Okay, here's Sim's big old lit. major review. Warning there may be some SPOILERS in here.
First, the general plot: I thought it was a great idea. The original Alice in Wonderland book is about Alice learning who she is, and this movie explored the same idea with a teenage Alice, on the possible verge of marriage. What better time for the concept? I think this is actually when women start really discovering themselves, and it was a great idea on Burton's part.
The rebellion against the Red Queen reminded me vaguely of both Mary Queen of Scots and Bloody Mary (the the Red Queen herself also had some Elizabethan attributes). This, especially with the Hatter's Scottish accent, was INTERESTING, and I can't wait to see some analyses of the satire in the film. I couldn't track it totally, and I think that was on purpose. I have a feel Burton didn't really want to write satire but he wanted it to /feel/ like he was writing satire-- or else maybe he wanted the satire, but the plot was more important to him.
Speaking of plot-- having a storyline instead of it being episodic just makes sense for a movie. I've always disliked how movies leave the episodicness. It works in the book, not in a movie. Especially since the book had so much satire. Movies of it are generally flat, and this one was not. The plot wasn't anything to rave about, but it was a good foil for character development, which is what it should be with these characters.
The Jabberwocky was also a good idea of a way to get a plot.
Helen Bonham Carter: I love this woman. She is such fantastic actress and she really did a fabulous job with the Red Queen. She was believable, and multidimensional, and just /fabulous/. She made for an almost loveable bad guy, which is so much more interesting and real than a hateable bad guy.
Johnny Depp: It's true. Jack Sparrow was very recognizable in this character, as well as Edward Scissorhands. I did, however, think the Scottish accent was a great addition to the character. It was really the only thing that kept me going as far as the Hatter went, I think. He was a well-written character-- brave, mad (but maybe not as mad as he comes off), and battered. The fact that we had a kind of background for him instead of just one more crazy guy in Wonderland was neat too. But Johnny Depp is Johnny Depp is Johnny Depp. You know exactly what you are getting the moment you hear his name.
Mia Something-or-Other:At the beginning of the film, I wasn't so sure about the poor tortured Alice thing-- I'm tired of angsty main characters. But as the story progressed, I got okay with it. The actress pulled off the character pretty well, and it went along with the plot-line of a girl trying to figure out who she was. She also looked the part very well. Her different outfits never changed the fact that she was very clearly Alice-- that is probably also thanks to the fabulous costume designer who I will get to in a bit.
Anne Hathaway: I disagree with the posts above on the White Queen. I thought she was really interesting. I think the fakeness was very much on purpose. Consider that she is related to the Red Queen, and her references to the Red Queen having dominion over the living (as if maybe the White Queen has dominion over the dead?) Also consider how she loved the 'buttered fingers' but she couldn't stand blood or battle? I think she is afraid that she is, at heart, very much like her sister. And maybe she is. But that's where the floaty fakeness comes from. She's putting up a front not just for others, but for herself.
The Guy Who Plays Stayne (Knave of Hearts): Did not like. Felt he delivered a couple lines poorly, wasn't impressed with his costume, didn't really understand his motivations... just didn't like it. Also, he was abnormally tall, but the way they stretched it just made it distracting. I found myself staring at him trying to decide if he was really too tall or that was just me.
Costumes and Set: Lovely lovely lovely! Everyone looks wonderful! I wasn't a huge fan of The Mad Hatter's make-up buuut it was very Burtony so I was able to just accept it. Other than that-- fantastic! The purple lightening was cool, the chessboard battlefield was AWESOME, Alice's changing dresses all fit her character and helped represent her trying on new personalities (and most of them were cute enough that I would wear them!), the red v. white was well-done, and the reflection of the Tweedles in the two girls at the engagement party was well-transferred in costume. Everything was just gorgeous except the things that were insane. And some were both.
QuestionsI did want to know some things, though.
Didn't the Cheshire cat say only evaporating people could heal those wounds? Why could the bandersnatch, then?
If you read any satire into the story, what did you see? If not, why do you think he had some things pointing at satire?
If you've read the book, did you miss the Dutchess? I did. Or do you think they sort of encompassed that in the nobles and the white queen. (The March Hare was a bit like the dutchess's cook).
What's with the Scottish Accent?
Do you think they were planning on a sequel? I felt like there was some un-wrapped-up-ness. Like... it kind of seemed like the Hatter had a thing for Alice? But maybe that's just because I had heard that before the movie came out, so I was looking for it.
Why is a raven like a writing desk? Answer: Poe wrote on both. Bahaha.
^ Tim Burton definitely is a bit of an eccentric person..come to think of it they all are(Johnny,Tim and Helena) but that's exactly what I love about them. And who is to say what is "normal" and what is isn't? To me they are a bunch of genuine people who wouldn't ever feel the need to fake anything,unlike many other people in showbiz. Which is probably why their films always turn out brilliant,there is such chemistry between them 
