First -- and this is a Hollywood studio problem, it's not fair to hang it on the film -- is that it seemed instantly derivative of several other recent retellings. Alice had just been redone, as had Wizard of Oz. Burton's Alice seemed far too similar. I know that's because of how a script will circulate for years before being made, then when it is it's made three times, but I couldn't help the feeling while watching it.

The second problem was with the visuals. Yes, it was seamless, but I got the feeling that he made the CGI look more "real" by making the real things look more fake. There was a persistent uncanny valley-ness to it. And not in the uncomfortable way Burton would have liked, but a low grade annoyance with the artifice of it.