Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton took a classic childhood story and completely twisted it into a massive fantasy blockbuster back in 2010. You watch Mia Wasikowska play an older version of Alice Kingsleigh, who falls down the rabbit hole to escape a boring marriage proposal. We also get a wildly eccentric performance from Johnny Depp as the tragic Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter screaming her lungs out as the giant headed Red Queen. I always tell my friends to watch this movie if they want to see a totally different take on a familiar fairy tale. The story drops you right into the strange and dangerous world of Underland. A closer look beneath the crazy tea parties and talking animals reveals a surprisingly empowering story about a young woman finding her own voice. A structural analysis shows that every bizarre creature Alice meets directly mirrors the oppressive social rules she hates in the real world.

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski creates a massive visual contrast between the boring real world and the magical underground kingdom. You immediately notice how the opening scenes in Victorian England look completely drained of color to make her normal life feel incredibly suffocating. I do get a little annoyed when the camera relies too heavily on shiny computer generated environments during the big chase scenes. The heavy digital effects sometimes make the magical forests feel a bit too much like a fake video game instead of a living breathing world. A quick return to the practical makeup and wild costumes of the actors thankfully restores a much better visual balance. The costume department gives Alice dresses that constantly change size to completely sell the weird physical rules of the magical realm.

Pay attention to the set design and you will see how the castles completely reflect the personalities of the two rival queens. The chaotic interior of the Red Queen palace feels very authentic because the harsh red colors and sharp heart shaped decorations match a ruler obsessed with violent executions. A trip over to the bright white palace of the White Queen, played by Anne Hathaway, offers a totally different vibe entirely. The sparkling towers and clean marble floors look like a beautiful but slightly unnatural dream. My main complaint involves the massive digital battlefield at the very end. The flat grey wasteland looks a bit too generic and boring for a movie built on such incredible imagination. The choice to put these strange characters in incredibly oversized chairs and tiny doors forces a natural visual comedy that jumps right off the screen.

You really have to listen to the quirky background noises to understand the weird energy of this fantasy world. My ears constantly catch the bizarre ticking clocks and shattering teacups right before a crazy action sequence begins. The editing moves at a very frantic pace during the Mad Hatter scenes to perfectly match his completely unpredictable mood swings. We hear a beautifully haunting and magical musical score composed by Danny Elfman, and that choice makes the quiet moments of realization feel incredibly epic. The sudden loud roar of the terrifying Jabberwocky dragon actually makes the colorful fantasy land feel terrifyingly dangerous.

Let us clear up some common mysteries about this massive fantasy blockbuster.

- Is the movie a direct remake of the animated classic? No, the director actually created a sequel to the original books, showing a much older Alice returning to a magical world she completely forgot.

- How did they make the head of the Red Queen so giant? The special effects team used specialized high definition cameras to film the actress separately and then digitally expanded her head to twice its normal size.

- Did Johnny Depp help design his own crazy costume? Yes, he actually painted watercolor sketches of how he wanted the character to look, including the orange hair which represents real mercury poisoning suffered by historical hat makers.

The incredible costume designs and the classic weird energy of the director keep me coming back, but I cannot deny that the final battle feels completely out of place. Certain sword fighting sequences look so generic that you almost lose your connection to the whimsical nonsense of the original story.

Fans of dark fantasy will definitely love finding the hidden magical details in these strange castles. If you think you have the eye to spot the tiny blue caterpillar in our daily guess the movie challenge or just want a fun break from reality, test your skills at Flickle. You can also play our popular movie guesser to prove your ultimate pop culture knowledge.