Alice in wonderland(2010)

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Alice in Wonderland (2010)
In the modern day film industry, a movie review is a powerful tool in advertising and in the selection of films to watch. Different online websites critically review movies based on many factors like the plot, screenplay, directing of actors or even the expectations of a movie. Rotten tomatoes, for example, rates its movies and TV shows according to the reviews of professional critics using the Tomatometer. They categorize films as certified fresh with 75% steady positive reviews, fresh for over 60% and rotten for those below 60%. All these are as a result of audience review who rate films on a scale of one and ten stars. Alice in Wonderland is rated 52% by rotten tomatoes with an audience score of 55%, which is categorized as rotten. This paper queries why the film received mixed reviews and low ratings by Rotten Tomatoes despite being one of the highest selling films of all time.
The genre of this movie is fantasy, and the plot is about a young girl called Alice acted by Mia Wasikowska, who once visited a magical place when she was young and does not remember. She is now a teenager and can only dream about the place but can not determine if it is real or not. During their garden party with her fiance, her life suddenly changes completely when she sees a white rabbit and follows him into a hole. Alice then finds herself in the underland reunited with her friends; the Cheshire cat played by Stephen Fry and the mad hatter performed by Johnny Depp among others.

She then finds the red queen who had unleashed a reign of terror on her subjects. She realizes her destiny and ends her cruel and evil reign with the help of her friends and the white queen.
Amy Nicholson is the chief film critical reviewer for MTV News and also reviews movies in different publications, among them Box Office magazine and L.A. Weekly. Amy criticizes the acting directions that develop the mood of the movie. Despite being awarded as the best art direction during the 83rd Academy Awards, Nicholson demeans the work of Rob Ashford in direction and choreography. Burton is known for inspirational movies where the audience is immersed in the film and caught in its flow, but in this movie, this aspect is not expressed. Illustrated by her words:
Fantasy films need a main character who acts as our guide; through them, we feel wowed, cowed, lost and brave. Plop in a dull lead, and we’re walled off from feeling anything. This isn’t Wasikowska’s fault—she’s lovely and game—but a shocking lack of inspiration from Burton who simply refashions Lewis Carroll into The Wizard of Oz. Smart, head-scrambling nonsense? (“Amyweekly » Blog Archive » Alice In Wonderland”)
Plot twist illustrates the lack of enough creativity in character development. This is against the expectations of Wasikowska who claims that actors seem to be in two different worlds despite having a special bond connecting them. The script lines of many characters were just predictable, and only a few could think for themselves, therefore, making the screenplay dull in general.
According to Jamie D, the screenplay by Linda Woolverton was fantastic paired with the appropriate cast that took up their roles and matched them perfectly. The video effects were good where he recommended the 2D rather than the 3D version. However, Jamie had a lot of expectations from the cast and screenplay. According to him:
The reason I posted my rating as three stars for a film I have been waiting for two years, is that now the wait is finally over, I have seen it, and it’s an enjoyable film. The only thing is I was expecting it to be Burton’s next masterpiece, as pretty much all of his films are. And considering it’s surely a match made in heaven, BURTON & CARROLL (Page 2).
Consequently, this reviewer gives an average rating of the movie on the basis of the film’s failure to meet the excellent standard of its director but admits the movie was outstanding.
The Twiz is among the audiences who rated the movie relatively positive compared to other reviewers. He emphasizes on the well the director developed the character of Alice and the cohesion of the film depicted by the relationship enjoyed by Alice and her friends throughout the movie. From his words:
Unlike the 1951 Disney version, Burton tries to create an emotional connection between Alice and the characters she encounters. Instead of Alice going through Wonderland and experiencing a sequence of disjointed events, her journey is all connected, giving the film an actual sense of cohesion. (Page 4)
However, this reviewer highlighted that the movie lacked proper character direction and harnessing of the ideas to bring the audience to understand the film. He also noted the movie only became clear to the viewers during the final part.
In her analysis, Charlotte H claims that the author of the book and the director. Tim Burton, ought to have given a detailed analysis on the screenplay and the characters of the movie. It is evident that Tim Burtons has continuously twisted the plot of the film in a strange manner where Alice returns to a surreal world she had dreamt of to engage in a grand battle between the red and the white queen. From her statement:
The characters are all very compelling (I disagree with claims that Alice is a ‘bland character’) although they are somewhat different to Carroll’s originals. This isn’t a problem, though, as ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is its own story – not an exact adaptation of the book. Also, many of Carroll’s less famous, and less intriguing Wonderland characters have not been included (Page 4).
Charlotte portrays the preserved originality of the movie and the avoidance of the common duplications in films of this type. She also recommends the movie but warns the readers that it is not one of the director’s best films.
Finally, Nick P, a lover of Tim Burton’s imaginative darkness, commends the visual feature and depiction of the movie’s setting as amazing to watch. The issues of concern for this reviewer were action direction of some characters like the red and the white queen, who were not fully developed. Quoting his words:
The main issue is the script. This had no heart to it and felt more like a sequel to other films. It should have had more emotion, fear, a real sense of madness. I wanted to feel as though I was going mad. The characters were not as deep as I thought they were going to be. Therefore, I had no strong feelings for them, but I guess this was credited as a “children’s film” so nothing was too serious. (Page 11)
He seems unsatisfied with the movie’s plot and only advises readers that joy of the film is dependent on the purpose of watching. Director Tim Burton is well known for his prowess developing his characters and in engaging viewers in the main plot.
In conclusion, the reviews sampled majored on three parts, that is, the characters and how efficient they were in performing their roles. However, most reviewers were relatively satisfied with the script and the screenplay. Secondly, they commented on the visual aspect and effects of the movie in both 3D and 2D, and most preferred the 2D version. The story and flow of the movie regarding action direction was the third point of concern that was criticized. All the reviewers believed that the director of the film performed below his standards and did not satisfy the expectations of his audience. In general, the movie was fair with several critics in its different aspects.
Work Cited
“Alice in Wonderland – Movie Reviews – Rotten Tomatoes”. Rottentomatoes.Com, 2016,
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1221547-alice_in_wonderland/reviews/?type=user.
“Amyweekly » Blog Archive » Alice in Wonderland”. Amyweekly.Com, 2016,
http://amyweekly.com/?p=667.