Underland?

My camera is still out of batteries (I've been out of the house all day, what can I say?), so today I'm giving you a review of Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland".
Overall, it was a good movie. Anne Hathaway's acting was not very good at all, and she made the white queen seem schizophrenic, but this was balanced out by both Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp's amazing performances. The story was new and interesting, but kept themes and characters mostly true to the books, though the clear use of the hero's journey as a motif for the plotline did not at all fit the style of Lewis Carrol, which was rather disappointing. Some changes just seemed silly, like changing "Wonderland" to "Underland" and sluffing off the old name by acting as if it was six year-old Alice misunderstanding what the inhabitants of this world were saying. The animation was just as lovely and whimsical as one could hope. It isn't Burton or Depp's best work, but it's hard to top something like "Edward Scissorhands". Overall, I'd give the movie three and a half stars. It's definitely worth seeing, but don't expect to be blown away be Burton's rendition of the classic fairy tale, and try to keep an open mind to his interpretation.

Thing to be grateful for today: Old Friends.


P.S. The costume design in "Alice In Wonderland" is definitely worth seeing the movie in theaters for.