Fantastic Fun Fantasy

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2012)

"Alice in Wonderland" was solid, well put together and well acted.
The story takes an unsure 19 year old woman who after a fanciful journey learns to take control of her own life and to stand up for what she believes in during a period when women didn't have control. Each battle she overcomes in Wonderland is one she had within herself.I think a lot of people are missing that, which makes no sense to me since this story has been told 100's of time over the past century.As Alice goes through Wonderland Tim makes sure that all the key points from both of Lewis Carroll's books are in place. He introduces the characters to Alice who is clearly on a return visit.The colorful array of characters go from the Mad Hatter and the March hare to the Caterpillar and Cheshire cat. All the familiars as well as some of the lesser known characters of the White Queen and the Jabborwocki. I was so afraid that Alice In Wonderland would only be about the Mad Hatter, just because of the Depp Factor, but fortunately Tim remembered the movie was about Alice and her coming of age story.Johnny Depp does exceedingly well in this role compared to the gay pirate routine or the border line pedophile Willy Wonka. The Mad Hatter has depth despite his madness. Anne Hathaway does a brilliant job as the air headed white queen.. a relief from the 1985 mini series depiction of the same character. The Tweedles are awesome' and the Cheshire cat you want to take home with you.Tim's Wife even outdoes herself as the Red Queen. Delightful. Visually is everything you ever wanted Wonderland to be. I do believe that Tim Burton has not used castles in his films since Faerie Tale Theatre's Aladdin.Both Castles are directly from your imagination. Anything and Everything you could want out of an Alice in wonderland movie is here and present. As far as the 3D went, kinda expensive, not a necessity for enjoyment but definitely icing on the cake. Leaving the theater I felt like it was money worth spent.