Alice in Wonderland

Director and subject matter make for a perfect marriage in Tim Burton’s version of the Lewis Carroll classic. ALICE IN WONDERLAND stars frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, DEFIANCE’s Mia Wasikowska as Alice, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.

There should be some indication in the title that this is a sequel to "Alice in Wonderland," not the same story. Alice is now a young lady, being proposed by somebody wholly unsuitable.

Alice at 19 recalls a lifetime of dreams about Wonderland, but now - as she is running away from the very public marriage proposal - she falls down in another rabbit hole, and ends up in a world vaguely familiar to her, a world in which (modified) Lewis Carroll characters remember her very well.

In a 3-D vaguely Avatarish setting, it's the Red Queen reign of terror, Helena Bonham Carter - big, grotesque head on a tiny body - having a grand old time. Johnny Depp - overacting to the max - is the Mad Hatter, also with a special-effect modified body, but most of the other characters are just computer-generated graphics.

So, it is the voices that "perform" - Stephen Fry is wonderful as the Cheshire Cat, Alan Rickman is predictably himself as the Blue Caterpillar, Paul Whitehouse is the March Hare, Barbara Windsor the Dormouse, Matt Lucas is both Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and so on.

Anne Hathaway is ridiculously miscast as a deliberately weird White Queen, although the character is supposed to represent Good against the Red Queen's evil.

It's up to Alice to save the world by slaying the Jabberwocky, turned into a super-monster here - the conflict being that she is not into slaying. How might this end? Don't look at me for spilling the beans, magic or otherwise.

Not surprisingly, Burton played it pretty safe by delivering a film that meets the visual expectations of his fans, yet remains family (and Disney) friendly. Playing it safe may make for an entertaining film but not an outstanding one.

Finally..the rating..I would say 3 POPCORNS would be appropriate..