Johnny Depp – Alice In Wonderland

Needless to say Johnny Depp is the most sought after actor today. His roles in “The Ninth Gate”, “Blow”, “From Hell”, “Secret Window”, “Public Enemy” and one cannot forget to mention his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy makes him one of my favorite actors. When you review the list of characters he’s played it is clear he is talented to say the least.

Tim Burton too has a long decorated list of work, which to some it may be more bizarre, but which I find innovative and interesting just because it isn't the norm.

But this blog isn’t about these two men exclusively, but about the movie I went to see Saturday afternoon, “Alice In Wonderland”.

 

Depp plays the Mad Hatter who really isn’t the focus of the story, but with his changing eye color, flaming red hair, bushy eye brows and makeup it is hard to ignore him even among all of the other Tim Burton characters. You even get a little Jack Sparrow coming through in a scene or two.

I thought the dialog was classic and at times masterful, for example when the Mad Hatter and Alice speak of things such as madness. They question in their own minds not only the other’s possible madness but their own as well.

The scenery itself is classic Burton. If you’ve seen any of his earlier movies such as “The Corpse Bride” or “The Nightmare Before Christmas” you will recognize the twisted topography Burton uses to make the world a strange place.

You can’t ignore the other characters with their altered persona that is just right to make the world of Wonderland their home. Helen Bonham Carter (Red Queen), Anne Hathaway (White Queen), Crispin Glover (Stayne-Knave of Hearts) and the slew of animated characters make the world of Wonderland a strange little place.

I have to admit though my favorite characters were Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) with their simpleton ways and their child-like mannerisms were just priceless. Their facial expressions were alive, interesting, just perfect in making those characters brilliantly entertaining.

Overall I liked the movie. I believe though that the things that swayed me more to liking it was the Tim Burton feel of the movie and the big screen. I think if I would have waited to see it on DVD I would have been a little more disappointed and perhaps could have lost interest after a while in the recliner.

Judge the movie for yourself. The reviews have been so mixed that it would be hard to really pin down the public feel for this film. But if you read of the box office opener and sales thus far I can’t see it not being a money maker, and the anticipated DVD sales will no doubt be huge. With the combination of Burton and Depp it could never be too far off the mark.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars