Welcome to movie math where we look at a film and see if it adds up to family fun.

 

TIM BURTON’S ALICE IN WONDERLAND – There are many things that are totally cool about this movie. Among them, the fact that there are 5 actors from the Harry Potter films in it (this according to Julia). That little tidbit aside, visually it’s pretty darn stunning. Burton never fails to deliver when it comes to the look of his films. Story, well, he’s not always on the mark. The premise has promise. Alice is a teenager, plagued by what she thinks are “dreams” of her childhood visit to Wonderland. Her beloved father, a visionary and self-professed mad person (“all the best people are,” he tells her when she thinks she has gone mad) has passed away. And Alice is being forced into a loveless marriage with an annoying and unattractive Lord with digestive issues. (Been there, honey). At her engagement party, just after the Lord proposes and before she answers, she excuses herself and follows the White Rabbit down the hole (been there too) thus returning to Wonderland. Being a Tim Burton film, Wonderland has naturally transformed from a lovely (albeit wacky) place, into a desolate, decimated, nightmarish landscape, all thanks the the evil RED QUEEN played quite convincingly by Burton’s wife without the legal paperwork Helena Bonham Carter (I’d like to be a fly on the wall in THAT marriage). And Alice, according to some scroll we never quite learn the origins of, is destined to be the savior of Wonderland by fighting the Jabberwock.  Fight the Jabberwock?! I’d turn over the reigns to Wonderland if she can tell me what the heck “the mome raths outgrabe” means! Anyhow, the reluctant Alice must find herself and therefore her courage in order to save the day. All fine and good. But this is where the story starts to get lame-o.  It’s predictable and fairly tensionless. Little makes sense as to WHY anything is happening. I know, I know. It’s Wonderland… things aren’t supposed to make sense. Well, yes, the story should otherwise all you have is a Lady Gaga video. Frankly, if it weren’t for the oddities and amazing visuals, I certainly would have taken a snooze. But you know what? Julia loved it! And without spoiling the ending, which I’m sure you’ve guessed, the message is a good one in terms of empowerment for girls. And being the mamma of a girl, I’m always happy to see that. Thanks Tim and Jim (Cameron) for your messages to my daughter this past year. In the end, yeah… it’s worth a look. But if you’re debating 3-D price versus 2-D, you might want to save your money since the 3-D, not so spectacular.

STUNNING VISUALS + NOT SO STUNNING STORY + COOL CHICK EMPOWERMENT MESSAGE = A COOL RIDE FOR KIDS, ADULTS…EH.

A little Lewis Carroll trivia re: the original Alice In Wonderland and what the heck it means.

Apparently, the other-worldly events in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” can be interpreted as satire on 19th-century advances in mathematics. This according to a NY Times article entitled ALGEBRA IN WONDERLAND.

 

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ IT:

 
http://s.nyt.com/u/b-L