Comparing the Marvelous Worlds of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Avatar” (2010)

How “Alice in Wonderland” beats “Avatar” in all things but the box office

I thought I would take everyone down the figurative rabbit-hole to contemplate a land of wondrous delights.

So let us explore the dual magical realms of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Avatar.” Both were huge box office successes in their own right and introduced us to the wonder of new worlds teasing our imaginations. Through the use of cutting-edge 3-D technology, they were simply spectacular. They were visual feasts for the eyes. Besides the obvious (they were filmed in 3-D), these films had a lot more similarities than most viewers may have realized. But I would like to propose that even in all its dazzling display “Avatar” does not measure up to the more richly layered and fulfilling “Alice in Wonderland.”

Grand Adventure

Both films offered grand adventures in their own right. Alice fell down a rabbit hole and landed in Wonderland. Jake Sully took a cryogenic space nap to the outer fringes of space and awoke in a world more glorious than anything he had ever imagined. Alice was immediately embraced as the savior and champion of Wonderland; and, while Jake was initially reluctantly welcomed to learn the ways of the reclusive Na’vi, he too ultimately became the inadvertent savior of the Na’vi. We watched them as they took their first tentative steps in a whole new world, found their footing and then proceeded to make each world their own. However, no matter how grand the adventure, Alice knew her place. She rose to the occasion and defended Wonderland and returned it to its rightful heirs. Jake, on the other hand, intoxicated by the Na’vi life, took control and proclaimed himself as ruler of the Na’vi. Alice conquered the enemy, but left ruling for those better suited. Jake relished his conquest and yielded nothing. In the end, both embraced the invitation to help free a foreign land from oppression and tyranny. But only Alice gave up the power bestowed upon her. Jake held onto the power granted him greedily.

Family Viewing

So while both films were fairly well suited in terms of offering grand adventure, “Alice in Wonderland” is the clear winner as far as being the more suitable film for the entire family. “Alice in Wonderland” offered a story of a girl on the cusp of womanhood running away from an unexpected and unwanted marriage proposal. “Avatar” offered a story of a young man running away from his wheelchair bound existence. But “Alice” portrayed charm and innocence in a land of wonder where a young woman topples a totalitarian regime. “Avatar” was about harsh realities of corporate greed stripping the land of its resources and stealing it from a docile group of people followed by one man’s crusade to lead a brutal battle. Both were about one person leading a people to fight for their right to live free, but “Alice” did it with minimal bloodshed and loss of life. “Alice” was easily the family-friendly film over “Avatar’s” adult themes involving war fare with mass gunfire, explosions, and sexual situations – and thus was not intended for full family viewing.

No Senseless-Killing

In “Avatar,” there were many lives lost, including beloved characters with whom the audience bonded, such as Grace and Trudy, both killed engaging in battle with the humans. In “Alice,” there was no such loss of life. All of Alice’s new friends were accounted for in the end and the audience did not have to mourn unnecessarily. It is rather a relief to enjoy a major action film and not have to reach for a tissue. So many films feel the need to kill off characters, and beloved characters at that, to make the film feel more real. But film makers are forgetting one thing, when depicting fantasy films, it is not supposed to feel real. In fact, everything about “Alice in Wonderland” and “Avatar,” felt unreal. They were simply too beautiful and magical to be real. So there was no need to kill off the character’s friends which the audience liked just to ratchet up the emotional resonance.  Plus, with both films already scheduled to be followed by sequels, it is frustrating to viewers who want their cherished characters to be in the next film.

Retained Humanity

One of the more glaring differences between the two films was the diametrically opposed paths that Alice and Jake Sully chose in the end. Both rescued their oppressed people; but Alice chose to return to her world and her people in the end — Jake did not. Jake rejected his human existence and chose to become one of the Na’vi permanently. He turned his back on his humanity and embraced life as an alien. Alice, on the other hand, took the wisdom gained from her experiences and embraced her human existence – albeit on her own terms. It was off-putting to the audience when Jake chose to give up his human existence; whereas, we cheered for Alice’s growth in the strong young woman ready to take a stand for what she believed she should do with her life. Jake could have gotten his legs fixed, but he instead chose to give up and join an entirely different species. Alice never saw her humanness as a disability and welcomed it as part of who she was.  She is a person with whom we all still relate and cheer for.  She is still one of us.

Life Lessons

Both Alice and Jake were lost people in the beginning of their journeys. Alice was indecisive about whether she should get married. Jake was not sure whether he wanted his military life back. Both just wanted to escape from the hard decisions they were faced with. They were just both lucky that an opportunity presented itself to grant their wish: they both got to live in a magic world for a time and re-think their life goals and aspirations. They were tested and tried and forged into better, stronger people. They emerged more self-determined and self-realized than when they began their inadvertent journeys. So, in terms of life lessons, both Alice and Jake learned to be better people. They were no longer mindless followers, but fearless leaders. The difference being that Alice took what she learned and used it to shape the life she wanted back in her world. Jake ran away from his human existence and only took what he learned to integrate further into the lives of the Na’vi. Who was braver in the end? The person who returned to what they were running away from; or the person who kept running away. The sure winner is Alice, as she was clearly the stronger of the two. She was not a heralded champion in her world, but she was still willing to return and face the consequences of her decision to run away and to turn down a marriage proposal that her family was pushing upon her. Thus, Alice was the braver of the two and learned more in the process.

Political Message

“Alice in Wonderland” and “Avatar” both had political messages, but “Alice” was better at embedding it into the storyline so that it was not beating the audience over the head with it. “Avatar” very clearly wanted to address the ecological erosion of the Amazon forests and how corporate greed prevails over planet preservation. But “Alice,” despite being about a young woman who takes down a brutal regime, seemed more focused on the what Alice learned in the process. It was her journey into adulthood that was the real message; toppling the strangle-hold of the Red Queen was just a bonus. “Avatar” was more focused on the political message than the person carrying it. Jake could have been anyone. He was the everyman who just wanted out of his life. “Avatar” wanted to remind the viewer acutely of the environmental exploitation themes, but “Alice” just wanted to tell the story of a young woman’s transition into adulthood. So in that sense, “Alice” was the more inventive tale of incorporating its political theme without making it cloyingly obvious.

Matters of the Heart

Another area which “Alice in Wonderland” simply excelled was in its love story. In fact, it was probably so subtle that most people overlooked it. Yet “Alice” was at its core a love-story. It was not about Alice falling in love. It was about the Mad Hatter’s love for Alice. From the second she returned to Wonderland, the Hatter knew her instantly. He also did not hesitate to protect her and threw himself directly into harm’s way to keep her safe – even if it meant enslaving himself to the Red Queen. However, in “Avatar,” the love story was again pushed upon the audience and seemed to be offered as justification for Jake abandoning his own kind. Jake fell in love with Neytiri. But it was always doubtful whether he was more in love with her than with the life living amongst the Na’vi offered. He admired her; he wanted to be like her; and he was attracted to her.  But more than anything, he desperately wanted to shed his own life and be one of the Na’vi. But was that a love story, or more of a story of attraction? In “Alice,” the love the Hatter had for Alice transcended the limitations of their existences. He knew that he could not keep Alice in Wonderland and he did not even try to compel or persuade her to stay. He knew instinctively that she was only visiting for a short while and kept his feelings to himself. But credit goes to Johnny Depp in his very subtly nuanced performance in that you could see from every look on his face that he was painfully in love – though still mad as a hatter. He would do anything for Alice and it nearly broke his heart when he let her go in the end. But that was true love, he let her go to chose her own destiny. It was heart-melting and heart-rendering all at once.

No matter how grand the created-worlds were, one sure fire test about whether one film is better than another is it a film that you will buy and put in your DVD collection. As visually stunning as “Avatar” was, it was a once in a lifetime experience. It did not bear repeating. “Alice in Wonderland,” on the other hand, is a film that you could watch over and over again and find even more humorous and delicious tid-bits to enjoy. It was embedded with Easter egg moments just for the fans. From the Cheshire Cat to the White Rabbit to the Blue Caterpillar, there was so much to enjoy and think about. “Alice” simply reveled in the diversity of its characters and made sure that they would be around for the next grand adventure – and that makes “Alice in Wonderland” timeless. We will wonder if Alice will return and when. Will all these cherished characters be there to greet her and what wondrous adventures will they embark upon next.

So, in the end, “Avatar” was a magnificent film, but it was constrained by its lack of vision and foresight. After all, Jake can only save the planet once. But Alice can return time and time again to play amongst the zany creatures of Wonderland. “Alice” invited us to enjoy a brief escape from our lives and we will certainly look forward to its gilded invitation the next time it comes around.