It may just be the most anticipated movie of the year (so far). It’s been teasing us with leaks of pics, the trailer and the lure of our main man Johnny Depp. Oh how long I have been waiting to see this movie. As an avid Alice In Wonderland fan, (I even used to dress up and have tea parties with my stuffed bunnies as a wee lass) let’s just say I was excited to see this at the very least. To see it weeks before everyone else, AND at the El Capitan theatre, was now a dream come true.
We all remember the story from the cartoon, if you’ve read the book; we all know that story as well. What a lot of people don’t’ realize, is that this isn’t the same Disney movie or a remake of the first cartoon. Tim Burton takes us to an Alice in Wonderland that is set 13 years after the first time Alice was there. Alice is 19 years old and falls down the same rabbit hole she did once before only to find herself in a changed Underland. Yes, Underland, not Wonderland where on her first visit, she mistakenly thought that was the correct way to say it. There in Underland, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) reunites with her childhood friends, the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), the Dormouse, the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and the brilliantly crazy, Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Instead of just trying to get out of the whimsical world, Alice is now on a journey to find her true destiny, where the world is under reign of the terrible Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). After reuniting with her companions, Alice travels to fight the Red Queen and the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) to restore the crown to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). I’ll stop there and leave the rest for you to see.
Going into starting production of the movie Tim Burton wasn’t even very fond of the story of Alice in Wonderland-shocking. He says,
“There’s been so many versions and for me I’ve never seen a version that I really liked. So I didn’t feel like there was a definitive version to me that we were fighting against.”
Tim Burton on how the Lewis Carroll version influenced him:
“I’m from Burbank so we never heard about Alice in Wonderland except for the cartoon, Tom Petty Video, Jefferson airplane. It was interesting because that’s what made me realize the power of it. I got my introduction from other illustrators and music and culture and writers and the imagery would come up in others work. That’s when you start to delve into and realize how powerful it is and it remains that way.”
As a true fan of the book and the Disney classic, I thought I would be set up to be disappointed. What surprised me was the depth of the characters and the performances of not only the magnificent Johnny Depp, but of Mia Wasikowska as Alice. I can honestly say that each character was brilliant, and not one was disappointing. The Hatter’s sadness, the White Queen’s mysterious darkness, the Red Queen’s need for acceptance, Alice’s vulnerability, and each and every talking animal had something inviting that you felt for them emotionally. Each character has something that you can connect and relate to. Seeing it in 3D was also a dramatic, fantastical thing. Hat’s off to Ken Ralston for creating such a magical world. It was truly unbelievable. They filmed most of the scenes all through green screens and digitally enhanced every feature. Crispin Glover’s character, Stayne, the Knave of hearts was a 7 foot 6 digitally made man, where they only used his head from the takes and digitally made his body for the film. Tweedles was also all digitally made and only Matt Lucas’ head was used. It really is in AMAZING 3D and there’s no other way to see it.
So how was it? Overall, I absolutely loved this movie. For Tim Burton, I thought it wasn’t as dark as his movies usually are. It was very well done, the story fits and you’re thoroughly entertained the entire time. The best part is learning and experiencing the witty characters. Learning about each character has really taken me down the rabbit hole and don’t be hesitant to see how far it goes. This is definitely a movie to see or in this case it’s an experience, in 3D and if possible in IMAX. Bring your friends and family, you may be seeing it more than once. Just writing about it has made me want to see it again ASAP. So if you’ll excuse me, I have to find a bootleg of the movie until it comes out. Let’s face it though, you can put Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in a movie about a turd and a water fountain and I’d see it.
Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Movies
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