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Alice in Wonderland (2010)

tomatometer

51

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 255
Fresh: 130 | Rotten: 125

Tim Burton's Alice sacrifices the book's minimal narrative coherence -- and much of its heart -- but it's an undeniable visual treat.

58

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 16

Tim Burton's Alice sacrifices the book's minimal narrative coherence -- and much of its heart -- but it's an undeniable visual treat.

audience

72

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 281,779

My Rating

Movie Info

Director Tim Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) team up to deliver this visually dazzling take on the classic Lewis Carroll tale. Nineteen-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is attending party at a lavish country estate when she sees a white rabbit with a pocket watch dart into the bushes. Curious, she follows the rabbit to an enormous tree, and tumbles down a hole that takes her to Underland, a strange world inhabited by anthropomorphic creatures in

Jun 1, 2010

$319.3M

Walt Disney Pictures

Cast

All Critics (255) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (137) | Rotten (128) | DVD (24)

Its single biggest failing -- an affront to Lewis Carroll and the charms of nonsense literature -- is the fact that it makes sense.

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comments (17)
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The true three-dimensionality here is the old-fashioned kind -- Wasikowska's fully rounded performance. Throughout the technical razzle-dazzle, we keep returning to the pallor of that face, the gravity in those eyes.

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A visually imaginative fairy tale that suffers slightly from its predictable course but still manages to wow at all the crucial moments.

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Burton and Disney have found a glorious way to interpret fairy tales and fantasies.

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Denver Post | Comment
Denver Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

No knockouts here. No tkos, either.

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comment
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A film adaptation should, of course, treat its source material as inspiration rather than dogma. But did Burton have to get the books so entirely wrong?

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Slate | Comments (4)
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Wobbles along as average entertainment garnered from a great book.

January 15, 2012 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

For all of the wild, 3D effects, eccentric characters and sly nods to its source material, the highlights ... are the performances of his two favorite actors--Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

November 5, 2011 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | Comment
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Lewis Carroll is bent over a table, tears filling beneath his eyes. Something in your heart breaks. Your childhood, perhaps?

March 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Platform | Comment

Burton's imagination never lets up ... and while those 3-D effects do seem to fade into the background, you can feed your head on his Wonderland for the entire trip.

January 31, 2011 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | Comment

...an endeavor that's big on spectacle yet small on plot...

January 16, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

More Disney than Tim Burton.

January 3, 2011 Full Review Source: BET.com | Comment
BET.com

Despite stunning visuals and fine performances Alice in Wonderland never really goes anywhere. Or rather it goes somewhere we've all been before.

December 28, 2010 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
ComingSoon.net

An endless series of tedious set pieces, flat characterization, lethargic visual effects, a waste of raw talent...

November 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

Even though Burton is unable to channel much suspense or awe, the film is a sumptuous visual delight. It all adds up to a mildly enjoyable adventure, sadly lacking in ambition.

October 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Quickflix | Comment

The Tim Burton sensibility is a perfect match for bringing Lewis Carroll to life; unfortunately, when the screenplay gets around to creating a story to take place in this world, it becomes awkward and dull.

August 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | Comment
Cinefantastique

A bland adventure fantasy, Alice in Wonderland may be pretty to look at, yet offers nothing more than Tim Burton's now generic and uninspired brand of filmmaking.

July 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | Comment
Matt's Movie Reviews

The imposition of a fairytale quest structure turns the surrealist wanderings (and wonderings) of a free-associating dreamer into a brusque crash-zoom, as Alice hurtles towards her appointment on the good-versus-evil battlefield.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | Comment
Sight and Sound

The Alice books gained fame for being totally unconventional, and you decide to make a totally conventional movie out of them?

June 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | Comments (9)
Window to the Movies

Burton and Wonderland may sound on paper like a marriage made in heaven, but the result is disappointingly bland and half-baked.

June 4, 2010 Full Review Source: SFX Magazine | Comment
SFX Magazine

Though the extras lack in the "muchness" department, this DVD of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland boasts a phenomenal audio/video presentation.

June 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

With its busy world teeming with sights but somehow as hollow at its core as say, a rabbit hole, the movie is a little like a splendid feast for the eyes, and not intended for devouring. Or rather, a tantalizing travelogue a little heavy on tunnel vision.

June 1, 2010 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze

Six Possible Things to Like about Alice In Wonderland.

May 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Horror.com | Comment

What's good is very good; what's bad... well, the less you dwell on that, the better off you'll be.

May 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Alice in Wonderland

Classic Tim Burton with great acting. Everyone in this movie looked like they were having so much fun doing it and it showed. We saw this in Digital 3d and to be honest the 3d may not even have been needed. It looks like digital screening of this would suffice. It would be a wonderful visual feast.

March 5, 2010
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

Tim Burton's use of his endless imagination and absolutely terrifyingly, creepy overtones combined with stunning CGI colours, visuals and animation creates a live action disney film to enjoy...but not remember. It might be a bit too creepy for its own good at times for young ones because in the process of the making,

August 15, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

    1. The Mad Hatter: Why is a raven like a writing desk?
    – Submitted by Augustine d (37 days ago)
    1. White Queen: [preparing a concoction] A pinch of worm fat, urine of the horsefly... oh, buttered fingers! [takes one and sniffs it]
    – Submitted by Diego T (2 months ago)
    1. White Queen: You are a little taller than I expected.
    – Submitted by Diego T (2 months ago)
    1. TweedleDee/TweedleDum: [both pulling Alice in opposite directions] This way! East to Queast!
    2. TweedleDee/TweedleDum: No, south to Snud!
    – Submitted by Diego T (3 months ago)
    1. The Mad Hatter: What a regrettably large head you have.
    – Submitted by Diego T (3 months ago)

Latest News for Alice in Wonderland

August 17, 2011:
Disney Exec Lays Out Unspoken Rules for Tentpole Films
To sum up: "Visual spectacle" matters more than story.

June 30, 2010:
Off Her Head: Helena Bonham Carter on Alice
It's the fifth-highest grossing film of all time internationally and the biggest hit of director Tim...

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Foreign Titles

  • Alice im Wunderland (DE)
  • Alice in Wonderland in Disney Digital 3D (UK)
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