Once upon a time there was a director. And that director enchanted audiences with his twisted tales and fabulous fables. Then he got a bit boring and predictable. Is Tim Burton stuck in a rut? Here’s the trailer for his forthcoming fantasy-adventure, Alice in Wonderland…
To activate the sound in the trailer: hold your cursor over the screen to reveal the control panel and click on the volume control in the bottom right-hand corner.
To anyone familiar with Lewis Carroll’s original Alice stories, the coterie of grotesques in Burton’s latest film will be instantly recognisable – there’s the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Matt Lucas), the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
Burton’s story, if the trailer is anything to go by, rejoins Alice some time after Carroll’s tales, with the lonesome protagonist returning to Wonderland to help her old friends attempt to end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.
The cast is impressive. The trailer is a visual treat. And yet, the net effect is something rather saggy. If only Burton would inject his films with some fresh air. If only he’d tackle a gritty kitchen sink drama. If only he’d make a film without Johnny Depp.
Alice in Wonderland is released on 5 March 2010.
