This article contains major spoilers.
For as long as I can remember, Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my favorite stories. When I was little, I used to watch the Disney animated adaption all the time. Then my sisters and I would reenact the movie, using a dollhouse as the White Rabbit's home for when we ate a Cheeze-it that makes you grow. And whenever we were at my aunt's house I watched the 1985 TV movie. Always knowing the slightly damaged tape would inevitably stop at the same place no matter what. (I still haven't seen the whole thing.) Then when the 1999 adaption came out, that became my favorite version of the story. So when this movie was announced, I was naturally real excited to see it. Especially with the Burton/Depp creative combo.
So I've been anxiously awaiting this movie for a long time now. Almost a year, I suppose. And I finally had the chance to see it last week. (March 6th, to be precise.) The movie was not quite what I expected, but it was definitely enjoyable, and I liked it. However, there are a few elements about it that almost seemed to disappoint.
First, a bit of a synopsis. This movie isn't actually an adaption of the book, but a sequel to them. Which I'm sure was in part to give the production team much more freedom than what would have been allowed had it been otherwise. It's been 13 years since Alice's first visit to Wonderland. She's 19 now, and Wonderland is just a barely remembered dream to her. She doesn't want a part in the high Victorian society that she's expected to be a part of. But while at a garden party, she finds out that she's going to be proposed to. By a guy she doesn't want to marry. And when she sees the white rabbit, she follows him down the rabbit hole once more to Wonderland. But Wonderland has changed since her last visit.
The story is basically a growing up story. At the beginning, Alice is a little childish in the way she acts. Quietly rebelling against the ridiculousness of the Victorian high society she was born into. (Like not wearing a corset or stockings.) But when she returns to Wonderland, she's thrown into an adventure that she doesn't really want to be a part of. But not long after she arrives to Wonderland, she's shrunk and stretched, attacked by a bandersnatch, hunted by the Knave of Hearts, and stuffed into a teapot. As well as hearing everyone continue to argue as to wether or not she's the same Alice as before. The only one who's sure she's the same one is the Hatter. And they quickly become friends. (Again)
So, now they can get on with the Frabjous Day! Or, the day Alice is destined to slay the Jabberwock to end the evil reign of the Red Queen. (aka Queen of Hearts) Yeah, the plot is basically Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky, from Through the Looking Glass. Read it, and you pretty much know know how it ends.
However, Alice is meant to slay the Jabberwock alone. And as both armies stand before each other, They just watch their champions battle it out. Until the Hatter jumps in to help Alice, and the Red Queen sends her army out against the White Queen's army.
Now, about the characters. They're all great! And Burton, as well as the actors, have added much more character depth to their rolls than was seen in the book. And fortunately, Alice's character doesn't get lost among the other wacky personalities. But none of them stand out like the Mad Hatter. In this story, he's not just another wacko. (Even though he is the wackiest.) In fact, he's one of the most human characters. His madness is almost tragic at times. Which is probably why he's investigating things that begin with the letter M. (try mercury)
The Cheshire cat is an interesting character. You never know what it is he's thinking behind that grin. He's a little selfish, but he'll help if you ask him to. (And he has a strange fascination with the Hatter's hat.)
The Red Queen is just plain selfish and heartless. The closest you get to her is when the Knave asks her weather it's better to be loved or feared. Which she later decides it's better to be feared.
The White Queen is the Red Queen's younger sister. However she wants to be everything her sister isn't. Good, kind, and nonviolent. She's real quirky but exaggeratedly graceful. An interesting combination that works well for her.
Alice. At the beginning she's a little rebellious. And while in Wonderland, she learns to make decisions for herself. However, when she returns, brave and confident, she chooses to take an apprenticeship to someday take over her fathers old ship and trade business. Which was purchased by a family friend after her father's death. And the movie closes with her about to set off on a ship. (To what we assume is to China.) However I couldn't help but feel a sense of loneliness at that.
Now this movie is definitely a little feminist, even though some of the things people would call feminist I think are appropriate for the circumstances. But Alice "finding herself" and setting out into the world on her own, all by herself, with nothing but the confidence that she can see in herself just feels lonely to me. And it leaves me to wonder what happens next.
Overall, It was an enjoyable movie. The movie looks wonderful, and the 3D really sucks you into it. I liked it. But the ending doesn't leave you with the feeling you know they're trying to give. And there's plenty of violence that might turn some people away. So, for a sequel to the books it's good, but the story could have been better. I guess there's still nothing like the original.