Visually and Captivatingly Smart

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2019)

5 March 2010. When two A-Stars - Johnny Depp and Ann Hathaway, as well as noted actress Helena Bonham Carter with help from Alan Rickman can weave a supportive role to propel Alice played by Mia Wasikowska into a starkly rich focus, the brilliance of their acting shines with maturity. The rich and fascinating set design rivals and perhaps exceeds that of AVATAR (2009) though perhaps not reaching the imaginative level of The Lovely Bones (2009) and the storyline from start to finish maintains an intimate and substantive personal development character. Both Depp and Hathaway bring a finely honed performance and facial execution that speak thousands of words in silence. While the pacing is a bit slow in the first fourth of the movie, the unique fantasy world, Depp's embellished but finely submerged persona bring forth an effective fusion of special effects, animation, and real actors that meshes in this fantasy world - avoiding the necessity of 3-D or finely detailed animated authenticity in all manners much to better affect. There is humor, edgy drama that never crosses over into mature rating overload. In sum, this is a sparklingly fantasy has captivating action and features that brings imagination to the big screen. However, a second viewing, revealed that the stunning first impression didn't extend as much a second time, downgraded from 9 to 8.