Posts Tagged ‘Alice in Wonderland’
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…and, of course, everyone remembers that Tim Burton and Mark Wahlberg last collaborated with each other in 2001’s disastrous remake of Planet of the Apes.
Before I begin with this rant, let me say that I love Tim Burton and I love Johnny Depp. I think they are two of the most interesting and idiosyncratic artists working in Hollywood today.
That said, regarding their myriad of collaborations, I think Depp is the one who is going to walk away with his reputation in tact when it’s all over. Because, unlike Burton, he actually works with other people from time to time. He’s still a risk-taker. He’s still viable.
Meanwhile, Burton has been stuck in a loop for almost a decade. Big Fish was the last time Burton worked with anyone who wasn’t Johnny Depp and that was in 2003. He’s made 4 films since then and each of them feature Depp as a pasty, googlely-eyed weirdo.
I mean, it makes sense that Burton would continue to the well so many times. The formula works. When Burton and Depp last collaborated in 2007’s Sweeny Todd, it resulted in huge box office receipts and Oscar nominations. It’s hard to turn your back on that. I understand that.
My problem with the pairing is that Burton has branded himself as an inventive Hollywood outsider whose singular vision and creativity simply cannot be contained. But his track record reflects and artist who has become complacent and predictable. Not only is this exemplified by his partnership with Depp, but with his reliance on Helena Bonham Carter and Danny Elfman as well.
Certainly I understand the value of a director who prefers to work with specific artists. Scorsese had DeNiro (now, DiCaprio). Steve Spielberg uses John Williams’s music in nearly every movie he makes. These elements become part of a director’s style and help audiences to easily identify their work.
But when it comes to Burton, I don’t look forward to his movies anymore because they all feel exactly the same.
I think if you had told me Burton was going to do a version of Alice in Wonderland 10 years ago, I would have been over the moon. The subject matter fits perfectly inside his wheelhouse. What is Burton if not a modern-day equivalent to Lewis Carroll? A fanciful dandy bursting with imaginative visions trapped by insecurity? Burton has carried Carrol’s flag for a long, long time. There is no other living director that could possibly do Alice in Wonderland justice like Burton could.
But now, with so many “dark” and “twisted” fairy tales under his belt, I feel like Burton is incapable of bringing anything new to Alice in Wonderland. Certainly not to the extent that it could overcome what is probably most widely considered the strongest visual reference point for the book – that being Disney’s 1951 animated version. At least, that’s what I first think of when I first think of Alice in Wonderland.
At this point, any addition arguments I make would just be me circling back on myself. Like I said, I GET why Burton and Depp continue to work with each other. There’s clearly an audience for it and I understand why audiences would be invested in it. Who hasn’t felt like an outsider at some point in their lives? Burton and Depp speak to this explicitly.
All I’m saying is that Burton’s brand as an inventive film maker doesn’t really hold water under scrutiny because he makes the same movies over and over again.
So, in my opinion, he should either stop adapting the work of others and go back to telling original stories or he should work with different actors to at least create the ILLUSION that he’s branching out.
Because if you aren’t growing as an artist, what’s the point? If it’s just about the paycheck, you might as well be McG.
What are your thoughts about Alice in Wonderland? Are you looking forward to it? Am I wrong about Burton? Leave your comments below!
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So here’s the comic from Wednesday that I owe you. If you were keeping up with the blog, you’ll know the reason the comic was delayed was due to a job interview I wanted to prepare for. I also wanted to make sure I got the proper amount of sleep.
I’m pretty sure most of you don’t know what my schedule is like. Frankly, you don’t need to know because it’s boring and self-serving to share it. But in this case, I’ll make an exception because I want you to understand.
Typically, I produce the comic the evening before it goes live on the site. Sometimes I’ll be able to get ahead of it a little by doing the pencils and inks over my lunch hour at my day job. But when I get home, it usually isn’t until after 8:00 that we manage to get Henry and Pearl settled down for the night. When you consider the everyday household chores that need to be done after that, there’s actually a very small window that I can work on the comic.
On Tuesday nights, I have night classes, so that window is even smaller. Instead of beating myself up trying to get a comic done for Wednesday, I thought it made more sense to prepare for my interview and get a good night’s sleep.
I didn’t receive any complaints and you guys have been more than supportive, so thank you. I just wanted to explain because, well, I felt like I owed you at least that much.
As for the job interview… How did it go? Frankly, I thought it went great. It really couldn’t have gone any better.
I don’t want to get into details because I don’t want to jinx it. Plus, as a rule, I don’t like to talk about work-related things online. You can’t be too careful.
Let’s just say it went very well and I’ll let you know how things turn out. Thanks for your patience and understanding. Now, let’s talk about the comic!
I was really pounding my head against the wall on this one because I didn’t know how to build on what I had established with Monday’s comic. Complicating matters, I came up with a great idea for a comic that I could use on Friday. So I was kind of caught between and a hard place.
I have to admit I was surprised by the feedback I received on Monday’s comic in the comments area. I expected some push back from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fans. That’s fine. What I didn’t expect where the people who were saying “Thank you! I’ve felt this way about Burton and Depp for years, but couldn’t find the words.” That’s kind of a weird feeling.
I try to address certain truths with my humor. After all, what generally makes something funny is when several people recognize the same truth that they don’t typically address. The ol’ “He’s saying what we’re all thinking!” formula. I aim for that, but it manifests itself in the relationship humor I explore with Tom and Cami. Usually it doesn’t crop up in this kind of commentary about actors or directors. So it caught me a little off guard.
It sparked a debate, though – which I like. But I felt like if Tom was going to take the “anti” Burton/Depp stance, Jared needed to be the counter balance.
And, so, I did some research.
Check out this Wiki of director/actor collaborations. It’s mind-boggling. Some of them get tossed out because the pairings worked together on a string of sequels. Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, for example. But some of these partnerships appear very genuine.
Of course, my complaint with Burton and Depp isn’t that they’ve collaborated so many times. Just that there is a sameness to what they’ve produced. But, being fair, can I really argue that John Ford and John Wayne didn’t do the same thing? Or Scorsese and DeNiro, for that matter. It’s food for thought.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed today’s comic. If you have anything you’d like to add, feel free to leave your comments below.
Until then, be sure to come back tomorrow for a brand new comic!
Thanks again!
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Pop culture savvy readers should have no trouble recognizing The Simpsons reference in today’s comic. It’s Homer’s revolutionary makeup gun from episode 5F21 – “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace!”
Do I like The Simpsons? Um, yeah. Like, a lot.
I know it’s kind of shameless to lift a joke like this, but I can’t look at Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter and think of anything else. The makeup is so scatter-shot and sloppy. It looks like he visited a nursing home and told the ladies to “go wild” giving him a makeover.
I know this is kind of stupid, but the vacancy in Depp’s stare as afforded to him by those contact lenses really bugs me. Yeah, I get that he’s supposed to be, y’know, insane. So a little vacancy is appropriate. But what usually makes Depp’s characters interesting to me is that they either know they’re insane and play into it or they know they’re insane and don’t care. His characters have a foundation of intelligence that elevates them a little bit.
From what I’ve seen of Depp’s performance in the trailers and commercials indicates to me that it’s basically him prancing around, hooting and hollering for the length of the movie. There’s no substance.
I guess that’s my problem with Alice in Wonderland in general. I’ve never been a fan of the material. What is fun or interesting about portraying insanity in a way that is untethered to real-life circumstances. It’s silly for the sake of being silly.
I read Owen Gleiberman’s review in Entertainment Weekly and I thought he hit on a particular truth. “Once Alice tumbles into Wonderland, everyone she meets is, if not certifiable, then a blithely self-absorbed, nattering crackpot-narcissist. The book is a visionary satire of the newly emerging modern world, in which everyone is really babbling to no one but themselves. The challenge of adapting Alice in Wonderland is this: How do you create relationships, a story, a purpose out of a tale whose prime purpose is not to have one?”
I guess I’m skeptical that Burton and Depp can assign any significance to the material beyond the visual punch.
I’ve likely beat this dead horse into dust by this point, so I’ll hang it up for now. If anyone here sees Alice in Wonderland, I’d love to hear your opinons. You can leave them in the comments section below!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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