Wonderous fantasy returns

A magical story that has been recreated numerous times has once again been revamped into the next great 3-D creation to follow “Avatar.” The wild imagery of legendary director Tim Burton has fashioned the classic tale of “Alice in Wonderland” into a completely new story. The film does, however, stay faithful to and strengthens the original fairy tale.

In her first prominent role, Mia Wasikowska plays Alice who, usually depicted as a 10-year-old girl in the past, is now 18 years old. Most of us know the story of Alice chasing the rabbit and tumbling down a hole, at the bottom of which she finds a mysterious door, shrinks and finds herself in a vast garden area of immense beauty. That is where this new rendition of the old classic makes its first big twist. Alice has no recollection of ever being in Wonderland before, and she sets out on a journey to find her way back home.

The Mad Hatter’s role, performed by Johnny Depp, is a significant focus of the film and is outlandish, witty, whimsical and blatantly outrageous — a true madman. This shouldn’t have been too tough of a character for Depp to portray. The gentle White Queen is played by Anne Hathaway, and her evil sister, the Red Queen, who has taken over all of Wonderland, is portrayed by a marvelously captivating performance from Helena Bonham Carter. All the lovable characters return in this mystical vision of the fantasyland. Alice begins to meet up with her other long forgotten friends, made up by tremendously wild animations and a nutty overhauling of characters. The March Hare, Dormouse, the Tweedles, the Cheshire Cat and all the other classic creatures of Wonderland come to Alice’s aid as they always have.

The wild characters, fanciful settings and Burton’s brilliant vision combine to put viewers right in the middle of the strange world that is Wonderland. Additionally, Danny Elfman, composing musical scores for other  great Burton films including “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands,” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” creates a wonderfully magical balance between light-heartedness and darkness that drops the audience right into the garden next to Alice.

Burton and Depp have worked on nearly a dozen films together, and they don’t show any signs of parting ways any time soon.

— Isaac Kreider is a senior journalism major and a copy editor for the Mirror.