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secondlina
Comic based on my first impression when I saw the mad hatter character in Tim Burton's Alice in wonderland movie : "Holy crap! That guy looks ELECTRIFIED! Like, hit by thunder electrified!"
It was brought to my attention by a few people that I never made an Alice in Wonderland review. Considering I seem to have what could be qualified as a double major as a fairy tale and Burton expert, I think it's a great idea, I can't believe I forgot.
Generally, I think it was a good movie. Not great, but definitely not bad.
Music : The music is amazing. I bought both soundtracks and i'm not afraid to admit it. I even like that weird Avril Lavigne song. The background music is Elfman doing what he does best : mixing twisted carolers (huh, pun!) vocals with nice ambiant sounds.
Special effects and visuals : The movie in itself looks badass. The 3D is nicely intergrated, Wonderland looks dark without looking too dark, everything is twisty and twiny. I love how most of the characters look. Tim Burton truly has a mind for designs. The colors really impressed me. I also really enjoyed the costumes that were beautiful and kinda reminded me of Beetlejuice for some reason (Lydia?)
Characters : Now, this is kinda where the movie lost me. Even though the characters all looked amazing, I found most of them pretty flat. A lot of fans though the characters were cool because of this sentence : "OMG, it's *insert famous actor* playing *insert famous character*. SO AWESOME". And really, a performance can't be carried by that alone. A few of the characters lacked a bit of something. Of course, it's hard to play a really famous character. Alice's characters have been defined so many times and analysed so much that it has been difficult to interpret them and really play them well I find.
I found the Cheshire Cat to be perfect. And I liked the Red Queen and Stain's obsession with "large-ness" or large body parts. The doormouse and Jabberwocky were also pretty interesting. Having the White queen act like a disney princess on acid was also pretty funny too. But still, something didn't bring these characters together. They stood out too much. Individuals rather then a team, a set of pawns in a chessgame.
The mad hatter is also up for debate. Personally, I found there was just too much of Depp in the film. But then again, this IS a Tim Burton film, and since Depp is basically Burton's Gary stu I have to accept that he's going to be there. Forever. Depp plays a good crazy, but can't fake half an accent. Or sing really. The only part where I liked Depp was when he was playing the Hatter working on hats. In his studio? That was the best scene. It was also a side of the Hatter nobody really explored. Everybody saw him at the tea party. In a few versions, we also got the Mad Hatter as mister McBadass (this one is one of them. Another is the novels "Looking Glass Wars") but barely ANYBODY actually showed him WORKING and creating. And I appreciated that.
Little side note - the Hatter was now a hat maker in the book. He was actually based on an eccentric furniture salesman that liked to wear a top hat. Seriously. Still, I appreciate the fact that we see him create. It's a nice little add-on and the only spot where I actually like Depps method acting.
The character of Alice really annoyed me. I'm not sure why. I hate the fact that they tried to make a feminist message using "Don't wear stockings and don't marry this guy that is obviously wrong for you!" This is set in victorian times, where sexism was the norm and arranged marriages too. They could have handled that better. But, physically, she looks like an Alice. She even sounds like one.
Story : Hummmm. The story. Well, for a PG Disney movie, it's good. It's the classic retelling everybody uses : Red queen (ALWAYS suddently merged with the queen of hearts) takes over. Alice needs to help the white queen, falls in love (?) with the Hatter and possibly kills something big. I think it's funny that this is kinda the "sequel" when Alice itself has two books. If only they didn't always blend the two books. There's really three queens kids. A red and a white in a chessboard and a queen of Heart in the deck of cards. Two books, two "game platforms" and a lot of nonsense.
As much as one can whine about this being the classic "dark and edgy (and suddently following a narrative scenario construct)" wonderland vision EVERYBODY imagines. But I don't think Burton was trying to be original. I think he just wanted to do that version BECAUSE it's the version everyone imagines and wants. He wanted it too. and by god, he filmed and animated it.
So the story isn't awesome, but it allows people to have fun and that's really all that matters. You can't redefine a beloved classic in two hours. So you might has well go for the "fanfic" version. It's not bad, everybody loves it, and you get to animate a Jabberwock.
Fandom : So, the number of Alice fanfiction quadrupled in both the book and the movie "Alice in Wonderland" sections of Fanfiction.net. People liked this movie. And I get why. It was good. Not awesome, but good. It was exactly what I expected. I'm sad it didn't surprise me, but i'm glad it kinda made a good version of the classic "Alice" retelling everybody wants to see.
The only thing thaat bugs me from the fandom is the hot and heavy Hattice (Hatter/Alice shipping). Depp is like...old. And looks it. And Alice? Young. And looks it. That is why I would have preferred David Tennant in the role. It makes the fandom so much less weird. But oh well. Watcha gonna do?
Final note : Burton movies have tough me that Snape can sing (sorta) and can play caterpillars. I will always hear the voice of snape in my head now when I read Alice and the Caterpillar talks. Just like I always hear his voice when i,m reading the "Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" and Marvin talk. Damn you! Damn you nd your sweet, sultry voice!
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Date: 2010-03-24 03:20 am (UTC)Anyway, you did bring a lot of good points. The look of it is really cool, but I can't deny some of the characters can be a bit flat/cliche at times, but Alice in Wonderland is a hard story to retell. Plus, that man seemed a little too ready to accept Alice's new plan considering it was suppose to be in the 19th century.
However, the movie could have been a lot worse and the Jabberwocky part is cool. (I liked the part when the Jabberwocky is referring to the sword as his ancient enemy. ) All together I thought it was a fun movie and it's a good rental for a Friday night.
Personally, I don't really care about the DeppHatter/Alice pairing. I'll just stick to the cute Bri-chan version of Hatter/Alice. ^_~
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Date: 2010-03-24 01:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 04:19 am (UTC)*sprofles* The funny thing is that I really do see them in the whole sort of Brother/Sister role. The whole 'Making Hats' fanfic series I'm working on primarily goes that direction. (with some subtext, because subtext is funny)
However, upon finding
... with tea.
Anyway, nice to see a balanced review on it! I adore the movie, it is not without some problems, and the fic plunnies have eaten my brain. ^__^
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Date: 2010-03-24 05:34 am (UTC)I SPAM YOUR COMMENT BOX!!!
Date: 2010-03-24 07:18 am (UTC)So electrified hair? Bad pun.
Okay! I'm done! *Fleeeeeeeeeeeeeees*
Re: I SPAM YOUR COMMENT BOX!!!
Date: 2010-03-24 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 01:18 pm (UTC)"sex with tea" is my new favorite sentence.
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Date: 2010-03-24 04:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 04:52 am (UTC)I might rent this movie when it comes out on DVD. Even though the "RAWR! FEMINISM" message makes me roll my eyes a little bit.
I think a lot of the hard core Hattice shippers are into it because of Bree-chan's (have you heard of her?) famous series of Disneyland fanart. I swear, there are people who make pilgrimages to Disneyland just to see the Alice and Hatter actors that the fanart is based on! O_o
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Date: 2010-03-24 01:26 pm (UTC)I love feminist messages, but feminist messages need to work with the context. You can't just make a girl act like a 21th century girl in the 19th. She should not KNOW how to act that way. That's why I like Jane Austen. Contextual feminism, no matter what your litterature teacher says.
Yeah, I really blame Bri-chan for the Hattice. And yes, I do know her. I read all of it! And love it! (Behold, fanart I posted here in the past : http://www.isabellemelancon.com/Illustration2008_06.htm). When I was in Disney land myself last year, I pestered my family : "I am NOT leaving the Magic Kingdom without a photo of them!" I ended up getting several photos and even taking one with them. They are quite funny. It's obvious they know about the fandom because they really play it up hard when a potential fangirl is around.
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Date: 2010-03-25 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 08:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 01:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 08:33 am (UTC)I thought the movie was really great but I have to admit that the characters came out a little bit bland. Like you said, they didn't have a unifying quality.
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Date: 2010-03-24 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-24 11:06 am (UTC)Love the drawings!
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Date: 2010-03-24 01:29 pm (UTC)Thank you! I think I got the characters pretty well!
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Date: 2010-03-24 11:44 pm (UTC)The only thing thaat bugs me from the fandom is the hot and heavy Hattice (Hatter/Alice shipping). Depp is like...old. And looks it. And Alice? Young. And looks it. That is why I would have preferred David Tennant in the role. It makes the fandom so much less weird. But oh well. Watcha gonna do?
The pair just does not work in my head. It feels too forced to me, and I cannot get into Hatter/Alice no matter what. I heard that Depp himself said in an interview that it was supposed to be more of a brother/sister relationship between Hatter and Alice.
Honestly, I was shipping Alice and the White Queen way more, and I still do. ;D
Didn't it seem odd and too easy when at the end of the film, Alice went off to China by herself...WITHOUT the company of any bodyguards or servants, especially during an era where young high-class women were often vulnerable when left to their own accord?
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Date: 2010-03-25 03:41 am (UTC)Also, aren't woman bad luck on ships too?
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Date: 2010-03-25 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-25 02:00 am (UTC)I for one would like to see a Tim Burton movie without either Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter. I realize he's sleeping with one and has a long history with the other, but still. Diversify a little bit there, Timbo.
I find Alice to be confusing as hell in general anyway, but the various screen interpretations don't lessen the confusion any. Not for me anyway...
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Date: 2010-03-25 03:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-26 01:18 am (UTC)I'm not knocking Mr. Depp. On the contrary, I think he is awesome! I just want Mr. Burton to maybe use other actors once in awhile, ya know!