Tim Burton’s over anticipated re-making of the children’s classic tale finally reaches our screens in full 3D format.  The expected Burton twist takes a somewhat dreary look at the magical world of wonderland. This time we follow Alice years after the first forgotten visit, in her return to the nightmarish Underland.

BY LAURA SHEARER

Unlike the extreme uses of colour of the advertising posters, Burton’s vision of wonderland is obscurely bleak and almost unbecoming of previous borderline acid-trip imaginings.  This is definitely not a child-friendly film because of Burton’s defiantly dark interpretation, so fans of his recent adaptations will find themselves in a very comfortable seat.

Burton seemingly enjoys pushing the boundaries of familiarity and delights in deploying discomfort.  Some scenes are not for the squeamish, and perhaps Burton explores the possibilities of the grotesque too much in his environments and props.  The unexpected high level of animal cruelty by the queen of hearts is hurtfully absurd, even with CGI creatures it makes for difficult viewing.  This is a controversial topic that Burton could have taken much further.  Instead what Burton sets up are plenty of narrative opportunities that could have made this film exceptional, but he opts for the uncomplicated heroine who withholds the quirk of his best loved earlier filmic characters.

This remake is a perfect choice for Burton; his protagonist Alice is bored with reality and so it’s only natural that she’s the type of intuitive young mind that is fascinated by the fantastical and highly imaginative.  Supplementing her almost torturous reality Alice follows that famous white rabbit into the mystical unknown, not caring what she leaves behind, merely focusing on what enticing alternatives lie ahead of her bold choices.  The spirit of the Burton film, as well as his mainstream audience, can be found in the ever attractive and self-assured Alice.

Sadly not much of the same can be said for the other characters.  Helena Bonham Carter aptly takes on the wicked role of the queen of hearts, or as Burton has renamed her, the Red Queen in an attempt to contrast with Anne Hathaway’s role as the White Queen.  The rest of the star studded cast, including Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Alan Rickman as the caterpillar and Matt Lucas as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, give an impressive “pull out all the stops” effect.  Perhaps a little too suited to their roles, and all too nonchalant about their performance believability, the cast aren’t really stretched and retain a by-passable slump in what could have been career highlights.

The narrative changes are so numerous that it’s easy to get lost in Burton’s confusing fantasy ideology.  A depressing change to the cheeky grinning Cheshire cat, finds him blue rather than pink, empathetic and less persevering than his perky persona.  The scared-cat image is delivered alongside the removal of a source of humour; Chess here makes good use of his big blue eyes to swindle his way through the plot.  The addition of an almost irrelevant threat leads the narrative into an odd medieval tale of old fashioned knight-hood, whilst in the middle of a bizarre war of sibling rivalry.  Probably just a little too much, displaying clearly that Burton felt the original tale was just too plain.

The hostile world of Underland is gloomy and another perfect opportunity for that well-known trip through the misty moonlit woods of Burton’s recent production endeavours.  As the Mad Hatter says to Alice, “you’ve lost your much-ness”, this adaptation obviously lacks a penultimate new perspective.  If the film had taken a simpler understanding it would have been much more grounded and less of a disjointed viewing experience.

Disappointingly not worth the hype, especially in 3D.