Alice In Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland
2010 - Walt Disney Pictures
Directed By Tim Burton



SYNOPSIS

Alice (Mia Wasilkowska) has dreamed about a magical place since she was a little girl. Now 20, and while being asked for her hand in (what would be a loveless) marriage, she spots a rabbit in a coat and follows him and tumbles down a hole, winding up in the land she only dreamed about... but it seems it was no dream.



MY THOUGHTS

Literary purists may cry foul, but Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll classic is a feast for the eyes.

Alice In Wonderland is my first foray into the 'new' rage of 3-D films. Not having seen anything in 3-D, apart from some theme park attractions, this was a very new and very eye-opening experience. I was blown away. Fantasy CG-heavy films like this are the perfect material for 3-D.

The visuals are amazing and I highly doubt Grace Slick was seeing anything as stunning when she wrote Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit (no doubt while chemically-enhanced!)

The story is somewhat lacking. It's set up as a sort of sequel with Alice several years older, yet when she arrives back in Wonderland or (as it's called here Underland) the film is a rehash of some of the best moments in the original. Also the roles of the Red Queen and The Mad Hatter are beefed up to showcase two of Tim Burton's most oft-used stars
Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter deliver two of the most entertaining characters of the film.
Carter's Red Queen looks the closest to Sir John Tenniel's drawings in the original book than in any previous screen version. She steals practically every scene she's in with her delightfully hammy performance.
Depp is also strong and adds more depth to the Mad Hatter than was there in the original text. The way Depp changes the Hatter's voice and accent really show a character that may be genuinely mad with multiple personalities... but the Hatter's personality never changes. That just leaves me confused.
The emphasis of these two characters ultimately derails the pace of the film.

Frequent Burton collaborators Christopher Lee and Michael Gough also provide voices. They are barely heard, along with dozens of other great actors who all seem to be providing support to Depp and Carter.

It's a wonder why it's taken Tim Burton 25 years of film-making to finally put Crispin Glover in a film. The actor's unusual quirkiness is right at home with Burton's band of actors. Though the

I highly recommend seeing this in 3-D. I imagine the film's faults would be far more evident if viewed in standard 2-D.