Much like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland is a story that has become a bit lost in the many retellings. Tim Burton’s effort sidesteps (or hopes to) the difficulty by telling a different story. This story is a revisit, literally. Alice returns to Wonderland, meets the old crew, and embarks upon something like a similar adventure, but things are nevertheless rather different this time around (not least because it has Through the Looking Glass elements thrown in as well).
While I can (and will) go on rather long-windedly about a variety of aspects of the film, of main importance is simply the fact that I think Lewis Carroll would really enjoy it.
We meet Alice as a young girl who is having bad dreams about smiling cats, and blue caterpillars. Her father is a businessman with dreams so big that he generally doesn’t even make sense to the people around him. He consoles his daughter, who wonders if she might be going mad because of her dreams by telling her that she is indeed quite mad. But, he offers, all the best people are.
Fast forward a decade or so, and Alice is on the verge of accepting a marriage proposal, and simply doesn’t know what to do. She is thankfully distracted by a rustling in the bushes, and makes her way down the rabbit hole. The first note of dissimilarity comes in the form of several familiar characters wanting to know if she is actually “the” Alice, or simply “a” Alice.
Before she has a chance to get her bearings in the strange land, she is also told, by way of a magic calendar, that if she is “the” Alice, then she is going to slay the Jabberwocky. Contrariwise, if she doesn’t, then she’s not, but coming the other way, if she does, then she is.
We meet Johnny Depp’s brilliant Mad Hatter, the decidedly mad Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), and the mostly mad everyone else, and we discover that Wonderland is a dire place to live with Red running things. While Alice is mostly concerned with waking up, she plays along in much the spirit of one who is mostly concerned with waking up, but as she makes her way around, she finds that she is perhaps unhappy enough with what she finds to look into this vorpal sword business.
The thing about Alice in Wonderland is that it truly is a crazy story. It is filled with odd and wild encounters, but in a sense more akin to the original versions of the Grimm stories, or perhaps Gulliver’s Travels than something that pops to mind when you talk of dancing bunnies… or Disney. The Grimm tales generally survive a whitewashing rather well, because the story is still there whether or not the guts and torture make an appearance, but something leaves Alice (or Gulliver’s Travels) when it loses its madness, because madness is the point.
Here then is the perfect venue for Burton, who is possibly understood best when least understandable. Alice delivers Burton’s trademark visual styling in a way that fits better than it has since Edward Scissorhands, but it also manages his best storytelling since Big Fish, and probably because the general theories are actually so similar. It’s gorgeous, bizarre, and bigger-than-life, but with purpose, and as seen through the lens of someone making good on the idea that he knows why it is those things.
From another, but similar angle, the original story is trying to talk about the world a lot more than it is usually given the freedom to do, and this version injects a lot of that back into things. It is not that these are ridiculous things, but that these are other ridiculous things, and when that point gets lost, so does most everything else. The Red Queen (of the giant head) has a court that pretends at similarly giant features in order to remain in favor, but it is only the extreme that diverges from real life, not the action itself. That servants as both animals and furniture is not to be overlooked as another example.
After many a spin and stumble that only Wonderland can provide, Alice locks onto the idea of what is and isn’t impossible, and believing impossible things. Her father used to say that he believed six impossible things before breakfast, and eventually Alice seems to actually hone in on the angle of madness, and perhaps who her father was. For some, it may be a bit difficult to believe in talking animals, or living playing cards, but the trick there is that no one and nothing is trying to stop you from believing in them… not really. But, the things that try to stop you from believing in yourself come on brillig days, and have the jaws that bite and the claws that catch… and usually… think you’re mad.
Special Features:
The Blu-Ray release is a major treasure loaded with bonuses, not least of which is the amazing art of the menu system. Be sure to check out the virtual roundtable I took part in which features a lot of that art here.
While the focus is on the behind-the-scenes efforts, these are not your standard featurettes. From incredible looks at Tim Burton's vision, to an inside look at the bizarre filming efforts of an entire world of green screen, these bonuses give you a complete experience.
These features open the world of the movie, and while there might have been a few more bonuses on the fun side rather than focusing so heavily on the behind-the-scenes, they still make the Blu-Ray a must buy.
Luckily, given the nature of Blu-Ray vs. DVD special features, three of the best are available on the standard DVD.
DVD:
• Finding Alice – It’s all things Alice. This featurette includes Tim Burton’s vision for the characters, differences from the book and Disney’s version of Alice and how she evolves as both a character and actor as she takes an adventure through Wonderland.
• The Mad Hatter – Audiences are provided with a deeper look into the world of the Mad Hatter. Check out Johnny Depp’s early sketches, make-up, costumes and how they digitally enhanced his eyes.
• Effecting Wonderland – A behind-the-scenes piece on the different technologies used to create some of the most beloved characters in the film – Stayne, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Bandersnatch and the Red Queen.
BLU-RAY:
Everything on the DVD plus:
• The Futterwacken Dance – Futterwhat? Check out the making of the timeless dance called the Futterwacken.
• The Red Queen – The creation of the Red Queen from start to finish, including early Tim Burton sketches showcasing costume designs, make-up and digital effects.
• Time-Lapse: Sculpting the Red Queen – A short time-lapse piece showing Helena Bonham Carter as she gets her make-up done. A three-hour process can be watched in just a few short minutes.
• The White Queen – An interview with Anne Hathaway, who plays Wonderland’s good queen, about her character’s journey throughout the process of the film.
• Scoring Wonderland – Composer Danny Elfman and Tim Burton discuss the music for the movie.
• Stunts of Wonderland – A featurette highlighting some of the biggest stunts in the film.
• Making the Proper Size – An inside look at the visual effects process of growing and shrinking Alice. See how filmmakers used different techniques to stay true to the storyline.
• Cakes of Wonderland – Take a trip to “Cake Divas” where the creators of the EAT ME cakes provide viewers with details about how they made the smallest crumb to the largest cake in scale.
• Tea Party Props – Tea cups, saucers, cakes and more. Prop master Doug Harlocker gives an overview of all the props used to bring the famous tea party scene together visually.
Own it on Blu-Ray and DVD Today!
The Special Giveaway!
Relive the magic in a different way with an amazing book that explores the life of the real Alice.
Catch my review of The Real Alice in Wonderland: A Role Model for the Ages here, then leave a comment below for your chance to win your very own copy.
A great book on its own, it's also the perfect companion for the film.
U.S. only. Winner will be randomly selected July 1st.
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About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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