Posted on 03/16/2010 10:52:36 AM PDT by Borges
If you’re planning to see Disney’s new version of “Alice in Wonderland,” know that it really isn’t Alice in Wonderland at all. It’s Gloria (Steinem) and Betty (Friedan) and Susan (Sarandon) in a high tech, souped up, feminist wonderland. It’s like NOW (the National Organization for Women) invaded a kids’ flick and turned it into a horror movie. There’s nothing wondrous or wonderful about it. It’s dumbed down baloney.
The new “Alice” is about the horrors of marriage and how, even back in the 1800s a young girl knows more about business and trading in far off lands than a wealthy English tycoon. The movie, which debuts in theaters tonight, bears very little resemblance to the classic Lewis Carroll fairy tale, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” While the 3-D effects were okay and some of the movie was cute, the destruction of Carroll’s charming tale is a huge disappointment. And it simply wasn’t “Alice in Wonderland.” It was the feminist manifesto fraudulently and deceptively dressed up in that name.
(Excerpt) Read more at debbieschlussel.com ...
Isn’t the bad “guy” a girl?
eh.... I enjoyed it
Who cares? Johnny Depp is in it!:)
Debbie’s own filters are coming through on this. It was very good and used typical literary archetypes.
Johnny Depp who lives in France because he hates capitalist America??
Oh I see....OK.
cunning runts all.
Good old Debbie, once again proving she didn’t actually see the movie, she might have sat in the theater but the brain was elsewhere.
I can see the anti-greed theme in Avatar.
I can see the anti-war theme in Green Zone.
I can’t see the far-fetched attempt to tear down Alice as a feministic movie. This is Tim Burton we are talking about here. He didn’t want to re-do the same story. He wanted to throw twists in the movie like he always does. Feminism is not one of them.
He lives in France because his wife is French and his daughter is being raised there.
It must be weird to go through life only able to see any piece of art through a small ideological prism.
When J.D. Salinger she equated him with Howard Zinn and condemned him to Hell for being some sort of Father of the 1960s counteculture. She’s great for a laugh.
And to always be looking for a reason to not enjoy what you’re seeing. She really seems to be quite dedicated to her own unhappiness.
“died”
He may say that, but his wife is a famous French actress, non? She probably wanted no part of the US.
Oh, please Debbie. One can find “hidden” messages in anything.
So is Debbie saying that she is for forced marriages of the sort that Alice was facing? How is that any different than Islam? Would she prefer if Alice surrendered to the marriage and stayed in the background like a good woman while the men handled the finances?
It was a fine movie based on a book, not a great movie, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
Debbie Schlussel is seriously weird.
Robo Ebert had a another take:
Roger Ebert: Alice in Wonderland
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | March 3, 2010 | Roger Ebert
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2465012/posts
...This has never been a children’s story. There’s even a little sadism embedded in Carroll’s fantasy. It reminds me of uncles who tickle their nieces until they scream...
I agree with you. I will defend Avatar a little bit, too. How would we as Americans react if a foreign entity entered our land and sought to change our way of life? We would probably fight, too. I really didn’t see all of the “anti” themes too much in Avatar.
The liberals tried to use it as a rallying cry against conservatives and capitalism, but it really wasn’t about that.
Otherwise, it was a typical Hollywood plot. But then again, there are only really 7 plots in the world.
Let's face facts here. The original Alice in Wonderland books aren't exactly heavy on coherent, linear plot, and Alice isn't so much a character as a witness to the weirdness. It's not at all surprising that someone trying to make a successful feature film that will appeal to adults as well as kids is going to reinvent the story. And the film is successful, taking in over $200 million domestic and even more foreign.
This is about like those Air1 movie reviews on the radio...knock the movie down for tiny reasons even when everything else is great.
I’m not getting into his politics but I can understand a “star” not wanting to be hounded by people. He’s a great actor and I loved him as Capt. Jack Sparrow!
I agree. The whole Alice plot is twisted in its own right. I just remember watching a special where Tim Burton was interviewed and he specifically stated that he didn’t want to follow the traditional plot line of Alice. But nowhere in his interview did he bring about any sort of feminism. It was all about making the story about a struggle akin to Lion/Witch/Wardrobe.
Dweeby Schyster is a closet EMOcrat. She finds slights where none exist.
ah the swish-buckling jack sparrow....meh.
I loved this movie. I don’t care that Alice decided she didn’t want to be bartered off to a man as all she was good for. I don’t care that it had a feminism flare to it. I adore Johnny Depp (and don’t care if he is as liberal as the world turns) and the special effects were awesome. Johnny’s big eyes, Red Queen’s big head, dad from Back to the Future as the bad guy knight, it was all just pretty freaking awesome if you ask me.
I didn’t feel preached to, I felt entertained and that’s why I went to the movies in the first place.
If you ask me, to protest this is about as dumb as the pro-abortionists protesting Horton hears a who for the ‘life is a life no matter how small’ business. It’s a kids movie!
Dang skippy that Johnny Depp. He’s one hell of an actor, regardless of what he thinks personally or politically.
Considering the original Alice tale was about the object of affection of an old man to his 12 year old pedophelic crush, I didn’t find the original charming either.
I agree with your post 100%. All of it because I enjoyed Avatar too.
I don’t agree...but we are all entitled to our opinions.
That’s weird. I read the whole Schlussel column, and she wasn’t able to work in a slam of Sarah Palin in the whole thing.
Yes, but he keeps bringing his lame @$$ back over here to make movies so he can make lots more money and then continue to spout about how terrible this country is.
Where does he continue to do that? He’s not a very public celeb.
Too many people post 1964 think that all “children’s” stories and songs should be pablum. ACT Action For Children’s Television among them.
until he needs to come back for the American dollar...let him stay there.
Do you think anyone who moves from the U.S. is should not sell their product here?
No....I think commie pinkos who leave the country because they hate it should not sell their products here.
He didn’t leave the country because he hates it. He left to move to his wife’s country of residence. He’s said as much.
NOOOOOOOOO....Not at all!
The 40-year-old actor, who stars in the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” told the German news magazine Stern he was happier staying in the south of France with his wife, the French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis, and their two children.
“America is dumb, it's like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive,” he said.
“My daughter is four, my boy is one. I'd like them to see America as a toy, a broken toy. Investigate it a little, check it out, get this feeling and then get out,” said the star of the off-beat films “Edward Scissorhands” and “Dead Man.”
Depp slammed George W. Bush's administration for its criticism of French opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
“I was ecstatic they re-named ‘French Fries’ as ‘Freedom Fries’. Grown men and women in positions of power in the U.S. government showing themselves as idiots,” he told Stern.
We're watching this very scenario with Hussein.
On the other hand, if a 'foreign entity' entered our land to overthrow the Commies and return this country to its constitutional roots, I'd be joining them!
That’s an old interview which Depp has since disavowed.
And usually when you do hear about him in the news it is for doing something laudable. You never hear about him doing the things typical of celebrities. By all accounts he is a good father and “domestic partner”. If the worst thing about someone is that they disagree with me about politics then they are still a pretty good person in my book.
and of course you believe the new story because you like his acting.
I see.
It’s instructive to go back and read the unexpurgated Grimm’s Fairy Tales. They’re hair-raising, much more horrific than anything Wagner tried to concoct. Kids loved ‘em.
I loved the old WB cartoons far more than the Disney ones, which I watched as sedatives when I felt...reflective. When I felt alive, I watched Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Tweety, et al. And they brought the mayhem. I loved it.
I’m no critic of Dodgson’s work. I kind of liked the books and have rarely enjoyed any of the movie versions (they move like that commercial where the swimmers dive into a pool filled with caramel). Burton has realigned the plot, made it connected (it still isn’t linear), introduced a few neat character arcs (how about that Bandersnatch, eh?) and finished it with a classic bar fight. Sure the FX were minimal, but I didn’t mind. It’s okay.
And last...I cheered inside when she x-o’d the rich slug. It wasn’t marriage she was rejecting, it was being shoehorned into tyranny, you know, like we all are here in the US right now. I feel like Alice, being made to marry a health care system I absolutely loathe and have every contempt for. If I could find a rabbit hole to fall into I’d do it now.
How’s that for external allusions, eh? Anyone wanna figure Burton really meant that?
Pretty much nailed it. Avatar is visually brilliant, but the plot line is thin and the dialouge is quite weak.
But for me, the sculptor's skill overpowered the deficiencies of the story. Perhaps I was just willing to allow myself to get carried away in it's beauty.
Plus, she was beautiful in the movie, even as an animation:
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