Whenever I'd hear/think of Alice in Wonderland the first thing that comes to mind is a little girl who fell down the rabbit hole. Second thing would be a rabbit with a clock. When I was still a kid and comprehension was still out of the picture, all I know is that this is a story of a girl who is chasing a rabbit. Why did that girl chase the rabbit? That I did not know and neither did I care.
It was only when I "grew up" and read the book did I know and cared and got the real picture. And I must say Lewis Carroll is one weird/eccentric writer (in a good way). It is always a wonder how a writer can create and make us believe that such place can exist.
We can say that Carroll's work is a satire after all the world that he had created was full of ironies. Absurd, surreal and insane logic are the norms of this so called Wonderland. With the ruling queen who's favorite line includes: "Off with his head!", that indeed is such a wonder.
Well I was half expecting that the movie adaptation will be weird as well (again in a good way). After all, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's combination usually gives us more or less something like that. Take for instance Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd. Weird. Weird. Weird duo.
But oh well, if I am purist I could have said all bad things about the movie. I could start with changing the title to Alice Returns to Wonderland instead. The book I read would tell me that Alice was a seven years old girl not a teenager who was set-up for an engagement. And I honestly never thought of Alice much of a fighter.
But it was an interesting take of the story. How the Mad Hatter's role was given much importance. And it's not all the time you'd get to see Johnny Depp dancing.^_^ And Alan Rickman and Helena Carter were in the movie as well! Snape and Bellatrix together again. lol.
It was definitely a visual treat. I wish I too could fall down a rabbit hole and find my own Wonderland. And I wouldn't mind meeting a hookah-smoking caterpillar, a Cheshire cat and a mad-hatter along the way.
Rating: ★★★★☆
2 comments:
Read Gaiman's Neverwhere. Nice book. Modern Alice in Wonderland. MOre mature and darker.
I am not really a Gaiman fan. I read his Stardust book and I liked the movie more than the book. ^_^ but thanks for the suggestion. will keep that in mind.
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