Movie Monday: Alice in Wonderland

Let me give you the first reaction I had when I walked out of Alice in Wonderland:
I never thought I'd see the Mad Hatter attack another man with a bastard sword.

That said, there were many things I found quite charming about this new take on the Disney interpretation of Lewis Carroll's classic. It had all the hallmarks of a Tim Burton film (desolate scenery, generally dim lighting, really weird monsters, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, etc.), but was generally cheerier than most of Burton's recent work (I'm looking at you, Sweeney Todd).

The film is sort of an alternate-universe sequel to the original Disney film, but is not a Through the Looking Glass interpretation. Rather, it is an entirely new story in which Alice returns to Wonderland through the rabbit hole but has no recollection of her previous visit.

Sadly, Wonderland is in trouble, and the rabbit in the waistcoat has gone to get her so that she can save them all from the Red Queen. Alice begins a quest for self-discovery and direction (and also to find out what the hell is going on in this unknown world full of monsters and Scottish-sounding animals).

The filmmaking is vintage Burton, but with an unusually panoramic twist. At many points, the frame is full of bright colors, pretty images, and charming little sequences that I really wasn't sure ol' Tim had in his blackened, shriveled heart.

The true strength of the movie is in the cast, though. Johnny Depp unsurprisingly steals the show, but isn't the only noteworthy actor in the film. Mia Wasikowska delivered a great performance as Alice, an eccentric and free-spirited girl just trying to keep up with the strange events fate has thrown her way.

And the voice acting... Oh, the heavenly voice acting. Timothy Spall as the bloodhound Bayard. Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit. Christopher Lee (Count Dooku of Serenno, Saruman the White, Darkness in Zero himself, Christopher Lee) as the voice of the fearsome Jabberwocky. And let us not forget the king of kings, the voice that once portrayed Marvin the Paranoid Android, Alan Rickman as the voice of Absolom the blue caterpillar.

Sorry, I really like Christopher Lee and Alan Rickman.

And if the cast is starting to look like a Sweeney Todd reunion to you, well... yea. It kind of is. And I loved Sweeney Todd.

The point is, this film was amazing. I really enjoyed the story, the characters were amusing and delightful, the visual imagery was great but didn't overpower the characters or the story *cough Avatar cough* and the actors all delivered excellent performances. I know it was overly hyped because it was Tim Burton's vision of a weird children's tale, but if you don't let that blind you to the movie itself, it's actually a truly enjoyable experience.