by Elizabeth A. Marion

Created on: April 21, 2010   Last Updated: April 22, 2010

Note: This review does contain spoilers. Do not read this review if you have not seen the film and do not wish to be told in advance what the film contains.

Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland is his own sequel to the original classic. It's not a repeat of the same old story. In this version Alice returns to Wonderland. It's been about ten years since her first trip. Alice doesn't mean to, but ends up stumbling back down the same rabbit hole after escaping from her own engagement party that she originally did not know was her engagement party. Once she arrives the creatures of Wonderland debate whether or not she is the real Alice, the one who was there before. While they continue to be confused over who she really is they also tell her that it is her responsibility to slay the Jabberwacki to save them all from the evil queen so that her good sister can take her place. After going through several size changes and receiving help from various characters, she eventually finds the courage to slay the Jabberwacki and the evil queen is banished.

While I was intrigued by the film I didn't like the idea of a sequel. The only reason I went to see it anyway was because it was a Tim Burton film. The film was very colorful and creative, as I expected it to be. I was not disappointed with the acting either, but I was somewhat disappointed with the film overall. The film was in 3-D so the cost was about six dollars more than it would have been otherwise. While I don't think the 3-D effect was bad I was expecting a little bit better for the price paid. I also found most of the characters to be annoying. The Mad Hatter was not interesting or engaging. He was annoying. And the White Queen was terribly annoying as well. Her movements and mannerisms were just so over the top. The character of Alice was not annoying, but she wasn't very likable either.

I can't quite seem to put my finger on it. It may be a combination of the characters and the storyline. I think this film was well done, but while I was watching it I felt like I was just waiting for it to be over and wishing I could have picked something else to watch. It's just so different from the original. And it is difficult for me to enjoy movies that take classic characters and stories and turn them into something else. I still have a great deal of respect for the teamwork of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, but this is not one of my favorites.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth A. Marion.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.