(The biggest grin in the world)Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Michael Sheen, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry & Matt Lucas
Directed by: Tim Burton
Screenplay by: Linda Woolverton
Plot:
19 year-old Alice returns to the magical place from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and discovers her true destiny; to end the terrible reign of the Red Queen.
Verdict:
If you are looking for a bang on faithful adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, this is not where you will find it. On paper, Burton and Carroll is a tasty looking partnership but this re-imagining is pure Burton.
When Alice ventures down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, the twisted and fantastical world Alice finds herself in, is straight from the imaginative mind of Burton; especially the eerie floating heads river that Alice must cross at one point in the film.
Because of this approach, the story is very thing and the plot moves along without any real purpose, we basically jump from one scene to the next without any major plot or character developments. Alice's journey is very straightforward and happens so fast you will barely noticed she has even taken it. However Mia Wasikowska is convincing enough in her transformation from sweet and innocent lost girl to Jabberwocky slayer.
The game cast including a host of British character actors are mostly great with some standout vocal work from the likes of Michael Sheen and Stephen Fry (perfectly cast as the Cheshire Cat). Anne Hathaway is sadly wasted though with very little screen time. Johnny Depp, once again on eccentric duty for Burton, nails The Mad Hatter with ease, entirely defining the 'Mad' in his name. To Depp's credit, he manages to add some emotional weight to the character as well; but the Futterwack! dance is just, wrong.
Alice In Wonderland also the marks the first film in the wake of Avatar, to seamlessly combine live action and animation, which is fitting seeing as it has amazingly beaten Avatar's record for the highest grossing opening weekend in North America; but if it goes on to beat Avatar's overall box-office takings then ill happily do the Futterwack! myself.
DDD
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