The Cheshire Cat

🐕 Timothy Spall as Bayard Hamar

👨🏼 Tim Pigott-Smith as Lord Ascot

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My Disney remake reviews are kicking off this morning with Alice in Wonderland from 2010. This was my 2nd viewing:

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• In the beginning we get a glimpse of Alice’s relationship with her father Mr. Kingsleigh, & she is obviously the apple of his eye. When she has a nightmare, he patiently listens while she recounts the vivid details. In response, he tells her “You’re mad, bonkers, off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret: All the best people are!” Later on Alice remembers another familiar quote from her dad: “I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Disney parents have been the heart & soul of many a movie so I’m glad to see that tradition alive & well, especially in movies where it did not exist before.

• At the garden party we see hints of Wonderland before Alice falls down the rabbit hole: the Cathaway sisters who resemble the Tweedles, a blue caterpillar who resembles Absolem, & Lady Ascot’s anger over her roses being white. Alice offers the solution of painting the roses red. Wink wink!

• What a cast! Mia Wasikowska is imaginative & inquisitive as Alice. Helena Bonham Carter is insecure, irritable, & narcissistic as Iracebeth/The Red Queen. Johnny Depp is bizarre & endearing as Tarrant Hightopp/Mad Hatter. Anne Hathaway is ethereal with goth undertones as Mirana/The White Queen; I think she would fit right in with the Addams family. If that isn’t enough, Alan Rickman is Absolem/The Caterpillar, Barbara Windsor is Mallymkun/Dormouse, Christopher Lee is The Jabberwocky, Imelda Staunton is The Talking Flowers, Matt Lucas is the Tweedles, Michael Sheen is Nivens McTwisp/White Rabbit, Stephen Fry is Cheshire Cat, & Timothy Spall is Bayard Hamar. The one & only Frank Welker provides additional voices.

*Note: Iracebeth is a combination of the Queen of Hearts & the Red Queen. In the first book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,“ the antagonist is the Queen of Hearts who is known for shouting “Off with his/her head!” & having her enemies beheaded. In the sequel “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There,“ Alice enters a world that resembles a giant chess board, & the two sides are lead by the Red Queen & White Queen respectively. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I liked the second book better than the first. 📖

• The Wonderland citizens hint at the twist before the grand reveal, constantly mentioning how Alice is not the right Alice or that she’s changed. Her childhood dreams & the hints of Wonderland in her world weren’t alluding to her upcoming trip down the rabbit hole; they were evidence that she’d been there before. What we see is Alice’s second trip to Wonderland; she doesn’t remember the first visit until the second half of the movie.

• In order to fulfill the Oraculum prophecy, Alice must wear the suit of armor gifted by the White Queen & fight the Red Queen’s Jabberwocky on Frabjous Day. This “Joan of Arc” image of Alice Kingsleigh wouldn’t fit in the animated movie, but it’s another puzzle piece that fits beautifully into Tim Burton’s vision.

• Remember the chess board I mentioned earlier? The battle between the Red Queen & White Queen takes place on a giant chess board. The red army resembles cards, a nod to the Queen of Hearts, & the White Army resembles chess pieces, a nod to “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.“

• Toward the end of the movie, Absolem & Alice part ways when he enters a chrysalis. He had just reminded her she’d been in Wonderland once before & advised her to fight the Jabberwocky. At the very end, Alice is seen departing England on a ship, & she greets Absolem, now a blue butterfly, as he flies by. I love that detail! 🦋

• While the closing credits roll, Avril Lavigne’s song Alice plays. Not only is the song fantastic, but Avril was the perfect choice to sing. She’s basically a Tim Burton Alice in real life!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI4m-l2yRZA

💬 Closing Thoughts: When Alice stepped into Wonderland, I instantly had the thought “This is what Alice’s adventures would look like through Tim Burton’s eyes.” I totally forgot he directed this film! This story was always going to achieve a certain level of success in his hands; it works well with his bizarre aesthetic, & the live action realm gave him room to push the boundaries between real and imaginary. If you drank absinthe & watched the animated movie, the results would be this film. That doesn’t sound like a compliment, but when it comes to all things Wonderland, it is. 😉

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🍅 Rotten Tomatoes: 51% Critics| 55% Audience

🏆 Major Awards: Best Score Soundtrack Album Grammy nomination (Danny Elfman) | Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy (Johnny Depp), Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, & Best Original Score (Danny Elfman) Golden Globe Nominations | Best Art Direction (Karen O’Hara & Robert Stromberg) & Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood) Oscars + Best Visual Effects Oscar nomination (Carey Villegas, David Schaub, Ken Ralston, & Sean Phillips)

❓ Original or Remake: Alice in Wonderland is a cute movie, but it’s never been one of my favorites so I was very open to a new adaptation. I love the extra absurdity & darkness Tim Burton brought to this classic story so this is an easy decision: Remake!

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