So yesterday I finally got around to watching Alice in Wonderland on Netflix. I used to watch the 1951 Disney animated version of the movie all the time when I was a child, and I was curious to see how this one would match up to it. I didn't go into it with very high hopes though... not after the flaming pile of poo Tim Burton served up in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

As far as my overall feelings of Alice in Wonderland, it was what I thought is would be; it was a so-so film relying far too much on digital effects. I especially disliked the odd stretched-out appearance on the Knave of Hearts, played by Crispin Glover. I just didn't get why they did it. It added nothing to the character or the movie and it made him really hard to look at.

I was really surprised at the turn the story took with the inclusion of the Jabberwock. Both Jabberwocky and Alice in Wonderland were written by Lewis Carrol, so I understand hwy they did it. And it really did make for an interesting plot, so I'm okay with it.

The only real disappointment for me in the movie was Johnny Depp's portrayal of the Mad Hatter. Don't get me wrong - I love Johnny Depp. I think he's an AMAZING actor and I have enjoyed him in every movie I've ever seen him in. The man's got talent. But for some reason, when it came to this character, it's like he ran out of ideas and just recycled some crap from the past. My impression of Dapp's potrayal of the Mad Hatter seemed like a cross between his turn at J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland and John Leguizamo's potrayal of Toulousse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge. The Mad Hatter kept switching between drunken bohemian and angry scottsman, and I just didn't get it. The whole time I was watching him I kept thinking the movie should have been titled Johnny Depp's Adventure in Recycled Acting or, at the very least, Tim Burton's Adventures in Recasting the Same People Over and Over Again. And yes I mean you, Helena Bonham Carter. I don't care if she is Tim Burton's baby mama, he needs to quit putting her in his movies.

Speaking of Tim Burton and making movies, I think that the next time he wants to do a remake of a classic movie someebody needs to beat the living [expletive deleted] out of him. Burton has made SO many movies that I absolutely love, but all of his best movies are originals. Everytime he tries to remake something from the past he twists and warps it until it's unrecognizable. There's a reason that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was a classic movie loved by everyone - because it was perfect, just the way it was.