Corner Post Movie Review
Get lost in Wonderland with Alice

by Kristy Tiesing, posted May 6, 2010

After hearing some negative comments on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, I didn’t know what to expect when walking into the theatre. The film was done in 3D and I was interested to see what that would add to the experience. My only other 3D encounter was another Tim Burton film, A Nightmare Before Christmas. Coming out of that showing I thought the 3D took away from the story and was not very satisfied.

But I had high hopes for Alice In Wonderland, as it is one of my favorite Disney movies. This brings up another point to consider when going to see the new Alice In Wonderland — it is not the same as the original.

The story starts off rather slowly depicting Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, in a real life experience as she is about to be proposed to by a lord whom she does not want to marry. This scenario leads into Alice running away from the lord, following the white rabbit into the rabbit hole that is Wonderland.

This is where the movie really begins to pick up. The images of the fall seem like they are coming at you as the 3D finally takes effect. It adds a whole new depth to the movie as the audience feels as though they are falling also.

“The 3D brought it to a whole new level I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Katie Noll said. As the fall comes to an end and Alice figures out how to open the door that leads to Wonderland the images take you by surprise. The colors and atmosphere of Wonderland are electric. Alice is miniature and the effect creates giant mushrooms and wisps of smoke and fog floating through the air. It was everything I had pictured the first time I read the book.

These intense images kept up throughout the movie as you moved through Wonderland to the Red Queen’s castle, the tea party with the Mad Hatter, the White Queen’s castle and all the trails in between. Throughout Alice’s journey all the familiar characters are present; the Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp, the Red Queen played by Helena Bonham Carter, the White Queen played by Anne Hathaway, Tweedledee and Tweedledum played by Matt Lucas, the Cheshire Cat played by Stephen Fry, the White Rabbit played by Michael Sheen, the Blue Caterpillar played by Alan Rickman and the Dormouse played by Barbara Windsor.

“The actors were all really in tune with the original personality of the characters. Johnny Depp brought a good quirkiness to the Mad Hatter,” Ashley Ziegelmeier said. Johnny Depp was, as expected, an excellent choice for the Mad Hatter. Depp is a master at accurately depicting characters that are a little out of the ordinary. But Wasikowska lacked a certain something in her performance of Alice. It seemed as though whenever the movie would build up to a defining moment with the character of Alice you were a little let down when she opened her mouth and used the same monotone you had heard throughout the movie.

If I had any complaint, it would be with the storyline itself. It does not follow the same plot as the original, or as the book. It is told as a sequel to Alice’s original visit to Wonderland. In Tim Burton’s rendition Alice has returned as an adult and thinks of her first visit as only a dream. Not that the new storyline was bad, there was just no real connection to the characters, there was never an emotional tie made between Alice and the people of Wonderland, she only had a vague memory of them in the past that didn’t provide any substance.

As a whole I would rate the experience as one not to miss. The sounds, images and atmosphere added in with the Wonderland characters creates a fantasy land you will love to get lost in.

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