Completely taken by surprise!

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2010)

Having read many of the derogatory revues prior to seeing this film I was braced for disappointment. So what a pleasure it was to be taken by surprise and find myself totally absorbed in this clever and magical new trip into Wonderland. For me, the whole film throbbed with energy, vibrant imagery and above all, fun. The new 'slant' on an old story was, I felt, handled imaginatively and with a pleasing freshness.
My wife and I went to see Avitar a couple of weeks ago and both considered that without the 3D effects it would have been a very ordinary film with minimal charm, just one more in a succession of computer generated movies. Not so Alice which for me had charm in spades, a far superior storyline and enough of the characteristics of the original story to satisfy my appetite for traditionalism. It also retained a true sense of 'Englishness' which was another nice surprise in a world where that has so often been lost. The effects were great and I take my hat off to all the cast who more than did justice to their parts. Maybe not the greatest movie ever made but certainly a visual feast with never a dull moment but, perhaps most importantly...it was a lot of fun. Thank you Tim Burton, WE REALLY ENJOYED IT!