Alice in Wonderland
by Tim Burton
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Johnny Depp, Mia WasikowskaDirector: Tim Burton
Brand: Walt Disney Pictures
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
Published: 2010-06-01
DVD Release Date: 2010-06-01
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Product features:
- Size approx 14" from head to feet
- officially licensed Disney plush doll
Movie Reviews of Alice in Wonderland
Movie Review: A Fantastic Triumph!
Summary: 5 Stars
Tim Burton and Lewis Carrol's "Alice" books seemed, when this project was announced, to be a perfect combination. I waited with great anticipation to see the result and I know many others did too - and I was not disappointed.
The story follows an adult Alice, who is at a crossroads after being proposed to her by a wealthy heir, but one whom she feels nothing for. At just this moment, she espies the White Rabbit, who leads her into Wonderland, a strange land that she visited in her childhood, but believed to be just a dream. There she meets the familiar characters of the Mad Hatter and his tea drinking posse, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat. They have been waiting hopefully for her return, as she is the one who will end the rule of the paranoid and violent Red Queen, a character amalgam of the Red Qeen from "Through the Looking Glass" and The Queen of Hearts from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". She eventualy becomes the champion of the benevolent but exiled White Queen and is set on a collision course with the Red Queen and her forces, including the sly and mean-spirited Knave of Hearts (who seems to amalgamate The Knave of Hearts from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and The Red Knight from "Through the Looking Glass") and the fearsome Jabberwocky, the dragon that protects the Red Queen from challenges.
Many, it sems, were disappointed with this. Some complain that it eschews the books fragmented plot in favour of a quest structure, while others complain of the lack of storyline. Burton, by his own admission focuses on characters and imagery rather than story. This is a valid approach as cinema is a visual medium - not like a novel. This being said, I was surprised that Burton was more interested in a version with a story than the fragmented original, although this may not have been his decision alone. The result, however, works. There is just enough of a story to give the characters more of a history and motivation - a feature of Burton's previous film adaptations of "Sleepy Hollow" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - in which characters were given more depth by introducing more of a back story. Yes, as many have pointed out, the film does utilise the monomyth structure as many other recent fantasy epics have - but stories do tend to use it - and this is not the first "Alice" adaptation to do so. The film has to be judged on the merits of how it achieves its own goal, and Burton's key is in using his distinctive imagination to give this "Alice" and this monomyth its own peculiar feel. Some may miss elements of Carrol's nonsensical wit that are not here, but there is sufficient essence of Carrol in the language of the characters and the confusion Alice faces in dealing with many of them. It must be remembered that much of the plot is derived from "Through the Looking Glass" which has more structure than "Alice in Wonderland". The story of "The Jabberwocky", a poem from "Through the Looking Glass" is also used in the plot structure - introducing the key folkloric motif of the special weapon - the Vorpal Sword. The brilliant result of this is in creating a new, surreal version of the monomyth filtered through the sensibilities of Carrol and Burton.
The CGI I is used sparringly and has the weighted feel of Burton's stop motion work, making it feel more real and much warmer than much of the cold, slick CGI of other films. Some say that the 3D was tacked on and not integral, I offer other adjectives: unintruseive and understated. I ddo not want to walk away from a film with my memory focused on the special effects - to me there is a great failing in the characters if this is the case. Burton's brilliant visual quality stands out in every frame of the film - beautifully tonal and detailed. Slightly gothic and with a wonderful technicolour palette.
All actors are outstanding. The CGI characters are voiced to perfection. Wasikowska is a curious and assertive presence without gushing at her surroundings like an Alice from a bad panto adaptation. Depp is a delighfully nuanced, bi-polar Mad Hatter with the right blen of whimsy and psychological damage. Bonham-Carter is a wicked Red Queen, delightfully spoiled and OTT, but also showing the damage that made her a monster. Ann Hathaway is a warm but motivated presence who has done exceelent work in the building of her character. Some find the characters a little cold - I find an emotional honesty rather than the sentimental syrup many expect from family fantasy and Hollywood movies in general.
This is a wonderful fantasy that harkens back to great fantasy films like "Labrynth", The Dark Crystal", "The Princess Bride", "Return to Oz" and even Disney's earlier animations such as "Sleeping Beauty" "Snow White" and their original "Alice in Wonderland" - that were unafraid to be stylistically bold, slightly wierd, a bit scary, very whimsical and a lot of fun!
Summary of Alice in Wonderland
Tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice for a fantastical new adventure from Walt Disney Pictures and Tim Burton. Inviting and magical, Alice In Wonderland is an imaginative new twist on one of the most beloved stories of all time. Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny. This Wonderland is a world beyond your imagination and unlike anything you ve seen before. The extraordinary characters you ve loved come to life richer and more colorful than ever. There s the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) and more. A triumphant cinematic experience Alice In Wonderland is an incredible feast for your eyes, ears and heart that will captivate audiences of all sizes.Tim Burton was born to bring Alice in Wonderland to the big screen. Ironically, his version of the Victorian text plays more like The Wizard of Oz than a Lewis Carroll adaptation. On the day of her engagement party, the 19-year-old Alice (a nicely understated Mia Wasikowska) is lead by a white-gloved rabbit to an alternate reality that looks strangely familiar--she's been dreaming about it since she was 6 years old. Stranded in a hall of doors, she sips from a potion that makes her shrink and nibbles on a cake that makes her grow. Once she gets the balance right, she walks through the door that leads her to Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Matt Lucas), the Dormouse (Barbara Windsor), the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), and the Cheshire Cat (a delightful Stephen Fry), who inform her that only she can free them from the wrath of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter channeling Bette Davis) by slaying the Jabberwocky. To pull off the feat, she teams up with the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp in glam-rock garb), rebel bloodhound Bayard (Timothy Spall), and Red's sweet sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway in goth-rock makeup). While Red welcomes Alice with open arms, she plans an execution for the hat-maker when he displeases her ("Off with his head!"). Drawing from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Burton creates a candy-colored action-adventure tale with a feminist twist. If it drags towards the end, his 3-D extravaganza still offers a trippy good time with a poignant aftertaste. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Alice in Wonderland
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