Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd) seems the perfect director to bring Lewis Carrol's trippy children's fantasy to life. A three-dimensional combination of live-action and computer animation is used to tell the story of a young girl named Alice (Australian newcomer Mia Wasikowska), who falls down a rabbit hole into a strange world full of strange characters.
Those characters include Johnny Depp (in his sixth collaboration with Burton) as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Little Britain's Matt Lucas as both Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Crispin Glover as Stayne – Knave of Hearts.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Initial glimpses of this film had us worried about a CGI overload. Luckily, this proves irrelevant once immersed in Wonderland, which is so oddball and wacky that it bears little resemblance to photo-reality anyway. Although traces of recognisable Tim Burton style remain (the twisty foliage gives him away), he extends his visual vocabulary, drawing inspiration from sketches in the original publication.
Nothing is too scary for younger children (sans the disembodied heads floating in a castle moat), although the creepy look of strangely proportioned characters may unnerve some. This is, in fact, a more mature adventure – Alice is now about ten years older (it’s her second trip down the rabbit hole) and the theme touches on leaving childhood behind.
The film sags, however, when the plot's momentum falters. Mia Wasikowska’s Alice is an empathetic character, a perfect companion for this trip into lunacy, but her purpose in the story isn’t clear enough. Added to the mix are a forgetful performance from Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and a gleefully tantrum-prone turn from Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.
In the end, Burton’s Alice in Wonderland falls somewhere between an interesting, melancholic look at a faded wonderland and a more straightforward Disney blockbuster. The story, whilst awash with visual splendour, doesn’t have the guts to stray too far from formula, leaving the end product more style than substance (or, if the substance is there, it’s lost in a very beautiful wonderland).
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
this movie was awesome, funny and cool if you havent see you will need to see it i mean that could be a matter of life and death. that was totally cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
did not get to watch it missed out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sad:( :( :(:( :( :( :( :(
Left the movie feeling ...."oh, i wish it had been done by a frenchman"! : ( Visually good, but it was like being presented with the most visually gorgeous cake, and upon eating, it tasted exactly as you anticipated - with no unexpected surprises in flavours or texture etc. And the usual Hollywood format - the good guys, the bad guys (who get defeated as one expects) and the happy ending. I love it when a film has hidden layers, and leaves an impression on you. But when i left this movie, it was like, " well what shall we do now? where shall we have lunch... with no more thought of the movie
da only alice in wonderland and it was the cartoon one ...... this one looks kinda scary lol more like horror ... xxx
whats it like for a 7 year old girl to watch want to take my daughter not to scary ???
Sadly Lewis lite and not without flaws but this is as Burtonesque as one could wish for, a real treat for fans of his twisted imagination and great British character actors.
A fantastical romp that proves every bit as transporting as that movie about the blue people of Pandora, his "Alice" is more than just a gorgeous 3D sight to behold.
For all its clever design, beguiling creatures and witty actors, the picture feels far more conventional than it should; it's a Disney film illustrated by Burton, rather than a Burton film that happens to be released by Disney.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 4th Mar 2010.
Release date: March 4th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
