Alice in Wonderland whimsical, not wonderful

The story of Alice in Wonderland has taken on many embodiments over the years, all of them strange and whimsical, and Tim Burton's 2010 rendition continues the legacy of quirkiness.

Technically, Alice in Wonderland (2010) is like no other film adaptation before it, because it goes in a totally different direction, though not necessarily a good direction. Audiences become too drawn into the fantastical world with the flimsy, unbelievable scenery and too many CGI characters: two rabbits, one mouse and a caterpillar with Severus Snape's voice.

Burton brought along two familiar actors for the ride in his newest film; Johnny Depp, with whom he's has a 20-year film relationship, and also Helena Bonham Carter, who is the mother of his children.

Although all the actors who are a part of the film were wonderful in their roles, especially newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Depp's Mad Hatter and Bonham Carter's Red Queen serve as two extremely well portrayed characters in terms of their screen presence and the humanity the actors impart on their behalf.

Burton is said to have found all the other Alice films to be unfeeling with a lack of connection between Alice and the other characters. For this reason, the film is considered to be a work influenced by Alice in Wonderland, not necessarily a remake, but a sequel; however, he may have gone too far in the other direction.

Either the characters hate Alice upon sight, claiming she's not the "right" Alice, or they fawn over her like the Mad Hatter in an almost tender way. At the conclusion of the film, when Alice is about to go back to the real world, the Hatter asks Alice not to leave, and there's a bit of a romantic mist in the air as Alice chooses Earth rather than the Wonderland. It was creepy.

The film begins with a young Alice interrupting her father's business meeting after she awoke from a "dream;" however, she doesn't realize she just visited Wonderland for the first time. Thirteen years later and now 19, Alice is an odd duckling whose father has just passed away and whose mother is trying to pair her off with a family friend's son. This perennial, universal struggle of women everywhere and across generations, although typical, fits the film well, as she conveniently chases the rabbit with the pocket watch into a hole in the ground.

From there on, Alice seems to be overly confused and strangely affectionate with most characters. She has her definitive moments where she becomes her own person and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do as she wishes she could do in her life back home, but in the end she does what she was destined to do from the beginning. She slays the Jabberwocky (and I'm not talking about the placeholder text).

Since when has violence been a viable and sought after theme in children movies? Alice in Wonderland (2010) is rated PG and the audience was stock full of young children with their parents. Apparently it wasn't offending enough since no one was yanking their children out of the theatre.

A testament to the film's success, it opened to $116.3 million this past weekend, are the actors attached to the movie and the option to see it in 3-D. Although I did not see it in 3-D, I can see the appeal in having the Cheshire Cat's glowing eyes float out into the audience as he splits a huge grin.

Honestly, the film was appeasing and I'm not upset I saw it; however, I'd recommend not wasting well-earned money on a film on which the storyline is pretty cut and dry from the preview. Just wait until the DVD comes out, apparently it's being released in a mere twelve weeks. Now that's good business sense.