Alice in Wonderland (www.the-usher.com)

"When that day comes I shall futterwacken... vigorously."

At nineteen years-old Alice (Wasikowska) was expected to marry and be the devoted wife of her extremely important husband but since she was a little girl she has had the strangest dreams of a far away land with talking animals, a very angry Queen and a man who was as mad as a hatter. On the day of her engagement, Alice saw the same white rabbit, wearing a waistcoat and constantly looking at his pocket watch. Thinking she had fell into a daydream, she followed the rabbit into the countryside and as he jumped into a large hole next to a very old tree, Alice peered down it only to fall into the hole herself, entering the world she had been dreaming about for most of her life.

Tim Burton is heralded as one of the most visionary filmmakers in motion picture history but can he inject new life into the classic Lewis Carroll story?

Since he moved from been a Disney animator into motion pictures, Tim Burton has developed a cult following and been hailed as a visionary genius. His visual style and flourish brought colourful, vivid and sometimes nightmarish worlds to life in films like ‘Beetle Juice’, ‘Edward Scissorhands’, ‘Batman’, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Big Fish’. As of late however, Burton’s lush visuals haven’t really been backed by story, character and the magic that flowed through his earlier films. ‘Planet of the Apes’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ didn’t have the same feel as his earlier motion pictures, so when it was announced that he would be collaborating with Johnny Depp again for a new version of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, fans rejoices while the rest of the audience hoped he would return to form. The good news is, he has, for the most point.

First things first, Tim Burton’s adaptation of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ isn’t a recreation of the beloved novel by Lewis Carroll or a new version of the classic Disney animation but a continuation of the story. Much like Steven Spielberg did with ‘Hook’, this new ‘Alice’ adventure takes place when our heroin is nineteen years-old and on the verge of been married into a very important and influential Victorian family. She believes that her adventure in Wonderland was a dream from her childhood but when she sees the White Rabbit again, she follows him back to Wonderland to face an even angrier Red Queen and to save the good creatures and people of the magical land from her tyrannical rule. This, in essence, is a sequel to the original Disney animation and it works well, with Burton and his creative team reveling in the creation of Wonderland.

Burton has also gathered together a fine cast, with a mix of American and British performances bringing the Victorian and Wonderland characters to life. His artistic collaboration with Johnny Depp and his wife Helena Bonham Carter continue, with both of them having fun as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen. Anne Hathaway is lovely as the White Queen and Crispin Glover is his usual villainous self as Stayne. British actors bring voice and performance capture performances to the mix with Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar, Paul Whitehouse as the March Hare, Timothy Spall as Bayard, Barbara Windsor as Dormouse and the excellent Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. It is Mia Wasikwoska’s Alice that steals the show however, following on from the promise she showed as Sophie in the award winning TV show ‘In Treatment’.

Visually stunning with a fantastic cast, it is only the updated story and Disney/Burton’s decision to make this a sequel that stops this from been a fantastic movie. Why they didn’t just remake the book, we will never know but this is still excellent family entertainment (not so much for the very young as the Red Queen is a little scary) and the best Tim Burton movie since ‘Big Fish’.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 1:85 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The Blu-Ray package also includes the DVD and Digital Copies of the movie, making it a great value package.

BONUS FEATURES

Finding Alice
It’s all things Alice. This featurette includes Tim Burton’s vision for the characters, differences from the book and Disney’s version of Alice and how she evolves as both a character and actor as she takes an adventure through Wonderland.

The Mad Hatter
Audiences are provided with a deeper look into the world of the Mad Hatter. Check out Johnny Depp’s early sketches, make-up, costumes and how they digitally enhanced his eyes.

Effecting Wonderland
A behind-the-scenes piece on the different technologies used to create some of the most beloved characters

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment is not as comprehensive as some fans may have wanted. The lack of a commentary track is disappointing but the featurettes are good and well worth a watch

BLU-RAY

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2010