Movie Review - Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

With the impending huge movie review of Harry Potter coming up, I wanted to get some practice in. So, I decided to go punch a goat. When that failed, I pulled up Netflix and found a movie I haven't seen yet to review. I found Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Here's the review:

There have been tons of versions of Alice in Wonderland, and everyone has their favorite. Was it the classic animated Disney version? Was it the classic '80s made-for-TV version? How about the Whoppie Goldberg one? Are you one of those pretentious people who say the book? Either way, you are familiar with the tale, and Burton adds to the list without asking you to forget your favorite in a creative movie that I can only describe as fantastical.

The movie begins with a much older Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska. Alice is stuck in a life she doesn't want, and is set to marry a man she doesn't love, when an all too familiar rabbit pops up and Alice takes that iconic tumble down the rabbit hole to "Underland." There, she meets with some old friends in the Mad Hatter, played amazingly by Johnny Depp, the Red Queen, played by a big headed Helena Bohnam Carter, and the White Queen, played by Anne Hathaway. Alice is charged with slaying the Jabberwocky and overthrowing the Red Queens reign of terror.

I really enjoyed the inside joke of the Red Queens big head, and her fake court. I liked how Alice was able to win everyone over by being the only sane person in the bunch, while being kind to everyone. And, of course, the Mad Hatter was incredibly entertaining. I still don't know why he would occasionally turn Scottish, but it was so different, it was very enjoyable.

So few movies are fantastical simply to be fantastical, and this movie is just that. The story doesn't ask you to forget those iconic incarnations of the famous story, while building it's own story that has all the same elements we know and love, such as the tea party, the cake to make you big, or the drink to make you small, and the card soldiers serving the queen. The special effects were extremely beautiful and startlingly different from what you would expect from Burton. There was tons of CGI, with very little practical effects, but it fit wonderfully with the fantasy in the movie.

The movie has everything you could ask for in a wonderful movie; great, over the top characters; beautiful special effects; a light, very subtle soundtrack and a lesson about being yourself. It was a wonderful addition to some classic renditions of the one of the more bizarre, yet well known children's stories of all time.