Alice’s ‘Wonderland’ lacks wonder

While The Mad Hatter wonders why a raven is like a writing desk, audiences of the new “Alice in Wonderland” might wonder what director Tim Burton was hoping to accomplish with his live-action reimagining of the Lewis Carroll classic.

The twisted visionary behind “Edward Scissorhands” and “Ed Wood” has no problem getting another strange and enchanting performance out of his frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp. The actor’s Mad Hatter, boasting Carrot Top hair and the occasional Scottish accent, certainly tickles the imagination. So why can’t the rest of “Alice in Wonderland” do the same?

Instead of the young hero falling down the rabbit hole for the first time, Burton’s version follows Alice as a strong-willed 19-year-old (Mia Wasikowska) who is about to be entered into an arranged marriage. Before long, Alice finds herself in Wonderland again with little memory of her first visit.

All her computer-generated buds, including the White Rabbit (voice of Michael Sheen), the Blue Caterpillar (voice of Alan Rickman) and the Cheshire Cat (voice of Stephen Fry), seem to think Alice is destined to dethrone the cruel Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter, boasting a rather bulbous forehead) and slay her terrifying Jabberwocky.  Alice has no ambition for such a daunting mission.

Aside from the colorful backdrop, there isn’t much in Wonderland to get excited about. The characters spend most of the movie talking about what Alice is supposed to do, and then a brief climax shows exactly that. There isn’t much attempt by Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton to make Alice’s journey very suspenseful.

Even the presence of Depp’s maniacal Mad Hatter seems extraneous to the central storyline. He shares a few meaty scenes with Alice, but everything else is only here to appease Depp’s expansive fan base.

And while there may be too much Mad Hatter, there isn’t nearly enough of the saintly White Queen, played by a delightfully absurd Anne Hathaway (rocking an especially bizarre makeover). Her rivalry with the Red Queen is the most interesting thing about this story. Pity it only takes about five minutes of the entire running time.

Wasikowska as Alice is also a real find. She’s tough and sweet in equal measure, and her belief in the impossible helps to make the film’s hit-and-miss visual effects more believable. Burton especially utilizes the actress in the engaging “real” world scenes that bookend the film.

“Alice in Wonderland” is an engaging film in many stretches, and the presence of such strong actors never makes it boring. While it’s hard to pinpoint Burton’s specific missteps, something about his Wonderland lacks the necessary magical touch, and the director’s signature morbidity is only occasionally present.

There are several applicable answers to the Hatter’s raven-writing desk quandary, but the question of Burton’s vision through the looking glass is decidedly murky.
Grade: C+