Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.
Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com.

Alice In Wonderland Movie Review Film Studies Essay

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Film Studies
Wordcount: 1709 words Published: 1st Jan 2015

Reference this

The film I choose to write a critical review of is Alice in Wonderland (2010). The genres of the film have aspects that are adventure, action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, animation, kids, science fiction and family. The original novel written in 1865 by the English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson with the pseudonym Lewis Carroll consisted of a progression of haphazard dealings and character connections. It was enjoyable to see the characters in the movie were able to work together to achieve an exceptional outcome. Alice in the original novel wanders around a dreamland that deals with her own apprehensions and her vague expectation that events will not be all pleasant and trouble-free. All of these captivating characters, landscapes and experiences spread out in a dream language. Given this is the essence of the original this, it should be an easy undertaking to produce a movie that really leaves a lasting impression .The overall result of the film is not impressive beyond what would be expected from this style of work but and it is a fun atmosphere. Where the film succeeds, it does succeed very well, all to the consistency of Tim Burton’s imaginative and creative visuals.

Get Help With Your Essay

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!

Essay Writing Service

“Each genre has a thematic and stylistic territory, and sometimes the style of one genre spills into the thematic territory of another. This sort of innovation is not the kind that is normally recognized as the work of a genius, but is considered merely “clever”. Yet it is the kind of innovation and playing with boundaries that keeps audiences coming to genre movies.” (University, Unit 1: The Usefulness of Genre)

Alice in Wonderland (2010) is not a retelling, reworking or a remaking of the original children’s classic novels by Lewis Carroll but is a version that is a sequel to the original. It is not even the 1951 Disney adaptation. If the viewer is expecting a pure and complete adaptation, then there may be some disappoint. Instead, Tim Burton re-imagines the esteemed and treasured story in the genuine good judgment of recreation. This is by giving Alice an added and established background, in addition to a romantic subplot involving Alice and the Mad Hatter. There is also much more focus on the conflict concerning good and evil. It is the classic tale of good against evil and the stunning and dramatic final battle of good versus evil that ensues. Alice is to slay a monster that has been predicted by the scroll. Tim Burton’s, Alice in Wonderland more than does the classic tale justice.

Danny Elfman composes the wonderful music is very nice but ultimately completely unforgettable and always be top notch. Then there are the marvellous visual effects, excellent acting and amazing animation and design. This is a movie that will indulge your senses. The Mad Hatter has an intensity and capacity of character that was downplayed by the movie trailers. In the trailers, only the upbeat Mad Hatter was seen. He has a darker side to his character as well as madness of the darkest sort is by no means far off from the surface. The Mad Hatter is by far one of the greatest characters in the film. Alice’s expedition that allowed growth from a timid, to some extent unconventional, girl into an audacious and heroic young woman is magnificent and convincing. Alice brought back together with her friends from childhood: the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, the Dormouse, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter, and of course the White Rabbit. Alice enters into an extraordinary journey to discover her true destiny and conclude the Red Queen’s supremacy over the land. Tim Burton did not strive for bright and beautiful magic, but for dreary and wasteful once a wonderland

The movie is not the dark world that Tim Burton usually gives his audience but a softer more child friendly world. The story picks up when Alice is 19-years old and subsequent to the passing of her father. She is proposed to be married away and feeling pressured, she runs off, following the white rabbit, which leads her to into Wonderland. She only vaguely remembers this magical place from childhood. The story is admittedly a very simple one but one that can be easily followed. It is to the story’s credit that Alice is now an adult, as it is able to facilitate many more happenings in Wonderland. A place where things can be sometimes be quite grotesque, unfriendly and bizarre. It is an out of the ordinary adventure and tale about a young woman’s voyage to an alternate reality. That is testing the strength of her will power, resourcefulness and courage in the visage of danger and weirdness. Wonderland is an extension of Alice’s frustrations with the real world where she felt that she had many expectations from outside forces.

Alice in Wonderland succeeds on numerous levels that I am uncertain who would fail to not be charmed by it. The film even has glance and hints at Alice’s early life. It is also to my surprise touching specifically the relationship between Alice and her father. The film measures up to other films in its genre in that it is a family movie that has a charming and interesting story. It is full of interesting characters and a journey through Wonderland to observe all sorts of attention-grabbing landscapes. There is a positive impact on this film on other films since to bring a classic back in a new way leads the pack. It is intended for adults and children to watch together. The film is a wondrous piece of escapism.

The social context of the film like many of Tim Burton’s movies amuses at specifically the kind of individual who does not get this movie. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a magnificent metaphor for the correlation between Tim Burton and his audience. These are individuals who have lost touch with the wonderment of their own childhoods. These same individuals who are mostly connected to the idea of what is proper and fashionable. The uninteresting people with little imagination and even less open-mindedness for it in others. The premise of the movie is to facilitate the idea that only small amounts of people in the world and only the best people still have that kind of limitless imagination. They are the ones that can find enjoyment in the truly original, even as the rest of civil society considers them as being eccentric, outlandish, or simply awkward. These people are represented in the film both in the real world at the party and another time in the Red Queen’s court.

Find Out How UKEssays.com Can Help You!

Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs.

View our services

“Movies have no scruples. They are always borrowing from literature or adapting novels wholesale into feature films. And, as everyone who has ever read a novel that has been turned into a movie know, the book is always better-simply because books pay attention to detail; they describe rather than depict characters (so readers can form their own impressions); and they paint a broader canvas of life-changing events. Movies always leave things out. They change the original story, of which the readers are extremely protective.” (University, Unit 2: Genre History and Literary Precedents)

For all the individuals that were not able to enjoy the movie as a form of entertain then they have lost the child in them. Individuals will complain about it not being accurate to the original book but in time, they will accept it. A generation from now this original film will be analyzed as one of the greatest creative fantasies of our present times. The idea that this is how people may feel in the modern day, which is pressured into something, they really do not want to do. This certainly proceeds impeccably with the extra background story. Many people may be able to relate to this idea. It is an important film in its genre because it will be a classic of our time of ingenuity. A classic tale reinvented to fit our modern ways of thinking and life.

The film strengths concerning its generic element are that this is easily Burton’s finest work, and while he takes some liberties with Lewis Carroll’s classic, there are still ample amounts of the traditional Alice character traits to satisfy everyone. The film has rejuvenated the antique theme about Alice reclaiming her “muchness” and defying societal expectations. Wonderland is bestowed with amusement that is constant. A film adaptation should, of course, treat its source material as inspiration rather than dogma and this is clearly, what Tim Burton intended and has achieved. The films weaknesses concerning its generic elements are that it is such a well know tale that has been told repeatedly. It is hard to truly find a story that is not based upon another story these days. It does not help that fate is the key component to in the story. This added to the predictability of events given they are foretold to us early on. This causing the computer generated imagery or CGI technology to heavy climactic battle to underwhelm when it does inevitably arrive. Wonderland is just how woefully conventional it all is.

I found it very easy to care for the characters in this film. The conclusion came across as deeply extraordinary, as good was able to triumph. Society loves when good wins over evil because it gives everyone a good feeling. The audience has been given so much to empathize with. The character development is interesting to be to get to know these characters a little bit better. When Alice comes back around her extended family, she is then one by one imparting her newly learned knowledge onto them. This is a true sense that she had grown and become wiser. The journey to Wonderland has made absolutely very much difference to the Alice’s state of mind. At the commencement, she does not want to be married to the aristocratic and has a choice to make. By the end, she still does not want to be married to the aristocratic but she has been able to prevail in self-discovery in the span of time that she left. She has grown and learned about her strengths. She now knows what she truly wants to be able to make the necessary decisions that will affect her in a positive way. An easily enjoyable movie with much character depth.

 

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.

Related Services

View all

DMCA / Removal Request

If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: