Alice In Wonderland B-

Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland" is pretty much what you would expect from the master of the macabre humor. Burton has eschewed the candy colored Disney animated vision of the past and highlighted the off putting cragginess of the Wonderland of the original books. This is a dark and legitimately scary place full of things that don't work the way you think they're supposed to.

Burton has turned Alice into a late teen, and given her a message of girl power. Once she's down the rabbit hole she soon runs into Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter. Depp certainly highlights the insanity of the character. So instead of a delightful eccentric we get someone who seems genuinely off his rocker with a shock of bright red hair, and almost as much makeup as his willy wonka. Helena Bonham Carter seems to be having a grand old time as the queen of hearts with her digitally enlarged head and a fondness for beheading.

The effects are fun to watch, and what the story lacks in surprises it largely makes up for in the sheer look of the picture. If you already have a beloved adaptation of the classic book, this won't do anything to dislodge it from your hearts and memories. But It's a unique vision that deserves to be judged on its own terms.

Alice In Wonderland: B-