I couldn’t tell if this was done purposefully, to imply some sort of schizophrenia, or if Depp and Burton really didn’t just know how best to present the character and just hedged their bets. Far too much time was spent on his outward appearance, with every detail of his makeup made to exemplify his madness, but as a character, he’s extremely undeveloped, and I was perplexed by his accent which switches between English fop and Scottish burr on a regular basis. Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen is without a doubt the highlight of the movie, and her bobbling head and her bouts of uncontrolled rage inspire the only parts of the film worth watching.ĭepp’s Mad Hatter on the other hand is a completely unfinished, yet at the same time, extremely overdone. The CGIing of real faces on oddly distorted bodies is an effect I didn’t think would work, judging by the trailer, but it actually ends up being the only worthwhile use of animation in the entire film. I have to say the highlight of the film for me was the brilliant animation of the first two. What is different, as you’ve likely already seen, is Burton’s vision for the more human characters, the Tweedles, the Red Queen and of course, the Mad Hatter. Yes, you have correctly rendered a smiling, floating cat in 3D. The March Hare, the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat look like someone was told to bring the 2D animations of the original film to life in 3D, and to not bother changing anything at all in the process. Sure, it’s necessary to see our old favorites, but Burton has brought nothing new to them at all. The same goes for the “wacky” creatures that populate the landscape. There’s a mushroom forest, a red castle, a white castle and a big ‘ol chessboard, but outside of that, the surrounding atmosphere of Wonderland just seems relatively ordinary and uninspired. For a world supposed to be rich with imagination and insanity, Wonderland seems rather small and ordinary.
![alice through the looking glass review ign alice through the looking glass review ign](https://sm.ign.com/t/ign_nl/blogroll/a/alice-thro/alice-through-the-looking-glass-5-new-character-po_yk14.1200.jpg)
It’s much too straightforward of an affair, and I have to believe that a remake would have actually been preferred to this fan fiction, or if a sequel was deemed necessary, at least have it adhere to the sequel Carroll himself wrote, Through the Looking Glass, which was actually more trippy than the original, if that’s even possible.īut besides a mundane and hurried story, Burton’s vision of Wonderland is just rather…tame. A remake of Alice in Wonderland would have been unnecessary enough, but a sequel? Why? And to employ such a simplistic, overdone plot as “outsider fights evil dragon to save good kingdom” is in no way fitting of the wacky Wonderland world that Carroll initially envisioned. I just simply cannot understand why it is this film exists.
![alice through the looking glass review ign alice through the looking glass review ign](https://itsfreeatlast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Time-and-Mad-Hatter.jpg)
Now that Alice is back, it has been foretold that she will slay the beast, and return Wonderland to a state of peace once again. Apparently the Red Queen got her hands on a dragon jabberwocky, and used it reclaim power and strip the white queen of her thrown after a shock and awe campaign of destruction. Is it weird this is one of Helen Bonham Carter’s most attractive roles?Īlice is informed of a new development in the war between the Red and White queens since she last visited. But when she can’t deal with the pressure, she flees the scene, and goes dashing through the adjoining hedge maze where she finds yes, you guessed it, a rabbit hole.ĭown she goes, once again chasing that mystical white rabbit of old, but once she’s there, and confronted with a familiar set of faces (a sea of scornful flowers, a fearsome mouse, a stoned, blue caterpillar) she doesn’t recall any of her previous time spent in Wonderland, and the local creatures begin to question whether or not she’s the Alice they used to know. He’s gawky-looking ginger kid, but he’s a lord, so both of their families are pushing her into acceptance. It’s thirteen years after Alice made her first trip down the rabbit hole, and she’s grown from a naïve child into a slightly less naïve adult, who doesn’t realize she’s been invited to her own engagement party until her fiancé –to-be is moments away from popping the question. Just because a director has a certain artistic flair, that does not translate into necessarily a good film, and it’s become quite clear that though Tim Burton has filmed some classics of his own over the years, when it comes to re-filming what’s already been made, the man just adds nothing worthwhile, and only serves to taint whatever original film he’s trying to “reinvision.” What I will caution studios however, is to stop giving these projects to Tim Burton.
![alice through the looking glass review ign alice through the looking glass review ign](https://sir.wdwnt.com/wdwnt.com/A/l/2/Alice-2.jpg)
![alice through the looking glass review ign alice through the looking glass review ign](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/aliceinwonderland/images/9/95/0803731531.01._LX90_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
There’s no point in telling Hollywood not to remake films and resurrect dead franchises, as they’ll keep doing it no matter what we say.