CASEY PHILLIPS: When director Tim Burton released his 2005 reimagining of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” starring Johnny Depp, some thought it deviated too much from Roald Dahl’s novel, while others felt it was a brilliant, if demented, revision. Substitute “Alice in Wonderland” and Lewis Carroll where appropriate, and you’ll have a decent idea how Burton’s latest project will be received.
I’m growing tired of Burton’s continued reliance on Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp. They’re fine actors, but Depp has been knotted to Burton’s apron strings since 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands” and Bonham Carter (Burton’s domestic partner) since 2001’s “Planet of the Apes.”
As expected, Depp’s Mad Hatter is suitably mad, and Bonham Carter’s self-conscious, enormously noggined Red Queen is passable, if shrill, but the repetitious casting runs contrary to the adventurous creativity evident in Burton’s delightfully skewed take on Wonderland.
HOLLY LEBER: Burton put his signature twisted look on the film. Featuring lots of muted gray and blue tones, “Alice” was pretty to look at, but the dark take on the story didn’t quite work. Apparently screenwriter Linda Woolverton wanted to shed her memories of writing for “My Little Pony” and “The Popples” in the ’80s.