Alice in 3-D land

Rating: 7/10 (20 March 2010)

Most of Alice's return as an adult to Wonderland works pretty well, but there are flaws.
The first portion of her original adventure is reviewed exactly for foundation: rabbit hole, etc., but once she encounters the caterpillar and other characters, the story goes its own direction, introducing a prophecy of an epic event involving the reluctant and skeptical Alice.
The special effects are dazzling, the 3-D effect utilized for brilliant and stunning visuals. It truly is a "wonderland," come to life. The characters are honed a bit to fit the new direction of the story's purpose. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, as a typical example, are evolved in this version from their senseless imitative behavior in the Carroll book now to Igor-type side kicks at Alice's beckon call. Most glaringly altered, of course, is the Mad Hatter, to fit Johnny Depp's approach. Depp's characterization is clever and well acted, but the Hatter's new altruistic and heroic nature is far removed from the selfish nut Alice met in Carroll's book.
The two queens provide the conflict, and contrast well. Bonham-Carter's megalomaniac Red Queen ("Off with his head!") is spot on, and the running gag about her head shape is fun. Hathaway's eccentric yet benevolent White Queen is equally humorous. The chess match war is composed impressively, and the dragon battle tops it all off nicely.
Biggest negative: The opening/closing sequences in the real world don't work, and aren't even necessary. Alice did not need her Wonderland adventure to make decisions that she made in the end. Somebody must have said, "We need a moral tag to close the story!" To whoever said that, Burton should have proclaimed, "Off with his head." It just doesn't work to slam home an idea that the viewer already gets. If anything, it's patronizing. Another problem was abandoning the random nature of the books; the whole satirical point of the disjointed chaos is contradicted with this version's "destiny to overthrow evil" business.
Overall, superior visuals and a nice cast give this some of the fun weirdness that you'll expect. But don't expect the original books; this one strays into its own Wonderland.