Lewis Carroll must have taken hallucinogens. No sober person could have thought this story up. I mean that in the highest respect. It is just too briliant a place in the imagination to tap into without some “flesh of God.” Well, who knows, maybe not. But if I had to pick a film to watch on mushrooms, Alice in Wonderland in 3-D would easily pass the Lion King, Fantasia, or even Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as my top choice. The critics may be tearing this new Burton/Depp film to pieces but fuck them. I was thoroughly entertained for almost two hours by the bizarre, computer generated, mushroom based world of Wonderland. Okay, I wasn’t really on shrooms’, but it felt like I was and I wished I was, as the images shot off the screen in vibrant colors of lovely 3-D. It isn’t often you see a blood-hound run with a tiny girl on his back and actually look real (he speaks with an English accent). Alice in Wonderland isn’t going to win Best Picture next year – that is a given. I just read one reviewer trashing it and saying Burton needs to make a small, personal movie. Normally I would agree with him, like going back to Ed Wood (a fantastic film) and forget about all this new technology. I was going to sneak into Crazy Heart and watch Mr. Bridges act again so wonderfully or the end of Avatar – but I couldn’t get my body to leave Wonderland’s grip.
The voice-overs for the animals are mostly fantastic British actors beginning with Sir Alan Rickman. Every time I hear his voice, whether in Die Hard or Bottle Shock (good movie about California beating the French Wines in the 70’s) or this, I feel somehow comforted knowing if Mr. Rickman is in it, it can’t be that bad. The CGI may be “overdone” but it is stunning. If I was ten years old I would have possibly thought this better than Star Wars. I’m starting to not like movie critics. Jesus Christ, you could read a negative review and blow the whole experience. I want to quit condemning movies like I used to. If somebody likes it, then forget my criticism. Go with it, enjoy it. If you think Jaws 4 is a fantastic film, fuck what I have to say about it! That’s an extreme example – how about Bad Boys 2?
I must say this, as an animal lover and a big fan of WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams, I LOVE THE RABBITS! I wish the star of ALICE could have been the bunnies, but they did get two nice parts, including the insane bunny who shared a great scene with the Mad Hatter. He has this habbit of slinging tea-cups into people’s heads at fast speeds. Very cool. 
Johnny was hilarious and fuck the critics that say he “overacted.” Are you kidding me? This is FANTASY! He is the MAD HATTER! It’s like saying Gollum “overacted.” This was not a role to hold back in and work on being subtle. Mr. Depp is brilliant and weird as hell here. Very, very cool…
Okay, take some shrooms, go see Alice in Wonderland. You will laugh your ass off and be sucked into a world far more interesting that our own shitty one. I know I didn’t want to leave. Isn’t that why we go to movies in the first place? Thank you Mr. Burton for bringing this to life. I finally just sat back in your movie and quit criticizing and like Woody Allen says in Hannah and Her Sisters, while watching the Marx Brothers – “I just started to enjoy myself.”
