Tim Burton
Alice In Wonderland

A twenty-two-year-old Alice, grown-up, rational, objective, and on the verge of marriage, returns (unfortunately?) to Wonderland. A protagonist completely different from the Carrollian one, a protagonist of a world that still today makes both adults and children dream.

The wonderful world (which isn’t all that wonderful) is quite distinct from the one described in her first visit; a world controlled by the terrifying Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), with an oversized head, a penchant for grandeur, and a passion for capital executions. On the opposite side, we find her younger sister (Anne Hathaway), the White Queen, a lover of every creature and living being, with a slow way of speaking and "tipsy" attitudes. Following some court problems, the Red Queen declares war on her sister, and the only one able to restore tranquility is Alice, who embodies the role of a justice champion with armor, a horse, and a magic sword. The film isn’t much. Burton could have done much better. Considering that in the first week the film broke box office records, even surpassing the giant Avatar, at certain points the film is slow, boring, and predictable. Starting with dear and innocent Alice, a fish out of water, who lives in the shadow of the various Bonham Carter, Depp, and Hathaway (in my opinion, more beautiful than ever) who unfortunately plays a secondary role, roaming through gloomy and funereal environments like the light from a harbor lighthouse on a dark and silent night. Characters that only remotely reflect the mystery, madness, and wisdom of Lewis Carroll's story, including the Mad Hatter (a lunatic yet depressed Johnny Depp), who not only lacked the smile and charisma necessary to handle one of the story's key roles but also became the protagonist of a very sad and unpleasant final dance.

And yet, I repeat, Burton could have done much better. His great ability to bring dreams and nightmares to the big screen is recognized by all, but this time he fell short, the film neither instills fear nor makes you laugh, neither moves you nor excites you. Even Tim, "the eternal child," has now preferred wars and special effects to macabre midnight dreams. This time "the mad ones are not the best," but are simply to be locked up in an asylum.