The Wrong Alice

Through the Looking Glass? Not Quite.

I love it when a movie reviews itself.

Throughout the vast majority of its first three quarters (or possibly even longer), Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland tells you exactly what’s wrong with it. Characters constantly referr to relative unknown Mia Wasikowska as “the wrong Alice”, which is true in more ways than one.

I’ll start right off and get the hyperbole out of the way. Alice in Wonderland is my favorite book; its sequel Through the Looking Glass (which more often than not is bunched together with the original in various film/TV adaptations) is also pretty high up on my list. So, needless to say, my expectations were high. Especially considering the people involved. So when I first heard Burton and crew were not doing a direct adaptation of the novel, but rather a “several years later, Alice returns” sort of story, first pangs of disappointment started creeping through.

Honestly, I don’t get it. It’s been almost 60 years since the Disney Alice, and 11 years since the Hallmark adaptation (the last “loyal” version I can recall). Why are people obsessed with the “Alice returns” storyline? Both Tim Burton’s movie and the recent SyFy channel’s attempt have told this storyline, as well as American McGee’s video game retelling (which is getting a sequel… soonish) and the Frank Beddor’s Looking Glass Wars series of novels. While McGee’s re-imagining of the Alice universe is an exception, the other two fall short of the real deal. I can’t say I’m having problems picturing why. Lewis Carroll’s original story was published over 150 years ago, and it is still one of the most beloved children’s novels to have come out. Why constantly try and break it? Why not put the technology and money to use, recreating a faithful Alice for the 21st century?

There is another problem inherent in writing an original story set in the Alice universe. There are the Alice fanatics (such as myself) who will want all sorts of little references and hints that show that while this is a different story, this is still the Alice world we all know and love. There is also the matter of billing the movie as Alice in Wonderland and not Random Girl in a Weird-as-Shit Place. So the director (or author or whoever) is obligated to put in all these winks and nods to the original, most of which are shoe-horned in and feel forced. So in Tim Burton’s latest you have the Dodo or the talking flowers which show up just for the sake of showing up. TweedleDee and TweedleDum are also a walking, talking plot device, meant to inspire “hey cool, it’s TweedleDee and TweedleDum” thoughts, but really, their part could have been done by anyone.

The other thing relating to the original Alice and an original story in the world of Wonderland is the language. Carroll was clever, damned clever. This movie in no way recreates the witty feel of the original. Occasionally you’ll have character spouting off lines from the original, but they lack context and the delivery is lacking. Depp’s recitation of “Jabberwocky” (one of my all time favorite poems) as a creepy, ominous prophecy just doesn’t work. As well as the myriad of other times bits and pieces of the original’s dialogue make it into the film (“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat” and the whole “Queen of Heart’s Tarts” fiasco are special offenders).

So, that is one way in which Tim Burton gets “the wrong Alice”. An original tale, however, can be good (as proven by American McGee’s rendition). However, the entire movie falls apart if your Alice is, well, wrong. Mia Wasikowska is most definitely wrong. Her acting is truly horrible, and I don’t think I spotted a single moment in the movie when she conveyed a single emotion. It’s frustrating, as most of the rest of cast are quite good, in the limited capacity they are offered. Helena Bonham Carter is fantastic as the Queen of Hearts Red Queen (honestly, what’s up with that?), Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter had a couple of great little quirks to it that made the character unique to any other portrayals I’ve seen. Additionally, unlike the latest Burton/Depp/Carter travesty – Sweeny Todd, Depp did something unique to this character. I found his Sweeny Todd to be very much a recycling of Jack Sparrow/Willy Wonka, so I was pleased that he brought something new to the Hatter.

My absolute favorite was Stephen Fry’s Cheshire Cat, who brought something truly special to the character. The cat is often overlooked in Alice, but it really is the character that ties the book together, and Alice’s guide in Wonderland the first time she visits. It’s nice to see Fry give the cat (for some reason, all the characters were given names, but I don’t think anyone really remembers them) both its wild, crazy, mischievous qualities, as well as its more caring and considerate side. All this with only the use of his voice. I really expected to like Alan Rickman’s caterpillar because, let’s face it, it’s the Metatron, but it really wasn’t all that special. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good, either. It was a standard “wise sage who throws out cryptic shit that turns out to have been the right answer all along” routine. And by-gods if I have to sit through the “caterpillar turns into a butterfly” schtick again, I’m going to throw something at the screen. It’s getting old people, and it’s no longer clever.

Lastly, I saw the movie in 3D, despite my desire. I tried looking for a non-3D version, but there are only two places in the entire country showing the non-3D variety, and those would have been filled with little kids. I honestly don’t see any reason for this movie to be in 3D, as there was utterly nothing unique or special about it added by the 3D. There is this recent trend to stick 3D to any movie that’s coming out, and I really wish it would stop. Those glasses are uncomfortable (especially considering I already wear glasses) and it makes the ticket price higher. I don’t want to sound like a miser, but I’m on a student-budget, I can only afford to go see a movie when it’s a special movie I’ve been looking forward too, so having the ticket cost nearly twice as much, sure isn’t helping.

So, to sum things up, I was not impressed with this lates Alice in Wonderland. I liked the visual design of the movie, Burton always has that going for him, but I would have rather seen this design used for a real Alice movie, rather than some excuse to put all these characters together.

And it’s because Poe wrote on both, Hatter. Because Poe wrote on both.

10 things I’m looking forward to…

Everyone loves lists, right?

In the spirit of list-loving, I give you – 10 things I’m looking forward to.

First up on the list – the second half of the fourth season of Lost. It has been recently reported that the shortened season (due to the writer’s strike) will end up with an extra hour, in the form of 2-hour finale, as opposed to the 1-hour finale previously planned. This is great news, as the fourth season is shaping up to be the best season of the show so far, chock-filled with revelations and answers.

Next up – the remainder of Secret Invasion, from Marvel. The first issue hit last week, and it was an absolute blast. Marvel, with Brian Michael Bendis at the helm, have planned an event 5 years in the making. With key Marvel figures out of the picture, things don’t look for the various non-Skrulled Marvel heroes (whoever they may end up being). Secret Invasion is the comic-event to read, and the one I’m looking forward to the most.

The Iron Man movie is something special. It is the first Marvel movie to be produced by Marvel. The one major advantage of having Marvel produce their own movies – now they don’t owe anything to anyone. No big company to force a villain into a movie, or demand that a certain character get more face time. If it doesn’t suit the story – it’s out. That and the fact that the cast for this movie is incredible make Iron Man one of the two most anticipated movies in the coming months.

The Dark Knight is the other superhero movie coming out this year (ok, there’s Hulk too, but it doesn’t even begin to stack up to Dark Knight and Iron Man), and one that I have been waiting for since that last scene in Batman Begins. Batman’s rogues make for great stories, and personally I’m hoping this series gets to all of them. But right now, I’ll settle for Joker (with a sprinkling of Two-Face and Scarecrow on the side).

Forget Tekken, forget Mortal Kombat, forget Street Fighter. The Soul Calibur series is the definitive fighting game series. Soul Calibur IV seems to uphold the series’ traditions – The rich, diverse characters, the weapon-based combat, and the spectacular artistic design – this game is just beautiful. And with the recent announcement of Vader (for the PS3) and Yoda (for the XBox 360) making an appearance, this game is gonna be awesome. Add to that the fact that the PS3 is greatly missing an awesome fighter, this is eagerly waited for.

What is shaping up to be the most creative game for the PS3, LittleBigPlanet (that’s right – no spaces) caught my eye the first time I saw it being presented (I believe it was GDC 07, but I’m not sure). The sheer amount of options you have at your fingertips had my mind racing with the possibilities. With what looks to be a great community, this game is going to be on the PS3s biggest hits, and I want in.

Playstation Home is Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Xbox Live. And once it hits sometime in the next couple of months, it’s going to eat Live, er, alive. Sony’s online network is going to be a fully 3d, fully interactive world, where players can communicate with each other, hang out, and engage in various activities. Sony is taking a long time with Home (it was originally slated for release last November), and I hope that is to iron out all the kinks in it. So it’s gonna be great!

The brainchild of Sims developer Will Wright, Spore looks to be one of the biggest games ever made. Spanning the course of several million years, the game has you follow a creature from the primordial pool, all the way to conquering the universe (if that’s your cup of tea). The game promises to offer gamers a completely individual experience, with truly open ended gameplay. I hope the game rejuvenates the PC gaming field, a field that has grown stale over that last couple of years.

Since it first came out, back in 1997, fans (present company included) have been waiting for Starcraft II. The original is probably the best real-time strategy game ever made, and was so incredibly balanced – people still play it in tournaments. The screen shots and game footage already released prove that the game is still the same good ol’ Starcraft, but with an added layer of polish and better gameplay.

What’s so special about the Tokyo Game Show? Why not list one of the zillion of other shows out there? Well, the Tokyo Game Show 2008 is different for me because, well – I’m going to be there! I’ve planned a trip to Japan and one of the trip highlights is the TGS. Awesomeness indeed.