Picture from http://bit.ly/94gVeOI saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland opening night when I was in San Francisco and, despite the generally negative reviews, I was pleasantly surprised by its pretty overt feminist theme! In this version of Lewis Carroll's story, Alice is a 19-year old facing the prospect of marriage to a dry British man (lacking anything resembling a personality), pressured by her family and society around her to accept this "perfect match".
Right before she is supposed to accept his proposal, Alice is distracted by a familiar white rabbit in a nearby rose garden that leads her back into Wonderland. Alice is convinced her bizarre encounters with Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, and other old friends are part of a dream she's had since she was a little girl. Eventually, she realizes that everyone seems so familiar because those dreams were constructed from actual memories of Wonderland she kept from her childhood (its real name is Underland, but as a small child she had mistaken it for Wonderland). Alice is told by the inhabitants of Wonderland that an ancient scroll had foretold her slaying of the Red Queen's Jabberwocky (originally just part of an original poem by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass) on Frabbulous Day.
I won't go into detail with the rest of the plot (you can just read that on IMDB if you want), but right before her battle with the Jabberwocky, Alice reflects on some feminist concepts. Inspired by the blue caterpillar's cocoon-building and [somewhat cliche] speech about transformation into a butterfly, Alice accepts the scroll's prediction about her defeating the Jabberwocky and decides to become the White Queen's warrior. This is one of very few movies where I've seen a woman dressed up in armor and independently fighting a battle like this. "How's this for muchiness?" (Not to mention the fact that there are two female heads of state in conflict over land instead of the traditional kings.)
It was really refreshing to have a strong female lead like Alice. When she returns to her regular life, she denies her potential fiance, rebukes her overbearing parents, chastises an unfaithful brother-in-law, and becomes a business partner for a shipping company all in one fell swoop. There's no romantic subplot in Alice at all, unless you count that emotionless proposal or the Red Queen's strange fascination with the Knave. I know, a movie about a young woman who faces conflicts NOT revolving around a man? Crazy!
Even if there were no other great qualities about Burton's Alice in Wonderland, I would have at least been appreciative of his intentionality with Alice's feminist [correction from original "feminine"] message. However, I actually really liked how they created the surreal atmosphere of Wonderland, which was able to convey Alice's confusion over whether she was experiencing real life or a vivid dream. There's several parts that don't flow perfectly, questions left unanswered, and tension over Alice's control over events, all of which are pretty realistic components of people's dreams (well, at least mine). I thought Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen were both perfect casting decisions.
Overall, I would say technical aspects of the film are viable for criticism, but I think there was a lot of strength in the changes to Carroll's original plot. Creating a character like Alice was really encouraging to me as a female viewer (I've heard the same thing from other women that saw the film too) and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it!
The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
Alice: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
