"I often believe six impossible things before breakfast!"

Alice In Wonderland

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Linda Woolverton (screenplay), Lewis Carroll (book)

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen, Stephen Fry

Running Time: 109 minutes

Rating: PG

The story of Alice in Wonderland is entirely bonkers; but all the best stories are. This rendition of Alice In Wonderland holds true to the utter weirdness to be found down a curiously deep rabbit-hole. Uniting Lewis Carroll's timeless classic with Tim Burton's infallible "Burtonesque" style offers a tantalizing chemistry that left me wanting to discover what lay around every corner.

This movie provides a cast that can pack a punch; many of which have been in various "weird" movies in the past. Mia Wasikowska plays a very convincing Alice and actually shows a really cool wardrobe a la Burton. Helena Bonham Carter plays the Red Queen sporting an overly-large noggin. Helena has been in roles such as Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and Mrs. Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Yeah, she can do weird. Johnny Depp never fails to please and this movie is no exception. He plays a very mad, Mad Hatter.

There is no end to the eye candy, this movie offers beautiful and creative visual effects and scenery that couldn't be found in anything less than a dream. The plot is fairly simple and straightforward and actually follows the original story pretty well. As per the original story, the movie conveys some interesting morals and and lessons to be learned amongst the madness.

My only qualm in regard to this flick is I kept thinking, "This movie is a little boring." In spite of the fantastic scenery and strong cast, it leaves something to be desired by way of premise and plot. They could have done more and delved a little deeper into some of the strange characters and made Wonderland seem even more mysterious. Instead there was so much focus on whether "Alice" was really "Alice" and getting her to find a sword to slay the bad guy.

Overall, it is a fun movie and I would recommend seeing it. Especially if you're an avid Tim Burton fan.

CONTENT: PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar. (hah)

Alice in Wonderland earns 2½ out of 4 Popcorn Buckets™