Alice: A Review (Spoilers Ahead)

Walking around the mountain today with a friend, we had a lively discussion of the new Tim Burton movie Alice in Wonderland.  We all went to see it Saturday, and I have to say that I loved it, but it took me a little time to process the movie and decide why it was that I loved it. 

First of all, let me be completely honest and confess:  I have a thing for Johnny Depp.  He is genius.  Best character actor of our generation, maybe ever.  Just had to put that out there. (=

I was not a huge fan of the plotline, although I think that it was a good attempt at an original spin on a classic story.  I thought it was predictable and didn't explore certain storylines enough. 

What I loved, though, was the way the script and the actors stayed true to the original character's personalities and souls.  I could definitely see Lewis Carroll loving them and blessing their portrayal here.  They just lived.  Alice, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Red Queen of Hearts...all exactly how I imagined them as a child, and as an older student of literature.  Helena Bonham Carter is another actor of great genius, and she is both heartbreakingly funny, and vulnerably cruel in her role. 

And, AND!  They used other parts of the original Carroll story in the movie!  Awesome!  The Jaberwocky:

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

People may disagree, and of course that's ok.  But for me, although the story was eh...the characterizations and the cinematography were A+.