Librarians agree: Alice in Wonderland in 3-D is well worth the money and the entire country has Alice on the brain. On opening week I organized a group of librarians and library students to attend a screening of Tim Burton’s latest film in the relatively new Real-D. While I am certain this film will be amazing either way, it is truly a masterpiece in 3-D. Without giving in to creating shots blatantly for the use of 3-D, it still manages to take full advantage of this feature.
This is clearly Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland. For one Alice is older, and the film takes a much darker tone than the classic Disney animation (is anyone really surprised that this film might be too much for young children) and there are many twists and surprises along the way. That said, it does not lose the sense of Wonderland for older fans of early imaginings of Lewis Carroll’s work. I am certain that fans of Tin Man will be delighted to see this incarnation of Alice in Wonderland. I know I am.
I was a bit nervous that it would be too Mad-Hatter-centric. It was not, however. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) did play a large role and I understand why Disney would throw their money behind the star. However, I felt the advertising for the film overshadowed the other amazing performances, none so much as Alice (Mia Wasikowska). She is perfect as 19 year old Alice, who is expected to accept the marriage proposal of Hamish (Leo Bill), but thankfully gets distracted by a silly white rabbit. It is not surprising that Tim Burton also cast Helena Bonham Carter in her role as The Red Queen, but it is not just favoritism. Ms. Carter is amazing as the large headed and violent queen. Anne Hathaway is no less brilliant as the flighty and hilarious White Queen. Of course, the best part of the movie are the amazing creatures and world Burton and his team has created: the White Rabbit, the March Hare, the Red Queen’s frogs, the Caterpillar, and the Cheshire Cat! My favorite moment being when he is kneading (as cats do). Lovely!
Fans of this film also might like to check out The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. It has a very similar dark take and I am excited to reread the original to compare. In this first in a series of books, we learn that Alice is from Wonderland. She was heir to the thrown until her aunt, the Red Queen, waged war against her family to cease control of Wonderland. Alice escapes Red, her army of card soldiers, and an assassin with the help of her friends (including a Mad Hatter that is a skilled fighter himself), but she is cast out from Wonderland lost and alone. Another related book that is on my to-read list was recommended to me by Laura Rancani. She recently wrote about the historical fiction Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin, so please visit her website for the full review.
In related news, to celebrate the release of the film, I visited the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where there was an exhibit of rare Lewis Carroll items including original photographs taken by the author (my personal favorite), games owned and/or invented by him, books, and memorabilia. They also held a tea party for children and had games that Lewis invented that visitors could try out. I was very bummed out to have had to miss out on tea, but I was late for a very important date! Still, I managed to quickly snap a few photos for your viewing pleasure.
