Review: Alice in Wonderland Touring Exhibition
Tim Burton's Disney Film Stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Aug 6, 2009
On August 5th, 300 insiders (including yours truly) checked out Tim Burton's vision for Disney's Alice in Wonderland via the Touring Exhibition, showing for one day only in Toronto. Making its debut in London, the exhibit went snicker-snack at Comic-Con, and will eventually burble to Berlin.
Unfortunately, there are no photos (dratted camera died!) but hopefully this review will give you some idea of what you'll see on March 5th. A far cry from the classic Disney animated film, Burton's concept for Alice in Wonderland is yet another twisted vision from the guy who gave us Sweeney Todd, Corpse Bride, Sleepy Hollow, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Stars Mia Wasikowska, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
The film follows 19-year-old Alice Kingston (Aussie actor Mia Wasikowska) who, after spurning a boorish wedding proposal, falls down the rabbit hole and realizes the dreams of her childhood are real.
She encounters classic Carroll characters like the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Tweedledee & Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), plus the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry). However, she's soon on the run from the villainous Red Queen (frequent Burton collaborator and muse Helena Bonham Carter) who holds Wonderland under a reign of terror.
Our beamish girl eventually meets The White Queen (Anne Hathaway), and picks up the Vorpal Sword to battle The Red Queen's army and the fearsome Jabberwock, voiced by the always menacing Christopher Lee.
As you might have guessed already, the script incorporates 3 of Lewis Carroll's most famous works: the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum are from the classic Alice in Wonderland, while the White Queen comes from the sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass. Of course, the Vorpal Sword and The Jabberwock are from the nonsense poem Jabberwocky.
Walking Through Disney's Alice in Wonderland Touring Exhibit
The first room is the Hall of Doors, which feature multiple vials of the "Drink Me" elixirs (in different sizes: the elixir shrinks our heroine while the "Eat Me" cakes make her grow) plus multiple sizes of keys and the Oraculum, an ancient scroll that records what everyone in Wonderland is doing. There is also a miniature table, a dress that Wasikowska wears in the film (all the costumes were designed by Oscar-winning seamstress Colleen Atwood), plus a smaller-scale model of the Hall of Doors.
Intrepid S101 Writer: "Why is there a big hole in the scale model floor?"
Disney rep: "Ummm . . . ahhh . . ."
From there, the viewer enters the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, which features character designs for the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit and Tweedledee & Tweedledum, among others. There is also the Mushroom Forest and the Flower Garden, with its winking faces.
The standout here is Depp's orange wig and costume from the film (are you sure this guy's 5'10"?). According to our tour guide, the coat changes colour according to the Hatter's mood (courtesy of CGI), as does his bow tie's shape: it goes up when he's happy, down when he's sad.
Next comes The Red Queen's Court, with its crimson colour scheme and and heart motifs (sadly, the playing card images from Carroll and the 1951 movie appear to have been excised). The recreation of the Queen's throne room features the much-used executioner's axe with its heart-shaped blade, and Helena Bonham Carter's opulent costume and wig.
In contrast, the White Queen's Tower maintains the chess motif that was such an integral part of Through the Looking Glass: her tower features horse and rook heads and the floor tiles represent a chess board. Along with Hathaway's White Queen costume and White Army spears, there's also Alice's armour and the Vorpal Sword. Our guide also mentioned that the Mad Hatter will also don armour in order to fight at Alice's side.
What Should We Expect From Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland?
Overall, it's clear that Burton wants to get more of an action-adventure thing going, and less of the kids' tale that Lewis Carroll intended. Linda Woolverton (Mulan, The Lion King) is writing the screenplay, which could be a warning sign: Burton generally does better when he's directing his own scripts.
However, the combination of Lewis Carroll's lysergic prose and Tim Burton's imagination looks like a good fit. If nothing else, this film will be visually spectacular.
Alice in Wonderland gets mimsy in the borogroves on March 5th.
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