Channel Awesome
Wow, we got ANGRIER than we thought on this one.
See the original review here – http://channelawesome.com/nostalgia-critic-alice-in-wonderland/
Tagged with: 2010 alice in wonderland channel awesome doug walker movies nostalgia critic nostalgia critic real thoughts rob walker tim burton
About Doug Walker
Other Posts By the Author:
59 comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
i agree heartily.
Doug and Rob,you should watch Death of Superman Lives,the doc about the Superman movie Tim Burton was going to direct,with Nicolas Cage as Superman! and Christopher Walken as Brainiac,who would be a disembodied green head on a robot spider body
You probably would have reviewed it.
But the real reason I recommend it is Tim Burton is starting to look like Doug in his old age,I think you could do a perfect Tim Burton if you study his mannerisms in the movie. And the interview is just funny,at one point Burton even makes fun of people that criticize him online
Doug’s opinion on Alice In Wonderland kind of exactly reflect my thoughts on the Amazing Spider-Man movies
What’s wrong with them?
Shoehorning in a DESTINY narrative into a franchise that never needed one and in fact was better without it. Honestly, unless your motivation is deliberately subverting or parodying the DESTINY trope, any and every work of fiction is automatically better without one. In real life, heroes are made, not born. And in fiction, the audience already knows that the heroes are destined to save the day because somebody wrote them that way, so throwing in an angle where some of the characters are aware of this (unless they’re straight-up aware of the fourth wall, see again my comment on parody) is just beating audiences over the head with the blindingly obvious.
To be fair, American Mcgee’s Alice in Wonderland did try to add in logic behind their interpretation by saying that all in Alice’s broken state of mind and that worked.
Well considering the story of Alice in Wonderlan is a girl dreaming the whole thing…wouldn’t it be all in her head no matter what?
the problem is trying to inject logic into the world of wonderland itself rather than the interpretation or story or inspiration behind it
Not sure if it helps, but aside the notion that Tim Burton did apologize for the mediocrity of the movie, but I learned that he was actually contracted by Disney to make this film before he could work on the film that he wanted to do more, FrankenWeenie. So I’m going to assume that there is a LOT of executive control on this one that resulted in its presentation.
Also side note, the whole Underland thing, ironically that was more of a reference to how the stories were originally entitled “Alice’s underground adventure” before going with the more popular title of Wonderland.
As soon as I saw it, I said, “That was a crappy adaption of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but it’s a pretty good adaption of Super Mario Bros.”
The screenwriter was Linda Woolverton, the same woman responsible for Maleficent and the screenplays for Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King.
From that, it’s pretty clear that she’s got a certain image of the world that’s perpetually stuck in the 90s. And it worked in Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King. But it really doesn’t work now.
Nah, if this movie had come out in the ’90s it still would have been shit. Sometimes a decent writer can churn out a turkey, especially if somebody handed them an assignment they had no interest in working on.
Speaking of quality animation, have you guys checked out the new Star Wars animated show. It starts about 5 years prior to A New Hope and is really good.
I’m one of those weirdos who actually enjoys this movie, however I totally get where you guys are coming from with the Let-Down Factor.
For me, I was actually somewhat disappointed with “Corpse Bride” and then more so with “Sweeney Todd”, so I wasn’t holding my breath that “Alice” was going to be anything spectacular. But when I saw it in theaters I quite enjoyed it. It’s not as good as the classic Disney rendition, and I very well would have LOVED to see Tim Burton go balls-to-the-wall adult and surreal with “Alice”, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
Honestly there are a lot of little details that make me respect this movie, at least compared to most Hollywood schlock with female leads. Like how Alice wears a man’s suit of armor in the climax and not something with boob-socks or even breast plates.
Hell, I respect that the story boils down to Alice in the real world finding her own voice. Not a man, her voice. And this movie came out when that “Twilight” sh** was still big.
And, of course, I get a real kick out of the Stephen Fry Cheshire Cat and the Alan Rickman Caterpillar.
However those details don’t necessarily make it a good movie and that’s fine. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine, and I’m not going to try to change your mind. Just present my reasons why I enjoyed it.
I can totally sympathize with your disappointment and anger because you’re discussion here reminds me of my own feelings for the “V for Vendetta” movie, or “Matrix”, or “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”.
*Make that “nowhere near as good as the classic Disney rendition”.
Huge Tim Burton fan. However, I realize that his adaptations (excluding Batman and Sweeney Todd) are not as good as his original films.
THANK YOU! I heartily agree that the classic Disney version VASTLY outshines this “multi-million dollar fanfic”…ugh what a disappointment it was!
Methinks it being popular is what got Disney on their whole “ruin our animated pantheon with crappy live action remakes” streak…you guys need to do a whole review trashing ‘Maleficent’ (because it’s by the same screenwriter as Burton’s Alice…who believe or not also wrote the script to 1991’s Beauty and the Beast: Linda Woolverton)
I don’t….loathe this movie, exactly. But the parts I enjoy about it were done better in the Looking Glass Wars series. And side by side, to me, this was a pale imitation of that, a “too scared to commit” version.
For those who have never read it, the series is basically the “Alice is actually a warrior princess” thing, but ends up being much better than this film because they go ALL the way with the “re-imagining” elements. Example: Mad Hatter is one of many “Milliners”, elite commando action heroes with crazy switchblade tophats. The symbolism in the series is obvious, but so different it doesn’t really offend that it wants to be its own thing. Oh, and no prophecy involved, just a political struggle for “imagination”.
Burton’s version sticks too hard to the original story to pull that off effectively.
I’ll admit, I ended up going to see Alice in Wonderland for a college class and I was excited because it was like, cool! Going to the theater to see movies for school! it was a lazy, rainy afternoon, I think pretty close to the weekend if not the weekend itself and I was just ready to enjoy a movie whether it was smart or dumb and that’s what I got.
It was strange, atmospheric and kind of dark and even though the story and the characters were a little confusing, I still enjoyed myself so I think it was just that experience I remember the most rather than the movie itself.
I’d probably have a different opinion if I saw the movie now though.
P.S. I’ve also seen Avatar several times since it came out and I still highly enjoy it. Sure the story and characters are familiar but I still like that kind of story and how it was done in a science-fiction/fantasy way.
Plus if you see the extended edition of the film, it goes more into depth with the characters, the world, and the story and it makes the whole thing very strong to me (you get to see how things are on Earth and why Jake is the way he is, you get to learn more about Grace and Neytiri’s backstories, as well as more about the Na’vi culture.
Heck, even Norm and Trudy get more of a story arc (although that’s more in the deleted scenes. Yeah, the bad guys are still pretty one note but you still got great actors like Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi playing them (I got to see Lang in person at my film school where he premiered a film version of his play, Beyond Glory. Oh my god, is he wonderful in that!)
I know you probably won’t but I definitely say check out the extended version of Avatar, Doug. You might be pleasantly surprised. If not, I put you through that. I’m not trying to shove my opinion down your throat either. I’m just saying that I’ve been able to look past the pretty visuals and consider Avatar a fun, entertaining, and imaginative movie.
What every adaptation ignores (and I’m waiting to see) is that the book was written a mathematician. Many (not all but many) of the scenes are inspired by the absurdities of his day job.
Re-read the shrinking and growing scenes and the entire chess plot of Through the looking glass.
The Alice in Wonderland review is my favourite review you’ve done. One, because it was spot on in its criticism of the movie and two, because of the production values and what it promised for future reviews. Unfortunately that’s where I have to say I have a point of criticism, because the production values didn’t stay this high and also the criticism of the films you review is not always this high. Personally I think this is the way to go for you as an artist. Using low cost, high value production as creatively as possible and become a better filmmaker. Not the Mickey Mouse nonsense of the it’s funny because it looks crappy, but the this looks great for the budget it was created with. Also keep looking at film with more depth. Just look at the Every Frame A Painting Youtube channel and the depth of analysis it gives or Red Letter Media for mainly plot dissection. I hope you keep pushing yourselves, because I love your stuff, but I grew more discerning, you should too.
i seen in the theater 3d it felt boring to me..
And they’re making a sequel, out next year…
(And I posted that before the end, in which they do acknowledge it! Whoops!)
God damn it… hey maybe it’ll be an improvement over the first movie? :0
These thoughts sum up my thoughts on the live action Beauty and the Beast- don’t touch a Disney classic!! It’s already perfect!!
I think Nostalgia Critic should review the sponge bob episodes from s6 to the newest one and all the crap it has
I don’t get why anyone was surprised or disappointed. This is exactly what I thought Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was going to be. Hot Topic: The Movie
Bad news: Alice in Wonerland 2 (Through the Looking Glass) is coming out in 2016
Good news: It’s going to be directed by the man who did The Muppets (and the woman who wrote the first is also writing the second, but considering she also wrote The Lion King I’m prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt.)
She also wrote Beauty and the Beast.
Umm… the person who wrote the screenplay to this movie is Linda Woolverton, who wrote the screenplay for The Lion King and Beauty And The Beast. What’s worse than hearing that she wrote all these great films is that she also wrote the screenplay for Maleficent.
Let’s hope Doug does a Real Thoughts video on Thomas and The Magic Railroad! I’ve been waiting for that for a while!
The funniest thing is how nearly every audience member for this film were in their teens (With the largest audience I’ve ever seen for a film not making this up consisting mostly of teenagers and couples)!
Me and my family got really bored with it quickly! Like Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman in it!
I’m a huge Tim Burton fan. That being said, his adaptations (excluding Batman and Sweeney Todd) are not as good as his original works.
With that out of a way…please do a Nostalgia Critic on what is, in my personal opinion, the WORST Tim Burton movie ever.
…I’m of course talking about Dark Shadows.
I actually vividly remember the NBC made-for-TV movie (was not a miniseries). And, I actually disagree with you about it. I thought it was really lively and entertaining. And the cast, if you would have told me these people were playing these part…I wouldn’t have believed you until I saw it…then I saw it. And it was so perfectly casted: Martin Short as the Mad Hatter, Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat (which works, but is a really odd casting choice), Miranda Richardson, George Wendt, Robbie Coltrane, Peter Ustinov, Pete Postlethwaite, Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder
What a coincidence! I just saw this movie yesterday and it’s on again right now. I liked it but that’s because I love Tim Burton and I didn’t like the original movie. The original rubbed me the wrong way. I NEVER liked the original as a kid so I wasn’t pissed off. I’m pretty sure that it’s closer to the book in content at least since it includes the Jabberwocky. That is something that I’ve always wanted to see on film so that part was a dream come true like me. I really liked the 3D, too. Now Maleficent, from the same screenwriter, that is CRAP due to the fact that I liked Sleeping Beauty. If I had liked the original, I think I WOULD hate this movie but since I didn’t, not bad. 😀 Wow, I didn’t think that Doug would get this pissed off but the story seems to be closer to his heart than it is to mine.
tbh I don’t even care about the book and HAAATE this movie with a burning passion.
Nothing and nobody is likeable, the acting is boring, the visuals look disgusting …just pure loathing man.
Holy crap! They actually acknowledged the existence of the NBC version! I’ve wanted them to take a look at those TV movies (like Gulliver and 10th Kingdom) because I remember them just as much as the King miniseries.
Actually, it’s funny that they brought up the American McGee’s Alice, because originally THAT’s what the Tim Burton movie was supposed to be. I recall like an interview, where he said he wanted to do something like the game did, but be even more fucked up and twisted and it seems that Disney looked at the original idea and said “No way, this shit is too twisted make it this, make it this, change that and move on.”
Thank you, I hated this movie, everyone I know loves it, when I ask why they say because of the CGI. A movie needs more than that.