I just came back from the 3D premiere of Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland in the Copenhagen Imperial cinema. And I was blown away by the - as always - arabesque, fantasy universe of Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Batman, Sleepy Hollow). Starring as The Mad Hatter is close Burton collaborator Johnny Depp (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Chocolat, Sleepy Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean), who leans on both his own prior Burton roles, and on the Beetlejuice character played by Michael Keaton. The Red Queen is played out - in full caricature stretch - by Helena Bonham Carter (A Room with a View, Fight Club, Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd), and the leading role as Alice with both sweetness, bewilderment, sincerity, and determination by Australian Mia Wasikowska (Defiance, Amelia).
Obviously the film owes a lot to the imagination of English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote the novel under the pseudonym of Levis Carroll. Apart from the unmistakable Tim Burton universe, the film has notes and references to Lord of the Rings and to Harry Potter films as well. Though it is good here to remember who was first with the fantasy, arabesque film universes.
Whether you're a true Tim Burton buff or belong to the enormous Anything Depp Will Do crowd, you'll be in for a spectacular 3D experience. My only hesitation aside is the somewhat puzzling ending, which doesn't really suit the creative, arabesque, artistic minds of neither Burton nor Depp. This paradoxical ending is not only Alice in Wonderland. This ending is Alice in Bewilderment. And could do with a little rethinking. But I would still urge everyone to go see this film for its imaginative universe right up to before that ending.
For further information, please see:
http://www.kino.dk/Biografer/Imperial.aspx
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/aliceinwonderland/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland
Obviously the film owes a lot to the imagination of English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote the novel under the pseudonym of Levis Carroll. Apart from the unmistakable Tim Burton universe, the film has notes and references to Lord of the Rings and to Harry Potter films as well. Though it is good here to remember who was first with the fantasy, arabesque film universes.
Whether you're a true Tim Burton buff or belong to the enormous Anything Depp Will Do crowd, you'll be in for a spectacular 3D experience. My only hesitation aside is the somewhat puzzling ending, which doesn't really suit the creative, arabesque, artistic minds of neither Burton nor Depp. This paradoxical ending is not only Alice in Wonderland. This ending is Alice in Bewilderment. And could do with a little rethinking. But I would still urge everyone to go see this film for its imaginative universe right up to before that ending.
For further information, please see:
http://www.kino.dk/Biografer/Imperial.aspx
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/aliceinwonderland/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland