Saturday, March 13, 2010

Alice in WonderWeird?


Tonight, my friend Rita and I took in a movie: Alice in Wonderland. Now, normally I am not into fantastical movies of this sort but as part of the expansion period of my life, I decided to take a chance that I miiiiiiight enjoy it and I went.

Before I left my place, dgdreamin, who inhabits my part of the Twitter universe, suggested I critique the flick upon my return. Here, I do so. These are my thoughts and my thoughts only about how the movie hit me.

As I said, fantastical movies are not my typical genre but I watched with an open mind. The opening was your typical old-timey English setting, hey, not too bad so far. ( I have a penchant for the English accent and you just might hear me using it this week *smile*) Things got a tad bit funky when she fell down the hole.

The plot was a good versus evil story but with twists along the way or maybe they were only perceived as twists because I'd not remembered what Alice in Wonderland was about. The Cheshire cat totally creeped me out, the Mad Hatter both made me want to look away and confused me, the Caterpillar's blowing smoke in Alice's face annoyed me, and the Queen of Hearts caused queasiness. Alice seemed too young for the age she was supposed to be in Wonderland and her actions seemed stilted. Contrived.

And then, she grew into the role and I do not mean when she ate the cake. Indeed, she DID regain her "muchness", appearing older and I relished watching her, hearing her speak. Along with the change in attitude I had towards her, I saw the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter differently. No longer did the Cat creep me out, I admired his cleverness. The Hatter held me riveted. The Caterpillar intrigued me. The Queen of Hearts, well her bulbous head still made me queasy. Not mentioned yet is the hairy beast (can't remember it's name) who reminded me of the Abominable Snowman from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer but much meaner. By the end of the movie, I wanted to take him home.

The movie was crafted in such a way as to completely turn my perception of the characters around before it was finished. Not all will agree with what I think but it is how the movie hit me. By the end of the tale, I was hooked and realized I'd thoroughly enjoyed it! Of course, I took away a few things from it as well and they are:

1. Alice's hair is to die for ~sigh~
2. Alice kicks awesome a**!
3. Even in stress, there is humor to be found (makes it manageable).
4. I want a suit of armor just like Alice's and I don't want to have to make it myself from foil (note to self: google armor).
5. That Mad Hatter can DANCE! I want to learn how to do that before I die.
6. It is good to open your mind to new things, you just might enjoy it.
7. I have regained MY "muchness" and am proud of it.

Until I viewed this movie, a brief trailer was all I'd seen leaving me with no desire to watch this movie. Now? I'd happily head back to see it again. Or is that a - GAIN?! :-) Told you I'd be English this week . . .

3 comments:

"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane said...

I agree. the trailer is creepy, the movie a pleasure. I think my brain was a bit fried by the 3-D glasses. Good for girls--the most powerful characters are all female (Alice, Red Queen, White Queen).

Garden Wise Guy said...

Sweet review, girlio! I intended to see it before it leaves the theater and 3D effects, but wasn't sure. Now you've convinced me. The rest of the family's seen it twice. Better get my butt in gear.

Anonymous said...

Yep, yep, yep...I agree...Our theater didn't offer the movie in 3D so can't say whether or not I would have enjoyed it that way but I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the show. I was also pleased it didn't scare my 11-year old daughter. Your review is right on target.