Alice in Wonderland Review [DVD]

Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ review

Leave it to Disney to capture Tim Burton and his incredibly creative approach in the latest Alice in Wonderland.

Since 1903 there have been over a dozen films of Lewis Carroll’s two original books of Alice, but only Tim Burton has taken this story line way outside-the-box.

With cinematic eye-candy and a big-girl Alice (she’s 19 this time around), this is an entertaining movie the entire family can enjoy. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is being raised in Victorian era England by her widowed mother. During the proposal of a pre-arranged engagement party Alice becomes highly confused and chases a rabbit, falling down a hole to an enchanting but very bizarre world. This world she can’t quite remember from her childhood dreams, and cannot shake the imminent and real dangers of Wonderland. As she is reintroduced to old friends White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), Tweedledee & Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), the sly Chesire Cat (Steven Fry), and of course the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), a classic battle of good-vs-evil unfolds between the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the lovely White Queen (Anne Hathaway). With a little help from her friends, Alice’s showdown with the Jabberwocky (a bit scary creature) will ultimately behold the future of Wonderland.

Yes, Johnny Depp as the “Mad Hatter” is the obvious leading man for Burton here, but his version of Alice gives balance and focus on a multitude of new and original story characters. It could be argued that the long-standing relation of Depp & Burton has blurred character similarities in the likes of Edward Scissor-Hands, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, and the Mad Hatter, but I took this Alice in Wonderland for cinematic face value and enjoyed a very entertaining flick.

Alice in Wonderland is available on DVD & BlueRay this week.

Mr. Spicy gives Alice in Wonderland a 2.5-star “worth seeing” effort.

• no star! = bomb city
• 1-star = save your time and money, watch Animal House again instead
• 2-star = depending on your age, interest, and who’s starring in the movie… worth checking it out
• 3-star = make the effort to get off your butt and rent this flick
• 4-star = make specific plans around dinner, seeing THIS MOVIE, and being swept away by your mate
• 5-star = the Holy Grail of all-time best movies (and not just Cult-flicks like Office Space and Animal House)