Constant artificiality in the emotional
exchanges and CGI effects makes much of this film meaningless. It’s like a stroll—or a run—through a
garden of artificial flowers or being stuck inside a video game, as in the
Russian film Hardcore; only this is
for kids. Case in point, Alice is
congratulated profusely in the end, but it’s not very clear exactly what she
did other than sail/burst around in a time machine that pops her out on the
ground or the floor.
Traditionally, the hero(ine) is sent by fate through trials that
establish her mettle, but we see none of that here. The main point of the film—which is that you can’t change
the past—is obscure, until Alice talks about learning her lesson at the
end. Otherwise, all the action of
the film is trying to do just that, change the past.
The film opens with Alice the captain of a ship
in dangerous waters where she is willing to take risks (she doesn’t believe in
“impossible”), even against the advice of her crew. Of course—this being Alice—she makes it safely to her
homeport, pumped about the next adventure. To her dismay, her benefactor has died, and his son Hamish
(a rejected lover) wants to reclaim her boat, has made a spurious deal with her
mother regarding her home, and now wants her to work as a clerk. What to do?
As she is mulling this over, Alice gets a
message from the Blue Caterpillar (Rickman) that she is needed back in
Wonderland, so she goes through the glass portal to see what is wrong. It’s the Mad Hatter (Depp), who has
slipped into a dangerous depression following the disappearance of his
family. After discussing it with
the White Queen (Hathaway), Alice pursues the possibility of going back in time
to “get” his family and bring them up to the present. The person in charge of the “Chronosphere” is Time (Cohen),
and he warns against the plan. Not
to be deterred, Alice gets her hands on it anyway, and proceeds. There follows lessons about the folly
of trying to change the past, side issues of sibling rivalry, and the values of
home and family.
With CGI overwhelming the story, it’s difficult
to see how children would really come away with the messages—as mundane as they
are. They are likely to enjoy the
production design (Dan Hanneh) and special effects in and of themselves and the
costumes (Colleen Atwood), but as far as deriving any edification about sibling
rivalry, undoing the past, or the rights of females, I doubt those things come
through.
A CGI bloated production with a weak
storyline.
No comments:
Post a Comment