Truly an excellent adoption of the follow-up to "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis G. Carroll, this is far different than the more well known Tim Burton (and fortunately a ton better), and incomparable to the two previous TV versions I've seen (1966, 1984), a colorful gem that almost seems to be in 3D. Kate Beckinsale is completely charming as Alice, seeing in the beginning talking to a younger version of herself and all of a sudden in the secret garden of looking glass land where life goes backwards.
White Queen Penelope Wilton and Red Queen Sian Phillips are terrifically cast, with Phillips completely covered in red vinyl, imperious but helpful, while Wilton is deliciously dizzy in the traditional white queen garb. The white king is the legendary Ian Holm, sharing a few adventures and fears with Alice that makes him an old school gentleman in a fatherly way to her.
Memorable appearances by Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the uppity wildflowers and Humpty Dumpty are other highlights, yet this seems to be a more adult oriented Alice, one that is not quite fractured fairy tales but artistic and intelligent in nature, colorful and vivid. even with seeing all the other versions of this, I found it's completely engaging and it was as if I had never really seen it ever before. I'd rather this be the most recent big screen version than the one with Depp and Bonham-Carter.
White Queen Penelope Wilton and Red Queen Sian Phillips are terrifically cast, with Phillips completely covered in red vinyl, imperious but helpful, while Wilton is deliciously dizzy in the traditional white queen garb. The white king is the legendary Ian Holm, sharing a few adventures and fears with Alice that makes him an old school gentleman in a fatherly way to her.
Memorable appearances by Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the uppity wildflowers and Humpty Dumpty are other highlights, yet this seems to be a more adult oriented Alice, one that is not quite fractured fairy tales but artistic and intelligent in nature, colorful and vivid. even with seeing all the other versions of this, I found it's completely engaging and it was as if I had never really seen it ever before. I'd rather this be the most recent big screen version than the one with Depp and Bonham-Carter.