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Tim
Burton’s take on
Alice
in Wonderland
isn’t so much his
take, as it is his
advancement. In the
original story Alice
left Wonderland
after going through
her journey through
it as a young girl.
Now she’s entering
Wonderland again,
but this time she’s
a young woman.
Alice
is dealing with the
struggles of a young
woman in the 19th
century. She’s
expected to marry a
man and be a woman
of the house for the
rest of her life but
she struggles with
the idea because
she’s a very
independent person.
When her
arranged-fiancé
Hamish proposes to
her, she freaks out
and runs into the
woods. She went down
the hole again and
she’s launched back
into Wonderland.
In
Wonderland things
have taken a turn
for the worse since
Alice last visited.
The Red Queen’s rule
is ongoing and she’s
worse than she was
before. The
creatures of
Wonderland are under
great strife and are
forced to deal with
the wicked queen’s
silly temperament
and evil doings. But
there is hope.
There’s a prophecy
of Alice returning
to the land to free
the people from the
Red Queen and
install the White
Queen into power.
When Alice arrives
she journeys through
the land not
remembering the
first time she was
there, wondering why
she can’t wake up
from her dream, and
trying to convince
the creatures of the
land that she’s not
the person that they
need her to be.
Tim
Burton’s movies are
hit or miss with a
lot of people. You
either love his work
or you hate it. Like
Big
Fish,
this is a Tim Burton
exception. It’s a
dark movie, but it’s
cheery subject
matter and attitude
make it a surprising
film for a lot of
people. All that
means is that
people, who hate Tim
Burton movies, might
not love this movie…
but they might
actually like it. If
you love the
director’s work then
this film will be
one of your
favorites from him.
Just
like they have so
many times before,
Johnny Depp and Tim
Burton team up with
the movie. Depp
takes on the role of
the Mad Hatter and
he’s fantastic. He
implements a very
well thought out
version of the
character and he
makes him an insane
but lovable
character. It’s not
Depp’s best
performance or even
one of his best
performances, but
it’s really just
more stellar work by
one of the
generation’s best
actors. Helena
Bonham Carter also
works on another Tim
Burton project, this
time she’s the Red
Queen. In her
typical fashion
she’s great too.
It’s hard to be
goofy and evil at
the same time, yet
she pulls it off.
Mia
Wasikowska
is spectacular as
Alice. It’s rough in
the beginning of the
movie because it’s
hard to connect with
her in the setting
that she’s in, but
as soon as she goes
to Wonderland she’s
a million times
better and really
the best part of the
movie.
The Blu-Ray combo
pack version of this
film comes with a
DVD and a Blu-Ray of
the movie to go
along with a digital
copy. With the
packaging it makes
no sense why people
even buy normal DVDs
anymore because the
value of it is too
good to pass up. The
extra content on the
Blu-Ray is stellar
with this release.
You get great
insight from the
digital effects
people, effects
people, and the
actors on the
interpretation of
the characters in
the movie and then
you get some good
featurettes on
making the movie
including how they
dealt with Alice
constantly having to
change sizes in the
movie. Really it’s
one of the best Blu-Rays
for bonus content
that is out there.
Alice
in Wonderland
is one of Burton’s
better movies. Not
just because it’s a
movie that everybody
can like and not
just the people in
his camp, but
because he took a
story that’s
treasured by a lot
of people and made a
new story while not
effecting the
original content.
It’s an amazing
accomplishment when
you think about it.
Alice
in Wonderland
might not be the
best Burton movie,
but it is his most
universal and it’s a
movie that everyone
can enjoy.
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