I’ll go on the record saying I love Tim Burton. Loved the eff out of Beetle Juice and Edward Scissorhands when I was younger and really liked Sweeney Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But lately it’s been getting kind of old. We all know Tim Burton does odd extremely well but after more than a half-dozen movies it starts to get a little bland. And that about sums up my feelings of Alice in Wonderland.

To clear things up, this movie is about Alice’s second visit to Wonderland. I originally thought that it was a retelling of the classic story we all know so it was a pleasant surprise that it was something different. Overall though the story was just blah. It’s hard to pinpoint what was so bland about it but I just didn’t feel the excitement I do in other movies. I wasn’t really interested in what happened next and just wanted to see the final fight that they mention in the first fifteen minutes of the movie.

The one thing that is always pleasing in Tim Burton’s movies though is the design. Wonderland is.. well wonderful. Bright colors, fantastical creatures, and bizarrely-shaped characters work together to form the dream world. The Queen of Hearts was done especially well. It was quite a sight as Alice traveled across Wonderland.

One character that was a let down though was the Mad Hatter. In some places it felt like he was included just because he was played by Johnny Depp. Also didn’t quite like Depp’s interpretation of the character. I always envisioned him as some eccentric British fellow and not a bumbling fool. The way he talked was especially annoying.

Overall I was disappointed with the movie. The pristine visuals weren’t able to outweigh the lackluster climax and boring story. I still think it’s worth seeing though if only for Tim Burton’s vision of Wonderland. Either give it a rent when it comes out on DVD/Bluray or fire those torrents up. (more…)