Yeah, the dance scene is no good, and the 3-D is hot and cold, though I think it works tremendously well in the final battle scene and in Alice's initial approach to the Red Queen's Castle.
Regardless, the narrative was compelling and the world came to life. Having the advantage of reinventing the Carrol classic, and seeing what has lasted from the Disney adaptation, Burton really placed the most compelling figures front and center, though I would have loved to see more from the Cheshire Cat. Just watching him move was fantastic. The film looked so beautiful too, and certain breaks from the traditional Burton aesthetic while still maintaining all the wonderful imagination. I think back to films that create worlds and the ones that jump out are Miyazaki and Pixar. With the possible exception of Nemo, and even then I don't think it's very close, Burton brings this world to life in such a marvelous way. It's certainly better than the worlds in Ponyo, Wall*E, and Cars. Perhaps almost as much as Pandora even.
Speaking of Avatar, that film's action sequences work because the characters fighting look so different from one another, and I was glad to see this film make use of that technique as well. The battle scene wasn't great, though I don't think it was dreadfully bad either, but it was incredibly easy to follow. After I formulated an opinion I went back and checked out some reviews. I think Ebert says it felt like the studio reaching in and suffocating the artist. I mostly agree there.
The film was a lot funnier than I expected as well, and pretty dark for a PG film. The creepy sexual tension that was going on between Alice and the Hatter was really well handled as well. I appreciated the Wizard of Oz esque manner with which they handled the blending of the two worlds as well, though they drew too much attention to it when Alice got back to the real world.
The heads in the moat were so intense as well! And the part where the Hatter was walking through the forest reciting the poem was pretty marvelous as well. Depp does a Hell of a job in his role, and Mia is pretty great as well. Burton makes really interesting use of the camera too, which is great, though I was struck as odd because unlike just about every other Burton film this one doesn't really have that spectacular opening sequence. Like the openings for Big Fish, Todd, Batman Returns, and even Beetlejuice are so iconic and memorable, and mostly high energy. This film was a bit more reserved in the intro, though that made the chase after the rabbit all the more interesting.
Such a great spin on the tale as well. I like this film the more I think about it, though it also makes the bad parts stand out that much more, I suppose. Especially since the only bad parts come at the end of the film. Still, another great effort from Burton, even if it's not one of his best films.