The Rose and The Lily: Alice in Wonderland (2010): A Review

"You're mad, bonkers, off your head! But I'll tell you a secret: All the best people are."

-Charles Kingsley

Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton and starring Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and Johnny Depp, was quite a spectacular film, the CGI mixed in with the actors and actresses superb acting and the interesting storyline made it quite a spectacle to behold, it was truly a movie that gave justice to the own clever wittiness and diverse imaginations of the author of the books it was based upon.

Diverse

There are many diferences between the original books made by the Lewis Caroll and the film of Walt Disney Pictures shown in March of 2010. The scenery of the world of Wonderland, the story flow, and the main plot had changed quite drastically from the originals although what was clearly established was the fact that Wonderland was a real alternate dimension compared to the books' which were just dreamt of by Alice. In the originals, there was no real reason why Alice was sent to Wonderland, why she had dreamt of such a world from the beginning; while in the film - portraying it like an continuation of the original story -, there is a distinctive reason for her to go there which is to save Wonderland (later known to be Underland). Depth was also added onto the film, giving it a more serious feel.

Wonderland

The scenery of Wonderland is as imaginative as the original books; the castle of the Red Queen, the Mad Tea Party, the Fall Down the Rabbit Hole, and the Forest of Wonderland were all quite beautifully designed, crafted, and edited, like a real magical realm come to life before the viewers' eyes. Although the books were only limited to forests and hills in the originals; the Wonderland of the film, contained mountains, rivers and seas, and weathered ruins, courtesy of the devastation of the Red Queen's rein. You could say the Wonderland of AIW was a bit morbid and dark compared to the originals, and if it wasn't for the clear impossibilities of a world such as Wonderland to really occur in the real world, it would seem like a run down country after a recent war and a current dictatorship with rebellion brewing in the horizon.

The designs of the costumes, props, and make-up were quite artful as well, the dresses that Alice wore - about 5 of them - were very nicely made and fit in with the rest of the World of Wonderland, they were also quite youthful, showing the audience that despite how Alice was, she was still quite young. The White and Red Queens' dresses, clashing with red hearts and plain white, showcased regality and power. The Red Queen with her extremely bolbous head only emphasizing the degree of her power. The Mad Hatter's costume is also something to note upon, his outfit screamed eccentric and crazy along with his make-up and hair stlye, but it wasn't completely clownish, he didn't look overly accessoried either; the Mad Hatter looked as if he had a deep seriousness lingering beyond the surface under the madness, that was probably why the colors of his outfit were a bit dark, not only to show he was a victim of the devastation but also to show he was mourning the losses due to it.

The other characters like the March Hare, the Bandersnatch, and others were also very nicely made, especially with the Bandersnatch and Jabberwocky not really having true forms due to the fact that they were only part of a poem within the book. They cleaned up quite nicely for me, especially with the fact that these characters are all CGI generated.

Mad People

Alice Kingsley played by Mia Wasikowska, was probably the only character in the movie who was the closest to the original Alice Liddell in terms of attitude and views of the world, she was imaginative, inquisative, and curious although a factor the two differentiated upon was that Alice Liddell had steel forwardness especially in the parts of the trial of the first book, 'The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland', which was towards the end. Alice Kingsley however still showed doubt and uncertainty until her talk with the Caterpillar where afterwards she was about to take on the Jabberwockey on Frabjous Day. Though the two did share a healthy brand of wittiness that could border on being rude, and they were both unperturbed even if the the people around them tried to put them down. Wasikowska had potrayed this all very well, I wouldn't ask more from her.

The Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp was also done well. The insanity, the sadness, the moodiness, and the joy of the Mad Hatter was effectively portrayed without going over board, too whacky, or looking senile. He'd done a wonderful job, and the character itself - as I've said before - had more depth, making him seem more 'colorful' in a way that gives people a clearer understanding of him.

Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen was also good as well as the White Queen played by Anne Hathaway, both regal in two different senses and both very weird yet easy on the eyes.

The characters who were CGIs were also nicely voiced, the voices made by ther dubbers fit well and didn't seem the least bit out of place with the emotion of the character. Although there were many changes in terms of the characters themselves, they all quite nicely fit the entire spectrum of the film. For example, the Dormouse who was always asleep in the original, was a swordswoman in the film, a fighter; though different, her courageous tendencies gave her a bigger role to play in the film compared to the March Hare.

The characters in the real world like Heimich, Margareth, the twins, and the others were alright. Heimich - though short - played his part well as a snotty, rich brat grown in the ways of aristocracy. The twins were an amusing addition as well.

The acting of the players and dubbers were good. For me, Johnny Depp being the most skillful but all did a fine job for AIW.

Through the Looking Glass

Overall, Alice in Wonderland tells it's viewers to believe in one's self and learn to decide for ourselves and although doubt and uncertainty may come one's way, running away from it or denial will not solve anything. It also tells people to learn to start growing up and facing challenges head on, we are not children forever - under the tutelage or our parents and given whatever we need whenever we need them - and although they may help us at some points, independence is still a must.

AIW shows people as well that 'different' is not a crime, that doing something outside of the box sometimes yields more for one's self as long as one has an iron will and contains perserverance. Furthermore, social norms are not completely limiting but there are times when one should not fully prioritize them and leave them to bind and limit one down.

AIW also mirrors the way of power, how it can easily corrupt people and devastate nations. The absolute desire for power and the desire to enslave it can drive people to do things which are not the most wonderful, to the brink that, as quote by the Red Queen, "You're right, Stayne. It is better to be feared than loved". Fear is a way of controlling people to do what you want with them, it is also a driving force that makes them destroy those that stand in your way and revert to the ways you would want them to be. But fear can also be overcame, an example is the situation of the Mad Hatter where instead of fearing the Red Queen and following her deformed minions, he worked with the White Queen to rebel against her along with a handful of those under the Red Queen herself.

AIW also tells us that people can be quite mindless, following whoever was above and bowing to reap the little things the higher would give you, lowering yourself and your morals in the process. These people cannot be trustworthy since they only follow the rule of self-preservation and nothing else.

And if AIW has thought me anything, life cannot always have a happy ending. This' ironic since the film clearly had a happy ending. Though I am not talking about what happened but more on what didn't happen; the ways of the world of Wonderland before Alice had appeared was that of tyranny and devastation with the leader of the rebellion, the White Queen, working as a humanitarian, unable to hurt even a fly.

Under such leadership, one could guess that it is impossible to win a war such as that without the use of violence. It also seemed that they also lacked in number. So their rebellion had relied upon the Oraculum, the teller of everything from the beginning to the end which foretells of Alice coming and saving them all, like a seer.

Although logically, logic cannot be applied to such a world with unknown boundaries, I cannot help but wonder what would happen if the Oraculum was wrong.

Situations such as the tyranny in Wonderland still happen in the real world today, whether it be government or a strict boss at work, and it is sometimes plainly obvious that one cannot win without fighting back or doing some course of action. An Oraculum to life does not exist, and it is better to have back up plans in case things go wrong. Reliance on a single plan can get one unprepared for set backs.

I guess this could also relate to Alice In Wonderland since I've read once that Alice Kingsley travel to China actually became the instigator of the Opium Wars.