I have to disagree with every single person who gave this film a bad review. Alice in Wonderland is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's best collaboration together since Edward Scissorhands. I'm going to shed some light on the subjects that many critics looked over or failed to do their homework on.
Let's start with the visuals. This film is not Avatar. Stop comparing it to Avatar. Yes, James Cameron used new technology to create his film, but Burton is not Cameron. He's not a 3D kinda guy. He probably would have keep it in 2D if Disney did not ask. In my opinion the 3D effects were the same in both films. Burton is known for creating visuals that make him unique. That's part of his auteurism. He likes dark worlds that clash with bright worlds. He likes to put a strange person in a strange situation and make them a hero. Yes he likes his spirals and black and white stripes! The film thrived in the land of "Underland" ( Alice misunderstood the name and thought it was Wonderland) with amazing effects, costume designs and makeup.
The acting was amazing. I have to say I was personally impressed by Alice (Mia Wasikowska). I didn't find her whiny or boring in anyway. I found her quiet refreshing and ready to take on the world. Johnny Depp's The Mad Hatter was not another run in the mill character for him. Depp is a character actor, he never plays the same character twice. He nailed The Mad Hatter in ways I could never think of. The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed her childlike behavior and her selfish persona. As for The White Queen (Anne Hathaway) many critics felt she was trying too hard. I didn't get that vibe from her at all. I liked her odd behavior. As for all the animals, The Cheshire Cat, The Blue Caterpillar, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, The March Hare, The White Rabbit and The Dormouse they all gave the film extra excitement.
The film is an adaptation, which means it's not like the books. If anyone saw Burton's Sleepy Hollow then you know that it was totally different from the short story, but it still kept the original essence of the story. Burton's Alice in Wonderland is based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, but he makes the story into his own. Alice is not a child and she has been to Wonderland before. Burton based his story off of the poem "The Jabberwocky", which is in the second book. There film is like a sequel of the first two books and gives the story a resolution in many ways. Personally, he made an excellent adaptation because he kept the original characters and the plot idea, he just made a few changes to make it his own. That's why film adaptations should be reviewed as one with no comparison to the book. Directors are always going to change things because they all have their own auteurism.
Go see this film! It is a visual masterpiece!
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