An interesting script gone askew in execution. The idea of having a grown-up Alice with an existential dilemma about - what else but the Austenian conundrum of whom to get married to - sounded like a promising start. The post-modern question 'Is this really Alice?' or 'What is the real Alice like?' seemed to go in the right direction, too - as did Alice's refusal to sleigh anyone even if her life depended on it, just because the script demanded it. I was willing to condone Alice for falling in love with the mad hatter, but the repeated maxim 'All the best people are mad' sounds kitschy in 2010, I must confess. The Bandersnatch turning out not as evil as it seems (well, at least for the heroine!) seems right out of the Harry Potter territory of plot twists just to keep the story going ahead, with a veneer of 'everyone who looks evil is not so' to keep the moralists happy, but without even the simple balancing act of a conventionally good-looking character turning out evil. At the end, when Alice takes charge of her life by refusing to marry a twit, what does she do? Go off to build an empire in China, in full colonial style. Political correctness, anyone? If this is what Tim Burton can produce (with Disney's money) in 2010, I can't help feeling sorry for the poor lad. I would prefer 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' any day. As for post-apocalyptic vision, you can't beat the 'Blade Runner', dear old chap! In short, 'You used to be much more...muchier. You've lost your muchness, Tim!'
