In a striking turn of events, Disney today confirmed that Johnny Depp will appear in Tim Burton’s forthcoming CGI and 3D-enhanced version of Alice in Wonderland, as the Mad Hatter. We were 99% certain of this already; was there really even a moment of doubt? And why, after the slight surprise that was Sweeney Todd, am I right back to being down on Burton for the choice? It’s a wholly irrational thing; even when I finally checked out his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I found myself enjoying their teamwork. (Lousy father/dentist tripe aside.)
What I’m saying is that some gremlin is nagging at me to forgive Burton his OCD casting, even though I’m basically with Nick on the boredom of the combo. I can’t really fault his argument. Or is it that I’m fundamentally willing to watch their new playdate, and the gremlin is nagging me not to? Confusion.
That leads to the only useful question about this project: can Burton make it into something that is relevant and not just another wholesale rehash with a dose (an extra dose, in this case) of weird? Or will he succumb to the same notions that gave us Dentist Dad? Why shouldn’t I just watch my fan edit of Jan Svankmajer’s insanely creepy Alice instead? (That’s the edit with all of Alice’s ‘…said the White Rabbit’ dialogue removed. It’s five minutes long.)
THR notes that Mis Wasikowska remains cast as Alice and Matt Lucas is likewise committed to the dual roles of Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
2 comments
For about 7 minutes I thought this was an article about Jack in the Box's new tacos and shit. Luckily my browser crashed. Thanks, nutfuckers!
Well, I can fault Nick's argument. As follows…
"Did you hear about John Ford? He's signed that damn John Wayne AGAIN for his next movie. And Victor McLaglen and Ward Bond too! I'm so bored with them all. Why doesn't Ford get some new faces? And John Huston is using Bogart again in his next one. And Hitch is using Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, or is it Jimmy Stewart? What's wrong with these people? Why do they keep working with the same actors over and over again? Etc…." For me, there isn't even anything to discuss here. Plenty of directors have repeated (and repeated and repeated) with the same talent, and I've never cared for one minute.
On the other hand, I'll agree with you about Burton's neverending father issue fixation. After BIG FISH, there's no real excuse for still being hung up on that particular neurosis. If he comes up with some halfassed backstory about Alice and her parental conflicts, I'll heave.
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