Alice In Wonderland (Live-Action)

Tim Burton and Lewis Carrol's "Alice" books seemed, when this project was announced, to be a perfect combination. I waited with great anticipation to see the result and I know many others did too - and I was not disappointed.The story follows an adult Alice, who is at a crossroads after being proposed to her by a wealthy heir, but one whom she feels nothing for. At just this moment, she espies the White Rabbit, who leads her into Wonderland, a strange land that she visited in her childhood, but believed to be just a dream. There she meets the familiar characters of the Mad Hatter and his tea drinking posse, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat. They have been waiting hopefully for her return, as she is the one who will end the rule of the paranoid and violent Red Queen, a character amalgam of the Red Qeen from "Through the Looking Glass" and The Queen of Hearts from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". She eventualy becomes the champion of the benevolent but exiled White Queen and is set on a collision course with the Red Queen and her forces, including the sly and mean-spirited Knave of Hearts (who seems to amalgamate The Knave of Hearts from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and The Red Knight from "Through the Looking Glass") and the fearsome Jabberwocky, the dragon that protects the Red Queen from challenges.Many, it sems, were disappointed with this. Some complain that it eschews the books fragmented plot in favour of a quest structure, while others complain of the lack of storyline. Burton, by his own admission focuses on characters and imagery rather than story. This is a valid approach as cinema is a visual medium - not like a novel. This being said, I was surprised that Burton was more interested in a version with a story than the fragmented original, although this may not have been his decision alone. The result, however, works. There is just enough of a story to give the characters more of a history and motivation - a feature of Burton's previous film adaptations of "Sleepy Hollow" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - in which characters were given more depth by introducing more of a back story. Yes, as many have pointed out, the film does utilise the monomyth structure as many other recent fantasy epics have - but stories do tend to use it - and this is not the first "Alice" adaptation to do so. The film has to be judged on the merits of how it achieves its own goal, and Burton's key is in using his distinctive imagination to give this "Alice" and this monomyth its own peculiar feel. Some may miss elements of Carrol's nonsensical wit that are not here, but there is sufficient essence of Carrol in the language of the characters and the confusion Alice faces in dealing with many of them. It must be remembered that much of the plot is derived from "Through the Looking Glass" which has more structure than "Alice in Wonderland". The story of "The Jabberwocky", a poem from "Through the Looking Glass" is also used in the plot structure - introducing the key folkloric motif of the special weapon - the Vorpal Sword. The brilliant result of this is in creating a new, surreal version of the monomyth filtered through the sensibilities of Carrol and Burton.The CGI I is used sparringly and has the weighted feel of Burton's stop motion work, making it feel more real and much warmer than much of the cold, slick CGI of other films. Some say that the 3D was tacked on and not integral, I offer other adjectives: unintruseive and understated. I ddo not want to walk away from a film with my memory focused on the special effects - to me there is a great failing in the characters if this is the case. Burton's brilliant visual quality stands out in every frame of the film - beautifully tonal and detailed. Slightly gothic and with a wonderful technicolour palette.All actors are outstanding. The CGI characters are voiced to perfection. Wasikowska is a curious and assertive presence without gushing at her surroundings like an Alice from a bad panto adaptation. Depp is a delighfully nuanced, bi-polar Mad Hatter with the right blen of whimsy and psychological damage. Bonham-Carter is a wicked Red Queen, delightfully spoiled and OTT, but also showing the damage that made her a monster. Ann Hathaway is a warm but motivated presence who has done exceelent work in the building of her character. Some find the characters a little cold - I find an emotional honesty rather than the sentimental syrup many expect from family fantasy and Hollywood movies in general.This is a wonderful fantasy that harkens back to great fantasy films like "Labrynth", The Dark Crystal", "The Princess Bride", "Return to Oz" and even Disney's earlier animations such as "Sleeping Beauty" "Snow White" and their original "Alice in Wonderland" - that were unafraid to be stylistically bold, slightly wierd, a bit scary, very whimsical and a lot of fun!

Okay, let us get this out of the way: This isn't the story created by Lewis Carroll, and it isn't like the cartoon that Disney put out originally. I know it is put out by Disney, but it isn't the Alice in Wonderland we are all familiar with. When you saw the name Tim Burton, this should have been a big clue.The story does use many of the beloved characters from Lewis Carroll's story: Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, The Red Queen, Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, etc. However, Tim Burton has created an entirely new story line that is a sequel to the original Alice story.Alice is now grown up, and she has dismissed her memories of Wonderland as a fantastic dream. While running away from a marriage proposal, she falls down the rabbit hole again. Convinced she isn't the Alice everyone is looking for, she keeps waiting to wake up. Meanwhile, she is being hunted by the Red Queen because it is only Alice who can save everyone from the Jabberwocky, which the Red Queen used to steal the throne from her sister and to maintain control over her subjects.The movie has a bit of a slow start at first, and it may not be embraced by the purists who want the original story. However, I can appreciate this retelling and new story line. I am a big Tim Burton fan, at least of his later works. Though people often criticize him for putting his girlfriend and Johnny Depp in all his movies, I generally enjoy their acting. I have to admit, this wasn't one of my favorite roles of Depp as the Mad Hatter. I liked the portrayal of the character, which is shown as being more sensitive...but I don't know if I exactly liked Depp in the role. He seemed a bit "washed out". It was like seeing Jack Sparrow if he had been turned into an artistic nerd.Helena Bonham Carter, though, was my absolute favorite as the Red Queen. Though the Red Queen is still awful, there is a bit of a sympathy with her as well. Personally, I was rooting for her.I also really liked Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, and I loved the Cheshire cat too!This is kind of a "coming into yourself" type of story. It was really delightful to see so many talented actors in one movie.

Success 👏

This is one of the best recent family movie releases I've seen this past couple of years. Tim Burton's vision and Depp's Mad Hatter come together in a stunning tour-de-force of live action w/cgi in an enchanting tale of the Next chapter of Alice in Wonderland, as Alice is grown up and returns to Wonderland to 'save the day' in this brilliant adaptation of the classic.Depps' best work since Jack Sparrow. Wonderful characterizations from all the rest of the cast too, who work together flawlessly as an ensemble team; the chemistry and "fit" is right on the money.I'm glad they did the 'next chapter' as a story arc vs a straight retelling of the tale, which adds depth and continuity to this classic tale. Perfect for children and adults alike, this is a thoroughly enjoyable story that captures the magic of Alice with humor, stunning effects and more. One of the best family films since the original Shrek.Thanks to all who worked on this title, it must've been a ton of work to produce, direct, design and composite, and it's done flawlessly. Our family will watch this many times in the years to come; thanks for creating this truly captivating movie, Tim. I hope you folks will do a trilogy. Bravo!To the magic,Ken

In spite of having to read many negative reviews, I was still curious to see this movie. I not a huge Burton fan neither, although I've enjoyed some of his previous work. But it was something about «Alice in Wonderland» which seemed appealing; its visual look and its quirky characters. Still I had in mind the several hostile reviews, which accused this movie to be a flat, soulless and muddled attempt of a classic, which I also feared it would. But after finally seeing the movie, I can claim my disagreement with the reviewers. In fact, I'm not sure if we even saw the same movie. What exactly was so terrible about it?Overall, I found «Alice in Wonderland» to be very entertaining. I feared that the movie would lose some of it's magic as the main character entered to Wonderland, but fortunately it never did. I enjoyed the movie from the very start to its very end. It's a cute fantasy/adventure movie, equal to the «Harry Potter» and the «Narnia» flicks (although I personally felt «Prince Caspain» had some slight weaknesses). But beware; there are some frightening creatures that may scare the youngest in the audience, so the PG rating is suitable.One of the films biggest advantages is it visuals. With it lush and dark landscapes, cute animals and colorful costumes, the flick is beautifully to look at and I can't wait to enjoy the sharpness of the picture on Blu Ray. The score of Danny Elfman is effective and gives the movie a dreamy, atmospheric tone. The characters are mostly passable. They don't steal the show entirely, but neither do they appear as distractive or annoying.Although I've always liked the original novel of Lewis Carroll, I must say that I found this new twist of the story fresh and creative, depicting the «wrong» Alice's adventures in Wonderland as a young adult. Linda Woolverton, who's behind the excellent screenplays for «Beauty and the Beast», «The Lion King» and «Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey», has written a solid and decent script to «Wonderland». Many have claimed this screenplay to be muddled and confusing, but I didn't felt it that way at all. Once again, did we even saw the same movie?Mia Wasikowska is quite decent as Alice. Although she doesn't have a distinctive emanation/charisma who characterizes other young actresses at her age, she's still delivers a nice and acceptable performance. Personally I felt her screen presence expanded during the movie. Johnny Depp is indeed a good actor. To claim anything else, would be a like claiming that the climate isn't humid in the rain forest. Although I've never been crazy over Depp's work, he's goofy and great as The Mad Hatter, which is indeed the best character in the movie. Helena Bonham Carter is also believable and funny as the Red Queen (just prepare yourself to hear «Off with his head» at least a hundred times during the movie, ha ha). While Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, is warm and passable as the White Queen (although I must confess it was a little distracting to see her with a blonde wig and with a British accent).In fact, I can't see anything wrong with this new Burton version of «Wonderland». I truly enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone as possible. It didn't deserve the negative criticism at all, in my opinion. With quality films like this, perhaps I could finally forgive Disney for its recent mistakes? (*Cough, leaving hand drawn animation behind and promoting teen stars as crazy, cough*)So follow every white rabbit you see and follow him to the hole... Wonderland is waiting...BONUS FEATURESUnsurprisingly, most of the bonus features lies on the Blu ray disc. However, the amount of the bonus features are disappointingly skimpy. The featurettes are divided in two sections. First are the Wonderland Characters and Making of Wonderland.First up in the Wonderland Characters-section is "Finding Alice", which is about the casting of main lead. During a short brief or times, there are interviews with Mia Wazikovska, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham-Carter and Anne Hathaway. They bring up Burton's vision that differs from the Novel, the character arc of the protagonist and some of the clothing designs. Wazikovska herself comes off as a humble, mature and reflective young woman.Next on the list is "The Mad Hatter", which is about Depp's insights on his character. Depp manages to give a brief, but interesting research about real hatters, while he talks about his own sketches and visions for the Mad Hatter, comparing to Burton's sketches for the character. And of course the costume and stylizing of the character."The Futterwacken Dance" explains the origins of the fictional Futterwacken dance which Depp's character dances in the movie. The dance was based on an internal joke between the director and Depp. Without spoiling too much, there are interviews with several guys who were in charge of the "Futterwacken".Next is "The Red Queen", which centers about the origins of the Red Queen. Interviews with Bonham-Carter and technical members of the crew, they discuss the design and the costuming of the character, as well as Helena's own thoughts of her own performance."Time-Lapse: Sculpting The Red Queen" is a short video demonstrating the transformation and sculpting of Helena as the Red Queen, while Helena and other make-up artists narrates during the video.Next is "The White Queen", which is about the creation of The White Queen. Hathaway explains her own, early visions for the character, as well the costuming and the other crew members' thoughts of the character.The first featurette in the Making Wonderland section is Scoring Wonderland. An interesting featurette about the scoring of the film. During an interview with composer Danny Elfman, we'll receive his thoughts about his collaboration with Burton, as well as his process about the film scoring and especially making the "Alice" anthem. Quite interesting and informative.Effecting Wonderland is an interesting featurette about the CGI aspect of the film, the creation of the fully CGI characters in the film and how to exaggerate the looks of the human characters with CGI.Stunts in Wonderland is a brief featurette about the stunt process of Mia Wazikowska.Making the Proper Size is about the process of giving the character of Alice the proper size. Interviews with Waizkowska and other crew members reveals the process of making Wazikowska look to small or too big in the various scenes in the film.Cakes of Wonderland interviews a baker which made all the cakes in the final film, especially the Eat Me cakes. She talks about the ingredients which she used in the film to make the cakes.Tea Party Props centers about the making of the Iconic Tea Party table and all of its props.So there you have it; Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland. While it's not one of the most memorable movies of its genre, it is still a solid and good movie that has gotten way more underrated than it deserves. The quality of the picture is superb and so is the sound. While most of the featurettes are interesting and enjoyable, there could still have been of more of them. However, this edition is still recommendable for every fan of this movie.

I love this movie!! And now I can watch it anytime I want!!

The movie was a laugh riot of pure entertainment. I'd recommend this for kids and adults, such as myself, who need to space out now and then. Jonny Depp is a great character actor. I think he could play a peach and still get caffows. However this version was personal as well. You get to see how the Mad Hatter-Depp and Alice-Wasikowska relationship develops in a dream that has haunted Alice since childhood. These two are a real pair. It is a dream that is so real yet not surreil.Action was great. Costuming very good. Animation, direction, cinematography all of it a real treat.Sometimes Alice needs to be as small as a bug or tall as a tree. The rabbit leaves cake to eat or solution to drink that makes her tiny or a giant depending on the need. One favorite scene of mine was when Alice has to grow to meet the queen. Unfortunately she eats too much and becomes maybe over 6' tall. All of a sudden she finds herself nude behind a tree like bush. She has to introduce herself to the evil queen. When asked her name Alice says Um as most would in this predicament. So her name is now Um from Umbridge. For some odd reason it makes me laugh just to think about it.I've decided to add it to my collection and purchase it.

I'm afraid many people have entirely missed the point of this film, mostly because they expected it to be a re-creation of the original Lewis Carol classic. Instead, Burton "re-imagined" the original film, not only through having Alice return to Wonderland (now called Underland) as a young adult, but by seeing in it a rich allegory of the journey into psychological adulthood.Like most young adults, Alice begins the story confused and un-self-knowing, vulnerable to the pressures of the largely unhealthy adults around her, and in the process of being forced into a dismal marriage to a wealthy, aristocratic dolt who has no conception of who she is as a person, only as an ornament. In the course of her ordeals in Underworld--akin to a shamanic journey--she finds her true self, becomes confident in who she is and who she isn't, and returns to surface life (much of which is truly "surface," in the sense of superficial) able to speak her truth to power and reject what doesn't fit for her. It might be seen as a feminist tale in the best sense of the word: not rejecting of the Masculine (indeed, her mentor later in the film is a healthy older man), but honoring the Feminine, and insisting on a place in the world for healthy femininity! The actress in the role of Alice does an amazing job with the subtle challenge of portraying psychological health and balance.Given all this, it is clearly not a film for children, even tho there are some cute and cuddly creatures in it, and it has some cartoon-like qualities. There are also some truly fearsome creatures and traumatic scenes that can be challenging even for adults! And, as I have elaborated, the essence of this film is available only to those with enough life experience to appreciate it.View it as a metaphor for the challenge of growing up (what Carl Jung called "individuation"), and you will love this film!

Like a BRAND NEW dvd!!!! Perfect

Ich war mit Freunden und Familie in dem Film und wir alle fanden ihn durchweg klasse. Genau dass was wir uns unter Tim Burton meets Disney vorgestellt hatten und sogar noch besser. Die Altersbeschränkung mit 12 ist zwar berechtigt aber nicht übertrieben. Die dargestellt "Gewalt" bezieht sich nur auf fiktive Gestalten und ist dem Alter entsprechend. Nichts was Kinder in dem Alter nicht schon gesehen haben und auch nicht falsch verstehen. Tim Burtons Alice interpredation ist ein toller "zweiter Teil", da Alice als Erwachsene wieder das Wunderland "besucht" nur ohne jegliche Erinnerungen daran, und für jeden Fan seiner Filme sehenswert. Wir lieben diesen Film und werden ihn uns auch auf BluRay kaufen und hätte ich Kinder im Alter von 12 würde ich ihnen den Film nicht vorenthalten wollen. Es gibt auf jeden Fall ganz andere Filme die nicht ihrem empfohlenen Alter entsprechen z.B. Coraline, überhaupt nichts für 6 jährige Kinder!!! Klasse Film, tolle Effekte und spitzen Schauspieler die ihren Rollen mehr als gerecht wurden. Johnny Deep schafft es unglaublich überzeugend den verrückten Hutmacher zu mimen. Ich kann es verstehen, dass er so gern bei Tim Burton Filmen mitspielt, und auch dass er auch so tolle Rollen bekommt.Alles in allem trägt der Film unverkennbar die Handschrift von Burton und ich kann ihn nur empfehlen und bestätigen dass die Altersbeschränkung von 12 Jahren ausreichend ist.Kaufen, sehen, lieben!(nur fr Burton-Fans und die, die es noch werden wollen ^^)

Bon film

OJO: Comento sólo la versión 2DImagen y sonido extraordinarios, de lo mejor que me he encontrado nunca, para sacar todo el rendimiento a un buen equipo casero. V.O. en Inglés y excelente doblaje al Español, con voces muy adecuadas a los personajes (en algún caso incluso "más adecuadas" que las originales). Buenos extras, con un interesante making-of que incluye extensos comentarios del director y los actores.Sobre la película, me ha parecido excelente, posiblemente la mejor versión sobre Alicia de las que se han hecho en cine. Gran dirección de Tim Burton, producción cuidada al máximo en todos los detalles (fotografía, vestuario, planos, efectos especiales, maquillaje). El personaje de Alicia muy bien desarrollado, a caballo entre lo infantil y lo adulto, lleno de matices. Gran elenco de actores que dan un enorme nivel, empezando por una jovencísima y casi desconocida hasta entonces Mia Wasikowska, que sencillamente "es" Alicia. No es que ella se meta en el personaje, es que el personaje se mete en ella. Y además un sensacional Johnny Depp, una excelente Helena Bonham-Carter y una muy correcta Anne Hathaway.Recomendación entusiasta para los niños que pronto van a dejar de serlo y para los adultos que en el fondo siguen (seguimos) siendo un poco niños.

Excelente!!!!!