A wonderful fantasy re-imagination and re-creation of the Alice story

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2016)

Tim Burton doesn't always get it right, but here he conflates all the elements of the Alice in Wonderland story into a most charming fantasy. The older real life Alice caught in a moment of intense indecision falls back into Wonderland. Is she the real Alice? That theme runs through the film as we follow her in her new adventures and she meets many of the quirky characters from the real Alice story but now in a different story.
So why does the film work so well? The sets and clothes and characters are deliciously portrayed - a delight in themselves. The pacing is good and the characters wonderfully delineated by the many different actors - the Red Queen, the White Queen, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are particularly vividly portrayed, all acting as a foil to Alice's (Mia Wasikowska) underlying clear headedness and sweetness. Under this delicious fantasy there is a solid storyline - the familiar themes of the battle between good and evil and the finding of one's destiny. There is even just a hint of eroticism as Alice shrinks or grows out of her several fabulous fantasy dresses.
But forget all the underlying themes and just let yourself be fascinated and charmed and excited and thrilled and amused in this lovely fantasy retelling of a wonderful book.