Alice in Wonderland/The Sorcerer's Apprentice

In Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, up is down and down is up in a mocking inversion of the real world, of literature, of maths and puzzles. Alex Fitch said in his review, “In a suitably Carrollian scenario, I’ve found myself agreeing with the point of view of a right-wing columnist in the Mail on Sunday whose work I normally despise.” In Peter Hitchens’s one-paragraph discharge of Tim Burton’s 2009 remake of “Alice in Wonderland,” he wrote: “We live in the age of deconstruction and the post-modern. Burton…appears to have turned [Alice] into “Willy Wonka” meets ‘Lord of the Rings’.” Fitch said, “Unfortunately I think he’s right, and Disney’s new live action adaptation may come as a surprise to audiences familiar with the studio’s 1951 animated version of the story.” This is not to say that Tim Burton’s made a bad film, more that this is a missed opportunity.

This new version is both a reimagining of, and sequel to, the Alice novels. Fitch said, “I suppose audiences shouldn’t be too surprised that this is a film aimed at older audiences than the single-digit ages the original Disney Alice was made for, as even Burton’s most child-friendly films as director/producer - Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, The Nightmare before Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - had a level of darkness and subversion to them.” However, the joy in dream, ideas and new words that illustrates both the original novels and the Disney cartoon only appears occasionally here, which is a shame because the parts of the film that are faithful to the original story show that Burton could have made the perfect live action version. Fitch noted, “The Alice adaptation everyone was expecting in the 00s was an even darker sequel based on the computer game American McGee’s Alice - to have been scored by the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson and directed by Wes Craven. Burton’s Alice is halfway between American McGee’s Alice and Disney’s original. It’s aimed at teens rather than tweens, and it features an early scene showing Alice gored by a razor-mouthed and clawed Bandersnatch, which has an eye plucked out by a mouse wielding a rapier.”

Fitch continued, “While fans of Disney’s original Alice may be dismayed by this Fighting Fantasy approach to the material there are still plenty of lines of dialogue from the original intact and the CGI rendering of anthropomorphic animals - talking horses, frogs and dogs - is the most impressive I’ve seen on screen so far - although bizarrely the CGI rendering of humans on horseback looks like the jerky movements of marionettes, which makes you wonder why they didn’t use real stuntmen.” The technical requirements of turning the film into 3D mean there is a rich main-colored shade to many of the characters and scenes – except when Burton turns the goth look on and contrasts the familiar characters with dark, monochromic backgrounds. However, many scenes have an inappropriate roaming camera made to emphasize the 3D thrills of the cinematic look and the conversion into 3D has needed the blurring the backgrounds, limited the tools of wide-angle lenses and long-shots available to the cinematographer. When looking at the sets, costumes and characters, this is more pleasing film than “Avatar,” where the unintelligible budget was raged by the very average imagination and plot. Of course, this film even when made superfluously dark for this remake is made by one of the most bizarre look in Victorian fiction and it’s great to see this made by the latest technology on the highest motion – IMAX – format possible.

The greatest strength of the film is the action, with the late Alan Rickman voicing a shoddy Blue Caterpillar in the centre of a terrific British-covered cast that includes Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Paul Whitehouse, Timothy Spall and Burton favorite Christopher Lee as the voice of the Jabberwocky. While Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are nicely entertaining, maybe because becoming over-familiar and overused in Burton’s films, Mia Wasikowska is a great adult Alice, a rebellious young lady and artist who becomes a thoughtful woman and hesitant warrior over the duration of the film. Anne Hathaway is in here as well as the White Queen. Fitch said, “With such performances, it’s noticeable that the scenes centred around humans - the awful pomp and ceremony of a 19th-century engagement party at the beginning, the hilarious prosthetic-wearing retinue of the Red Queen - are actually some of the best in the film. In contrast, the sword and sorcery subplot shoehorned into the narrative sits uneasily with the original characters. “

This a film of so many beginnings – Carroll, Disney, 21^st-century computer games – and endings – an armor-wearing Alice in a dark battlefield fighting a Jabberwocky only slightly less scary than Terry Gilliam’s and an stimulated Alice back in the real world, making the most of the British Empire. Fitch ended his review by saying, “The first ending closes a world I wouldn’t particularly want to return to, the other one opens possibilities I’d be happy to see Burton explore further.”

We now come to the 2010 adaptation over the very famous sketch from “Fantasia,” “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” It’s not like we expect anything else from Bruckheimer: this is a loud, crazy, effects-heavy varieties that’s short on plot, descriptions and any real tension. However, it’s also completely mindless good fun.

One of Merlin’s apprentices, Balthazar (Nicolas Cage), has been searching for Merlin’s heir for almost three thousand years, finally locating him in New York City in physics student David (Jay Baruchel). Doubtful but intrigued that Balthazar’s former friend Horvath (Alfred Molina) is determined to bring back the evil Morgana (Alice Krige) to destroy humanity. However, Dave is horribly busy by the fact that the girl, played by Teresa Palmer, he has loved since he was nine is suddenly showing him some feeling. Rich Cline said in his review, “Can't this world-saving business wait?”

Yes, this mainly shows that the likeable Caruchel is playing a live-action version of Mickey Mouse from the classic “Fantasia” short, which is redone here including Paul Dukas’ memorable music. Cline noted, “Baruchel is also typecast as the scrawny nerd in an improbable romance with a hot girl (see also She's Out of My League).” Meanwhile, Cage is redoing his original “Kick-@$$” character in the way Balthazar teaches Dave different magic.

However then, it’s not really magic. Cline said, “In an obvious effort to diffuse the American Right, this sorcery is merely someone who can access their whole brain and manipulate the physical world in ways that only seem inexplicable. While this kind of contradicts other elements of the set-up (like the power-giving rings sorcerers wear), it's not quite as mythology-crushing as George Lucas' midi-chlorians.” It might be some kids think science is cool for hopefully a few minutes.

Cline said, “In the end, the film is slickly made with a sense of pace and energy that holds our interest through the episodic plot. It's basically just a series of corny expository conversations that link together a range of full-on action set-pieces.” At lease these parts are simple eye-candy, with first-class effects work, energetic comedy elements and lots of enjoyment throughout. We never for a single moment doubt where the story is going, so there’s not suspense at all. Including a trap door hinting for a sequel if straightforward audiences round up everything.

Check in tomorrow for more excitement in “Disney Live-Action Month.”