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As of May 14, 2012

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Screen Spotlight Featured Reviews

Alice in Wonderland Starring Johnny Depp

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

I have read two classics that have been transformed into animated films and the results could not be more opposite. The first is Carlo Collodi’s "Pinocchio". It is entirely entertaining, enjoyable and it reads like an "Aesop’s Fable" turned into a much larger story. The written work is a classic, whereas all of the Pinocchio film and cartoon adaptations have been failures. Lewis Carroll’s "Alice in Wonderland" meanwhile is so difficult to read and understand that I felt bitter and disappointed every time I gave it a try. I reluctantly agreed to watch the movie Alice in Wonderland only because it is in Disney Digital 3D. Unlike the written work, the movie is dazzling and full of life and adventure.

Perhaps someday we will uncover the hidden motivation behind Johnny Depp’s decision to play lunatic fringe characters. Would the answer satiate our craving for an insider’s secret? Rather than wonder forever if he is somewhat estranged from reality, or just a man who loves an unusual challenge, we need only to evaluate his results. As the Mad Hatter Depp is not really noticeably Depp, instead he is simply the character through and through. This goes beyond full immersion and reaches the level of pure expertise. The real star however is not Helena Bonham Carter (the Red Queen), or Anne Hathaway (the White Queen) or even the droll Alan Rickman (the Blue Caterpillar), it is Mia Wasikowska. As Alice, she is nothing short of genius. She gives us a reason to care and takes away all hints of childishness or craziness that are present in the written story. Mia mixes together youthful indecision with a taste for exotic adventure.

As Alice, Mia is before and after the excursion in a logjam. She is asked to marry an affluent Lord simply to provide for her widowed mother. Rather than face the proverbial music, she is guided by a rabbit to a nearby tree where she falls thousands of feet into "Wonderland". One could argue from the movie adaptation that Wonderland is a metaphor for entering adulthood, but despite the parlor tricks, and the imaginative scenery, this feels like as real a place as anywhere else. Director Tim Burton is known for his overactive imagination and is known to have a taste for all things strange. This turns some people off and makes others glued to their seats with crazy glue. In Wonderland Alice is faced with choices that closely mimic her real life predicaments. It is her courage and lust for saving everyone and everything that makes her character so rich and compelling.

The storyline is what it is, and although the film has enhancements and twists that the novel does not, it is still basically unchanged. Having said that, this is a critical analysis, not a plot summary. The actors and actresses all perform admirably and leave no hint of their real life personas on screen. They are simply real characters completely convinced of themselves despite being in a fictional never before seen world. In 3D Wonderland comes alive as a real place that we can wrap our hands around. It is not as frivolous as Narnia, nor as simple as Metro City. Wonderland is its own entity. Tim Burton and his star Mia Wasikowska have given audiences exactly what they pay for and so rarely receive, an escape. This is an escape into a world that is not terrifying or unpredictable, it is a world full of unique characters and dreams. It is a vision come alive and a glorious one at that. All of my expectations have been dashed to the wall and I am left to clean up the mess. A wonderful chaos to be sure.