This
quasi-sequel
to
the
original
Alice
in
Wonderland
novel
concerns
a
20-year-old
Alice
(a
terrifically
low-key
and
deviously
seductive
Mia
Wasikowska),
on
the
precipice
of
accepting
an
unwanted
engagement
to
a
connected
young-gentleman.
At
the
moment
of
said
proposal,
Alice
is
distracted
by
a
strange
anthropomorphic
rabbit
that
seems
to
be
gaming
for
her
attention.
History
repeats
itself
and
Alice
again
tumbles
down
the
rabbit
hole
into
the
magical
world
of
'Underland'.
But
Underland
is
now
a
desolate,
fire-scorched
world
ruled
by
the
Red
Queen
(Helena
Boham
Carter).
Alice
does
not
remember
her
previous
trip
when
she
was
a
wee
child,
but
apparently
it
is
her
destiny
to
return
and
make
things
right
again.
The
characters
she
meets
are
certainly
eye-catching.
The
White
Rabbit
(voiced
by
Michael
Sheen)
percolates
with
antic
charm,
and
Tweedledum
and
Tweedledee
(Matt
Lucas)
are
fleshy
twins.
The
Cheshire
Cat,
with
electric
blue
stripes,
is
voiced
by
Stephen
Fry
in
drolly
amused
dry-sherry
tones.
Then
there's
Johnny
Depp,
who
plays
the
Mad
Hatter
with
multicoloured
eyes,
an
exploding
Bozo
carrot
top,
and
a
gaze
of
luminous
dementia.
He's
a
fantastic
image,
but
once
Depp
opens
his
mouth,
what
comes
out
is
a
noisome
Scottish
twang
that
makes
everything
he
says
sound
more
or
less
the
same.
Depp's
counterpart
in
shrill
sameness
is
Helena
Bonham
Carter.
Unfortunately,
Anne
Hathaway
is
miscast
as
her
sister,
the
White
Queen,
as
her
white
hair
and
black
eyebrows
look
weird
and
she's
not
temperamentally
suited
to
the
role's
benign
arrogance.
Tim
Burton,
with
his
crazy
love
for
rabbit-hole
alternative
worlds
(Beetlejuice),
baroque
oddballs
(Batman,
Edward
Scissorhands),
and
kiddie
fables
told
with
a
cynical
wink
(Charlie
and
the
Chocolate
Factory),
would
seem
to
be
the
perfect
director
to
adapt
Carroll's
legendary
tale
and
make
a
memorable,
zany-dark
movie
out
of
it.
But
Burton's
Disneyfied
3-D
Alice
in
Wonderland,
written
by
the
girl-power
specialist
Linda
Woolverton
(Beauty
and
the
Beast),
is
a
strange
brew
indeed.
It
is
murky,
diffuse,
and
meandering,
set
not
in
a
Wonderland
that
pops
with
demented
life
but
in
a
world
called
Underland
that's
like
a
joyless,
bombed-out
version
of
Wonderland.
It
looks
like
a
CGI
head
trip
gone
post
apocalyptic.
In
the
film's
rather
humdrum
3-D,
the
place
doesn't
dazzle
—
it
droops.
The
3D
conversion
actually
works
best
in
the
real-world
prologue
and
epilogue,
when
it
creates
a
genuinely
immersive
experience.
But
once
the
picture
descends
into
fantasy,
so
much
of
what
you
see
is
so
obviously
fake,
that
you
can't
believe
your
eyes
no
matter
what
dimensions
the
image
is
in.
The
3D
is
not
terribly
distracting,
but
it
adds
very
little
to
the
experience
and
is
probably
a
large
part
of
why
the
film's
colors
seem
so
muted
and
pale.
Quite
frankly
this
one
can
be
enjoyed
far
well
in
a
2D
screen.
Starring:
Johnny
Depp,
Helena
Boham
Carter,
Mia
Wasikowska
and
Anne
Hathaway