“Alice in Wonderland” originated as an 1865 novel written by English author Lewis Carroll. The film was illustrated into an animated film in 1951 directed by Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson. It’s 2010, and Tim Burton has continued the illustration, making it a film of great 3-D cinematography and a new magical and imaginative twist.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is no longer the little girl we once remembered her as; she is a teenager and ready for marriage. Well, maybe she is not as ready as her family wants her to be. Reluctantly standing with her soon-to-be fiancée, Alice is not only wondering why she must marry someone against her will, she will soon be wondering how such a familiar place in dreams can be so unfamiliar to what she knows as reality.
Alice never forgot her recurring childhood dreams; little does she know how real they can be. During Alice’s arranged proposal, she cannot help but recognize the rabbit hopping in and out of the bushes secretly luring her to the rabbit hole that will take her to the land of wonder she once created in her dreams.
Upon Alice’s arrival in Wonderland, she encounters the same creatures she told her father about as a child, and they are looking for the little Alice that once visited their world. This time the Red Queen has taken the terror and torment even further. Her fellow creature friends need Alice to save the land by slaying the jabberwocky and capturing the White Queen’s sword from the Red Queen’s possession by any means necessary. Alice does not believe she is the one for the job, but as she begins to understand how real Wonderland may be, she fights more willingly to save her childhood friends’ land that will eventually be her exit back home.
Burton’s version of this film is a continuation of the previous story of “Alice in Wonderland.” Many of the scenes in the film such as, Alice chasing the rabbit to the rabbit hole, becoming stuck in the room and having to eat and drink different things to become bigger and smaller, the tea party, the croquet game and many other events are very familiar to the audience that experienced this classic film as a child. The characters where replicated very well also, taking you back to the quirky animated friends that made the 1865 novel and the 1951 film a true adventure.
Sit back in your seat as director Tim Burton, Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Red Queen (Helene Carter), White Queen (Anne Hathaway), and friends in this 3 dimensional film take you on a miraculous ride with “Alice in Wonderland.” A wonderful experience you do not want to miss. Why wonder about the land when you can experience it?