Alice in Wonderland – The Return to Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland – The Return to Wonderland
Rated: PG Time: 1:49
Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas, Johnny Depp, Michael Sheen, Christopher Lee, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and others
Final Grade: B-
The latest adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland adventures debuted this weekend in Tim Burton’s film of the same name.
Alice (Wasikowska) is now 19 and in the process of being proposed to by some totally clueless wimp in British aristocracy. For some strange reason, Alice literally puts the whole world on hold waiting for her response to his marriage proposal while she chases a rabbit with a time piece down the hedgerows and falls down his rabbit hole and into Wonderland.
Alas, all is a tizzy in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter (Depp) and his friends are concerned that the rabbit has brought back the wrong Alice and in general life is running amok. The Red Queen(Carter) and the White Queen(Hathaway – complete with trademark banner red lipstick), even thought they’re sisters, have created a huge divide in the kingdom to which the scrolls of prophecy have predicted that Alice will return to cure and in the process slaying the dreaded Jabberwock dragon of the Red Queen. Soon, the Hatter, Alice, Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and the rest of Wonderland and involved in plotting the demise of the evil Red Queen and her henchman knight. The story climaxes as the two sides take positions on the chessboard and the battle rages.
Even though this is clearly a kid’s story, there’s a huge part that’s more calibrated for adults than kids. The storyline keeps the interesting going at a good pace and you don’t fall asleep in this one.
The 3-D production graphics are cool, and the characters are done well for a kids level mind. It was interesting to find a fat mellow Blue Caterpillar sucking on a hookah water pipe making me wonder just was in that cooker and the Cheshire Cat was as cool as a cat can be.
For kids of all ages, this is a story with a heroine who slays the dragon, versus the brave knight, but the message of the hero coming to the rescue and all’s well that ends well at the end is very clear, as well as the message that kids should make their own decisions rather than letting others make major decisions for them. That kids can grow up to be whatever they want to be. And, that’s a good message today’s kids.
Alice is rated PG for a good reason, it’s really not for younger kids that may not understand the violence and war scenes, beheading the dragon or the way the Red Queen treats the peasantry or how she uses animals to play golf with.
I’m Don Rima, and that’s the way I saw it, From Where I Stand.
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