A Whimsical Tale With a Dark Twist

Rating: Null/10 (11 September 2016)

Alice in Wonderland is a tale most of us know from child hood, but in the 2010 live action retelling we meet some very different characters. Alice as played by Mia Wasikowska and The Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp having a curious meeting in Underland. A land Alice falls into through a rabbit hole as she is running away from the stresses of her life. We follow them through this strange new land as they attempt to bring down the Red Queen played by Helena Bonham Carter. The inhabitants of Underland want the White Queen, Anne Hathaway, to recapture her crown and bring peace back to the world. To do so Alice must defeat a great beast, the jabberwocky that is favored by the Red Queen. This quest brings out the bravery that Alice must possess to kill the jabberwocky and help the White Queen recapture her crown. Through Alices heroic journey through a land that she believes must be a dream she meets characters that help her realize her true potential. The White Queen gives her a suit of armor that will protect her against the jabberwocky and ultimately gives her the inner strength to believe in herself. Disney movies are notorious for always having a theme of inner strength and belief in yourself. This film relies heavily on special effects and optics to create the scenes we see in Underland. This also shows the point of view in the movie as a director interpretive. Many of the shots are up close and personal with the characters creating the sense that we are not only watching Alice's adventure from the outside but we are actually in Underland with her. Coloring and lighting are another big part of the movie and how we view it. There are many colors that show advancing color: bringing them more into the forefront of the scene drawing our eyes to it. The makeup of the Red Queen and her followers is bright, making their over-accentuated features stand out even more. The Mad Hatters hair is also a very bright red to over-exaggerate his already over the top personality. The director's use of color, lighting, and the director's interpretive point of view we are able to walk with Alice. We see her grow and come to the realization that in the end, she was always the right Alice. She is able to overcome her fears and return to her real life dilemmas. Alice goes to Underland as a scared young girl but comes back an independent, strong woman who is ready to take on anything that comes her way.