2010’s Alice in Wonderland was the movie that started Disney’s trend of live-action movie remakes, and, despite its failings, it still holds up 15 years after its release for one big reason. Directed by Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland was a live-action reimagining of the famous literary works by Lewis Carroll. Alice’s cast led by Mia Wasikowska and Anne Hathaway, and included Tim Burton favorites Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was a box office hit, earning $1.025 billion worldwide, making it the highest-earning Tim Burton movie of all-time.

While not ranking among Disney’s highest-grossing movies due to franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, Alice in Wonderland is one of Disney’s highest-grossing remakes. Earning $1 billion at the box office is no easy feat, and a sequel was greenlit and released in 2016. However, more importantly, Alice in Wonderland sparked an opportunity for Disney to capitalize on live-action remakes as it was evident that they would make bank at the box office. Whether that holds true today is debatable, but Alice in Wonderland’s inspiration for Disney’s future ventures and Tim Burton’s live-action success still holds up today.

Alice In Wonderland’s Live-Action Remake Feels Like A Tim Burton Movie

Tim Burton’s Flair Can Be Clearly Seen In The 2010 Remake

When Alice in Wonderland was released, most audiences expected a live-action adaptation that would feel like a variant of previous versions, like the 1951 Disney classic. However, Alice in Wonderland’s live-action remake felt different. The 2010 dark fantasy adventure felt more like the work of Tim Burton than a Disney movie, with its bizarre visuals and wacky premise touching on themes that are prominent in the director’s other works. Burton’s creativity in Alice in Wonderland was praised by a dreams expert for being an accurate portrayal of nightmares and a dream-like state, befitting the movie’s premise.

Alice in Wonderland’s dark fantasy tone and stray away from the source material helped the movie feel less like a Disney film and more like Tim Burton’s own project due to its more mature quality, and this contributed to its box office success. However, surprisingly, Alice in Wonderland still suffered from bad ratings, scoring a shocking 50% Tomatometer and 55% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. As a result, although the Tim Burton movie inspired future Disney remakes because of its impressive box office, Alice in Wonderland unfortunately started a long list of live-action Disney remakes with a Rotten Tomatoes rating problem.

Tim Burton Adding His Flair To Alice In Wonderland Made It More Than A Live-Action Remake

Alice In Wonderland Felt More Mature Due To Tim Burton

Alice in Wonderland is not Tim Burton’s only movie remake as the director has remade a few films, including 2001’s Planet of the Apes and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Much like his own original stories, Tim Burton’s remakes all appear to have the same strange Burton flair to them that has made the gothic fanatic so famous. This effect is achieved through a number of methods, although the most obvious Burton flair for Alice in Wonderland is the inclusion of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, who have both been long-time collaborators of Tim Burton.

Other characteristics of Tim Burton movies include the use of Danny Elfman for the movie’s score, Colleen Atwood as costume designer, characters with pale skin and wide eyes, over-the-top nature scenes, and themes of childhood and exclusion. These attributes can all be seen in Alice in Wonderland. Tim Burton’s attention to detail and purposeful creativity made Alice in Wonderland stand out as more than a remake, allowing it to exist separately from the source material. This dedicated approach by Burton made the 2010 movie effective and highlights the possible reason why modern Disney live-action remakes have not been as successful.

Burton’s Second Disney Remake Had Way More Problems Than Alice In Wonderland

Dumbo Was Considerably Worse Than Tim Burton’s First Disney Remake

Although Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland had a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, there was something to be said for the effort in its crafting of a commercially successful reimagining of the well-loved Disney classic. The same cannot be said for Tim Burton’s second Disney remake. 2019’s live-action remake of Dumbo only earned $353 million at the box office worldwide against a $170 million budget and scored a 46% Tomatometer and 47% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes, showcasing a clear difference compared to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland was considerably better than Dumbo, especially as the latter caused Tim Burton to stop collaborating with Disney as a result of the movie’s failure. In an interview with Variety in 2024, Tim Burton reflected on Dumbo and the movie’s critical reviews, stating that “Honestly, after Dumbo, I really didn’t know. I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired.” Therefore, in contrast, Alice in Wonderland had considerably fewer problems, and its significance in inspiring future Disney live-action remakes (despite their questionable qualities) demonstrates that the film still holds up.