Disney Movie Challenge Bonus
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
One of the first Disney Animated films to get the live action version was Alice in Wonderland in 2010 directed by Tim Burton. This film was a huge box office success and won 2 Oscars one for costume design and one for Art Direction. It starred Mia Wasikowska as Alice and a hugely talented supporting cast including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, and many others.
Even though this was a huge hit and Oscar winner I had not seen the film. Going in I assumed that the film would just be a retelling of the Alice in Wonderland animated film similar to how Aladdin and The Lion King were straight adaptations of their animated films. So I was pretty confused when the movie kind of did it's own thing until I realized that this movie is a sequel to the animated film not a different version of it. Basically, Alice goes back to Wonderland but doesn't remember her first trip there. All the characters recognize her but she doesn't know them. Her first trip to Wonderland she dismissed as a dream and assumed it wasn't real. This tracks with the ending of the animated film which ended with her waking up from a dream. After she returns to Wonderland she has to learn to be The Alice, the one who will slay the Jaberwocky.
The movie takes a lot of the fantastical elements from the books and animated movie and expands on them. Tim Burton never liked the book or the movie because he never felt an emotional connection to the material. That is probably because the original story was nonsense literature and didn't have much of a plot and the animated film basically followed the same format. I had a similar problem connecting with the material. But the dark fantasy films is Tim Burton's wheelhouse and he decided to craft a story he felt more connected to. This led to a more conventional story of a girl rediscovering herself and learning to be confident. The bulk of the story is inspired by the poem "Jaberwocky" which is found in the original Alice in Wonderland book. The poem is nonsensical but Burton does a good job piecing together elements to make it work.
Overall: The film looks fantastic. The production design and special effects work really well in creating the universe that feels unique and lived in. I wish I had realized sooner that the movie was more of a sequel and then I probably wouldn't have been as confused. I feel I need to do a rewatch to full get the story. And finally RIP Alan Rickman who played the Blue Caterpillar and even though he wasn't in it much really was one of my favorite's in the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment