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"Have I gone mad?"

 
the plot

As a child, Alice Kingsleigh was often bothered by the same horrible dream.  She would tell her father of falling down a deep deep hole and then meeting strange creatures in an enchanted forest such as white rabbits, disappearig cats and a pipe-smoking catepillar. She would worry aloud to her father that she thinks she is losing her mind, which her father would reply that it was good news as 'all the best people are mad.'  Now Alice is 19 years old and one special day, at her own engagement party, she finds herself being lured away by a little white rabbit holding a watch before Hamish could make his public proposal to her.  As she is following the rabbit, she follows him to a hole in the ground by a tree, which she accidentally falls into.  Over the thirteen years that it's been since she fell down the hole the first time, she has had dreams of falling down this hole, and meeting strange characters.  Now that she is falling again, and meeting all of the same people, her memory is cloudy.  The people of Underland are not even sure if the rabbit had lured the right Alice down there because she doesn't remember.

She meets all of her old friends (who she has now forgotten) Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Absolem the Blue Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, March Hare and of course The Mad Hatter.  They tell her that she was brought back to Underland because it was foretold that only she could defeat the Red Queen's Jabberwocky dragon.  In her quest to find the sword to slay the Jabberwocky, the Mad Hatter is captured by the Red Queen and taken prisoner to her castle.  Alice wants to first help the Hatter go free before she begins her quest, and she also is staying at the castle but under a false pseudonym of Um.

She is filled in on what had happened since she had left Underland, and although it seems impossible to complete such a task of killing a giant dragon, she still soldiers on.  Will Alice be able to slay the Jabberwocky and restore the White Queen to her rightful throne, which was stolen by her sister Red Queen all those years ago?  Find out when you watch Alice In Wonderland.    

 
the breakdown

I wasn't expecting much from Tim Burton's latest vision for Disney from the mixed reviews from Epinions.  It turns out that I am in the camp of viewers who loved it.  Johnny Depp's performance as The Mad Hatter is probably my favorite role so far of all of the films he had starred in.  He has given the character fathoms of depth, and his take was entertaining, disturbing and moving.  It was Depp's presence that totally made the movie so fantastic.  I wasn't familiar with Mia Wasikowska until this film.  Her performance was fine but generic in the way that just about any young actress could have played the part of Alice as well.  Matt Lucas is another actor whose work I haven't come across.  His face seems to be a well-fitting image to play the dual role of Tweedledee and Tweedledum.  He has very funny mannerisms, and he himself was witty. 

I found it fitting that this was a Disney film, as it served as a sequel to the original Disney animated film of the same name from 1951.  Also because it was a Disney film, it may have nudged director Tim Burton to curb the usual type of dark and gothic look from this film, and mirror the 1951 setting more than I thought it would.  Sure, there were still a couple of his trees with the curly-branches left over from movies like A Nightmare Before Christmas, but most of the main scenes looked very familiar.  It was nice to see the recognizable tea party setting with the Hatter and the March Hare.  The wooded area seemed right with the talking flowers, the blue caterpillar and of course the Cheshire Cat.  Here, the Cat's smile was longer, making it a bit creepy that suited Burton's tastes, but it was still faithful enough to Disney's first version so as not to upset the hardcore fans such as myself.           

The film took on a story of good vs evil in the guise of Red Queen vs White Queen.  The two queens were sisters, but the Red Queen had stolen the crown from her sister a few years ago and had turned Underland into a horrible wasteland and filled with terrorized citizens who are scared to death of this Red Queen.  It kind of mirrors The Lion King in that regard, when Scar had stolen the rule of the land away from Simba.  This comparison makes sense since both films have the same writer, Linda Woolverton.          


There is some fantasy violence with a Jabberwocky, a Bandersnatch and a flying Jubub, however this kind of violence may produce a bit of squirming.  I think it's still OK for the kids, but the younger ones around six or seven may get bored, around nine years old they may get as into the film as you.  Amidst all of the wondrous and imaginative scenery and the nonsense Lewis Carroll-inspired language, the main draw for me ended up being the amazing performance of Depp.  Looking at the pictures on the advertising, I wouldn't have dreamed that it would affect me the way it did as it all seems just a bit gimmicky with the makeup, the costumes and the computer illustrations.  I highly recommend this new vision of Alice in Wonderland for all.  Hopefully the 3D version will look awesome in our home theaters when it finally arrives.



Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Directed by: Tim Burton (Batman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure)
Written by: Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King), Lewis Carroll (book)
Starring:  Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment, The Kids Are Alright) Johnny Depp (Corpse Bride, Pirates of the Caribbean) Helena Bonham Carter (Corpse Bride, Fight Club), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married, Get Smart)
Length:  108 minutes
Released: 03/05/2010
Rated: PG  (violence, somewhat frightening imagery)
Rating: 4½ stars
 
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Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Family Movie