By Summer Rogers
Published: March 09, 2010

This isn’t the Alice in Wonderland from your childhood. This is the Alice straight from the warped mind of director Tim Burton, and it is indeed a wonderland of beauty and imagination.

In typical Burton fashion, this isn’t simply a remake of the Walt Disney 1951 classic; it has been revamped to illustrate Alice’s return to “Underland,” (as the denizens call their fantastical home) after 13 years.

Now a young woman, Alice (Mia Wasikowska, Amelia) returns to the world of wonderland, convinced that she is stuck in a dream. Alice’s friends and citizens of Wonderland, White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen, New Moon), twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and Dormouse (voiced by Barbara Windsor) must convince Alice that she isn’t dreaming and that she is the “champion;” the chosen one to defeat the Red Queen’s (Helena Bonham-Carter) fearsome creature, the Jabberwocky.

The film is visually stunning. Burton brings the world of Underland, a place of imagination, vibrancy and charm, to life, especially in dazzling 3-D.

The cast of live actors, Wasikowska, Bonham-Carter, Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp and Crispin Glover are a titanic force in this film, acting within an imaginary world, talking to imaginary creatures and interacting convincingly with things that aren’t really there.

In a distinct departure from the Disney classic, every time Alice shrank or grew, her clothing didn’t shrink or grow with her. This served as a distraction in anticipating her next costume and critiquing the outfit as if it were a dress at the Oscars.

There’s no reason not to like this film: the plot is exciting, the film is visually beautiful and there couldn’t be a better cast. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a rabbit hole worth falling into.