The new "Alice"

I saw last night, and enjoyed it tremendously! That might have been made easier since I went in without any strong pre-conceived notions of what a Tim Burton movie was supposed to be like. It's my understanding that this film is not up to his usual weirdness. Which isn't to say it wasn't weird; there was plenty of that, I reckon it was just toned down. And the music was a bit on the loud side on occasion - but not always, so that when the volume did soar, to my ear, it was like "oh, there's music, too." For the most part, I didn't notice it at all. And sure, there were a few Disney-esque moments that, like the voluminous music, came across like something shoved in rather than as a natural unfolding of the storyline. But I found so much to enjoy that those intrusive moments were easy to forget.

First, the costuming. I positively salivated the entire film over it. There was a moment where the sound was of this fabulous soft, rich rustling of massive quantities of silk that was just perfect for the action. I loved Alice's deconstructed dresses, and how the film managed to make them work even as she changed in height. I adored the attention to detail in the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter. There was so much to take in, I'd see it again on the big screen just to be able to look at it all again.

Second, I quite liked the older Alice. Although the movie was not as dark as it could have been, her age did open the door to more overt and palatable sexual innuendo than if she were, say, 6. This Alice was apparently old enough to be married off, yet she possessed an ingénue that made it easy to believe she was much, much younger, and so the innuendo, to my mind, was able to carry a bit of a perv factor appropriate to this piece of work.

Third, the monkeys. I'll say no more.

Fourth, I enjoyed the meta-factor as the film explicitly encoded in itself the awareness that it was not a re-do of the classic "Alice." There were elements that were classic, and there were definitely elements that were not, and I think the job was well-done to not try and reinvent the wheel here but clearly revisit it and make a creative extension.

Fifth, the Red and White Queens. Helena Bonham Carter channeled the Red Queen's instability and insecurities fabulously! But Anne Hathaway as the White Queen is no Glenda; she's a very freaky girl, too, so don't let the airy voice and twirling movement distract you.

Did I mention the monkeys?

Sixth - look, I'm all the way down here before I even think to mention Johnny Depp. He certainly is the right kind of dude to play the Mad Hatter, and the scene around the tea table was terrifically insane. And I think it's some kind of tribute to the direction in the film that Depp's performance didn't runneth over everything else in his vicinity.

Finally, there was a certain kind of existential theme that I think I just might have to put off thinking about until I see the film again and have a chance to process it more. I do recall it coming across very interestingly a couple of times, but between being enchanted by the costuming and amused by the monkeys, well, it was all just a lot to take in.

So I look forward to watching it again, even without the 3-D hoo-de-doos.