Malice in Burtonland

 

It’s never a good sign when going to a movie feels like a chore before the film’s even begun. That was kind of the feeling I had going to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland tonight. There was time when I eagerly awaited anything the filmmaker had his name on. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is still one of my all-time fave films; I was nuts for the first two Batman movies that he helmed (seriously, I owned the gawd-awful Prince soundtrack to the first one on both tape and CD – the shame!); Ed Wood is one of the greatest films about a filmmaker ever made; Beetlejuice – classic insanity; A Nightmare Before Christmas (although he didn’t direct it, it’s still clearly his baby) becomes more endearing with age; and there’s loads of heart in Edward Scissorhands. I even have a soft spot for Mars Attacks! and all of its cinematic in-jokes – Burton’s first critical flop.

Aside from the lacklustre reviews, Mars Attacks! was a turning point for Burton as a visual artist. It’s his first movie to employ extensive computer animation. According to Wikipedia, he was persuaded by Warner Brothers to use it, rather than the planned stop-motion animation, in order to keep the budget down to $80 million. After the film under-performed, he made Sleepy Hollow, which felt like him playing it safe, with a classic story, more practical effects and a return to the fairy-tale atmosphere that made him famous (though in reality, it was probably already green-lit before Sleepy Hollow came out). I watched Sleepy Hollow again not too long ago, and while I enjoy the look of it and Christopher Walken’s hellish performance as the Horseman, the story is rather flat.

Of course, Burton’s worst effort to date came after that: the pointless Planet of the Apes remake. More CGI-laden titles followed, all of which are worth a watch for the abundant eye-candy but suffer in the Story and Character departments: Big Fish, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I couldn’t even watch after seeing Johnny Depp’s irritating performance in the trailers. I do, however, think that Sweeney Todd is a fantastic film. (Note that it’s the most horror-centric thing he’s done in years, and had one of his smallest budgets in a long time.)

Watching Alice in Wonderland felt like yet another trip to the Imagination Factory. Welcome to Burton Inc., Johnny Depp is your kooky chaperone, see if you can recognize Helena Bonham-Carter’s latest disguise, watch for your favourite character actors, immerse yourself in the magical strains of Danny Elfman, and, rest assured, we’ll show you plenty of whimsy, which can also be purchased in the gift shop on your way out. Granted, that’s a very cynical way of describing a movie that contains so much artistry – from the castles, to the costumes, to the contact lenses – but Alice feels more like it rolled off the Disney assembly line that anything I’ve seen of Burton’s to date.Even that familiar twisted, leafless tree that seems to appear in all of his films, simply reminded me that Guillermo Del Toro did this dark fantasy world so much better in Pan’s Labyrinth.

Worse, though, was the sometimes choppy mix of live-action and computer animation. I saw the film in 3D, and there were parts that really called attention to themselves (the big, rounded tree in the opening sot, for example). And then there was Crispin Glover’s herky-jerky animated body that was far from seamless.

I’d love to see Burton (pictured, directing Alice star Mia Wasikowska) step out of his comfort zone and get back to his roots. Ditch Depp, Elfman and the CGI; write something original that speaks to his darker tendencies; and, above all else, bring back the misunderstood weirdos that we could identify with. Or hell, just make another Pee-Wee movie. You don’t need a $50 million dollar CGI budget to entertain me, just Paul Reubens in a bow-tie, thanks.

 

-Dave Alexander

Comments

I actually fell asleep in this movie. I was expecting a lot more based on the hype and the fact that Disney's Alice in Wonderland was so good. I thought it would have stuck a little more closely to the original with some twists, but still a fairy tale. The 3D of it was kind of pointless.

Excellent Article!!

I personally really enjoyed it! Then again I am not at all educated enough to criticize Tim Burton, but for the average movie go-er it is an excellent go!

Excellent Article!!

I personally really enjoyed it! Then again I am not at all educated enough to criticize Tim Burton, but for the average movie go-er it is an excellent go!