Alice in Burtons Wonderland

Rating: 9/10 (14 April 2014)

Alice in Wonderland (2010) is naturally not everybody's taste. It has little to do with the books of Carrol, and maybe it's not even an appropriate sequel. But it's totally one thing: wonderful!
It doesn't need to be an exact replica of the books.There are still enough elements left to be based on them, but with new, fresh ideas. Wonderland is pure, crazy and twisted fantasy where everything seems possible and Burton introduce the viewer to his very own Wonderland (which I personally prefer over the original). And like the Mad Hatter it can be on one hand very beautiful, colourful, joyful and on the other hand, it shows its shadowy sides, where everything is dark and in tones of grey, or even dangerous. So it is very interesting to see every emotion displayed not only on the Hatters face but also expressed by the colors of his eyes, his clothes and even the tone and accent of his voice! He literally wears his heart on his sleeve and teaches Alice to find her own muchness again. Because her character needs to grow, not only to face the Jabberwocky but also to take her life in her own hands. Alice grows up during her stay and it's nice to see her changing.
But not only these two characters show a wide range of feelings. Even under the nice and peaceful face of the White Queen lures something dark and you can also find something vulnerable under the layers of hatred when take a closer look at her sister the Red Queen. Of course they seem completely good or bad at first sight, but there are enough hints that especially in Wonderland not everything is really like it seems.
The story itself is a bit weak in my eyes, but in contrast to that, they did a marvelous job in creating the atmosphere of wonderland. Be it the background, the completely animated characters, like Chesire Cat or the Caterpillar (which still had some facial features of his voice actor Alan Rickman), the partially animated characters like the Tweedles, or the characters with minor changes of the real actor/actress. The transition is floating, not only thanked to the CGI-artists but also because of the outstanding costumes and the rest of the set which wasn't green screen. Plus that some characters get some background story, which isn't very detailed but lefts space for own imagination.
Like Carrols books, Burton knows how to inspire the fantasy of others with this Alice adaption.