Alice is Underful

I saw this movie before, yes, but I saw it once more tonight.  And I still love it.  Tim Burton is my hero.  And onto to the review... 

*fall down a  rabbit hole to the review while listening to Avril Lavigne's song*


 
First of all, I love Alice, played perfectly by Mia Wasikowska.  She just looked the part and had the perfect British accent.  It is even more impressive because I had seen her in Defiance, where she played Chaya Dziencielsky with such intensity and believability.  Anyway, this is all to say that I am super impressed with her.  Very much so.


In other news, I want her gloves.  They are adorable.


The only drawback of being Alice is her hair looks much worse in Underland.  Seriously.  It was adorable in the beginning.  And then it was this messy mane of ribbon curled straw.

Speaking of characters, can anyone say Johnny Depp?  I can.  Like 8 times.  I wasn't at all surprised that he was in this movie because ... well ... it's a Tim Burton movie.  But WOW.  There will never be a madder hatter in the world.  He just did it so well.  Very Willy Wonka of him.


Just one quick question: how on earth did he make that dress for Alice? Edward Scissorhands, anyone?

 I guess the same thing can be said for Helena Bonham Carter.  She has made many an appearance in Tim Burton's movies.  She's so freaky.  Not as freaky as Meryl Streep, but still quite frightening.  Off with her obnoxious, bulbous, heart-shaped head already.  She's fantastic though.  The perfect Red Queen of Hearts.


I do appreciate her questioning of lover versus fear in power.  It's very Machiavellian of her.  Thank you Dr. Murphy and Political Theory. ;)

Finally, my favorite character: the White Queen.  Okay, honest confession time: Anne Hathaway is my favorite.  For reals.  She's the best ever.  I've loved her since her premier movie role: The Princess Diaries, one of my favorite series by my absolute favorite author, Meg Cabot.  And I just love the way she moved.  She reminded me very much of Snow White.  It was all in her arms and her facial expressions.  Any second, I expected her to start singing and taking care of dwarves...wait, she did that: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.


















Outside of characters, the computer graphics were fantastic.  So wonderful.  Not overdone at all.  It was perfection.  Best ever.  So was the music.  The choral voices added to the whimsical quality of it.


I loved the incorporation of the Jabberwocky.  One of the best poems ever.  I've read it so many times, but it makes me excited every time.  There is video (I cannot find it online -- at least not the one I'm looking for) of it being translated into sign language is fantastic because he made up all the signs himself because the words were all made up.  Thank you Lewis Carroll for creating the opportunity for it.  It kind of bothered me, however, that the Jabberwocky looked quite similar to the dragon in Enchanted.  Just saying...

Alice in Wonderland is obviously a comedy of manners.  Alice is trapped within a society that she must break away from.  In the beginning, she refuses to wear corsets and stockings.  She then refuses to marry Hamish (and rightly so, Hamish was a snobby prick, even if he was a Lord).  So she runs away and ends up in Underland.  Even there, she breaks away from what is expected of her.  The white rabbit presses her, insisting that she has to slay the Jabberwock.  Alice ends up yelling at him. THIS IS MY DREAM. I'M THE ONE IN CHARGE.  I DECIDE WHERE THE STORY GOES FROM HERE!  










Alice is not the only one who feels the need to break convention.  The Mad Hatter finds it hysterical that the queen's court insists on wearing false parts: belly, boobs, nose, ears, chins, etc.  Not only does he laugh, but he exposes the hypocrisy of it all. 

Alice, on the other hand, doesn't find the strength to do this until the very end where she denies Hamish and tells most of the people present off for not accepting her as she was. 


The last thing I'll say is that the movie reminded me a lot of The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. You have human characters stepping into another world where there are creatures expecting great things of them, while others doubt that they have the power, and there is an evil queen in charge.  The greatest part of the story is where the characters accept the roles they are meant to play. 


In Alice, the blue caterpillar, Absolom, voiced perfectly by Alan Rickman, plays an integral role in assisting Alice realize who she is.  By repeatedly asking her who she is, Alice becomes who she was meant to be.  She gains the courage.  She gains the knowledge.  She self-actualizes and is able to save Underland from the Red Queen.

I love this movie.  I really do.  Sure it's trippy, but who said trips were bad? JUST KIDDING. Just watch the movie.  It's curious and curiouser.