Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway
Director: Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd)
Running Time: 1 hr 48 min
Release Date: March 5, 2010
Budget: $200 million
Critics’ Thumbs Up: 57%
“a one-of-a-kind movie experience.” Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine
“A charmless, vandalized version of a classic.” John DeVore, Premiere
First Alice downs a magical potion reading “Drink me.” Then she gobbles a cake reading “Eat me.” Well, the poster of this fantasy film should read “Watch me.” Based on Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s novel, Burton creates a whimsical, gothic, immensely inspired tale. Newcomer Wasikowska plays Alice, an imaginative 19-year-old suffocated by the upright rules of a stuffy Victorian society and faced with an unappealing engagement to a dweeby aristocrat. As the story goes, Alice falls down that notorious rabbit hole, falling into “Underland” where she meets familiar faces like the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Depp) before embarking on her journey to taken down the evil Red Queen (Bonham Carter). While the storyline is simple and often predictable, Alice boasts breathtaking set pieces, dynamic dialogue, vivid characters and exuberant performances. Wasikowska is understated as Alice, yet deftly captures her mix of innocence and idealism. Depp is also delightfully kooky as the Hatter, but Bonham Carter rules not only Underland but also the film with her daring, boisterous performance as the ruthless but vulnerable queen.
