IT’S  ALICE but not as we know it.

Set 13 years after Alice’s original trip to wonderland this film must not be mistaken for a remake of the original Disney classic from 1951.

Tim Burton’s gothic sequal has a multitude of famous names including Johnny Depp , Helena Bonham Carter , Matt Lucas and Alan Rickman  which is an attraction for any audience..

And Clever use of CGI  has created a mythical backdrop for “Wonderland”,  or “Underland” as the characters kept referring to it,  in the film.  But the colours in the movie seem  muted to keep Burton’s gothic trademark on the film.

An array of monsters have  also been added from Lewis Carroll’s other writings to contribute to the new storyline.

Johnny Depp’s performance as The Mad Hatter didn’t live up to my personal expectations.  I found him irritating as one minute he was speaking softly, then suddenly changing to a strong Scottish accent,  and then launching into jibberish.

 But Helena Bonham Carter’s performance as the Queen of Hearts stuck true to the original character.

  Mia Wasikowska produced a fine  performance in the film and managed to create a naive Alice unable to believe that she was actually in Wonderland and always trying to reassure herself that it was just a dream.

My two personal favourite characters in the film were Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee  both played by a superb Lucas.

The big concern  I have is that  the film,  which is rated PG , would infact be too scary for children whose parents had taken them under the presumption that the movie would be a simple remake of the Disney classic. My advice for anyone planning to take  a young child would be to do alot of research or to go and see it yourself first and make your own judgement.

 The storyline also appeared to draw on themes from other films such as ‘Narnia, as  both movies use the aspect of revisiting a fantasy world as the characters grow older.

Another  aspect is drawn from ‘ The Wizard Of Oz’   as characters in the parallel world of “Wonderland” are reminicent of those in Alice’s normal life as they are with Dorothy in Kansas.

And the final theme is ‘Sword in the Stone’ as Alice was the only character who could find and use the sword to fulfil her destiny.

With my preconceived idea of  this ‘Wonderland’  being a remake rather than a sequal to the original I  left the cinema feeling  decidely underwhelmed by what I had seen.

But you don’t have to be as mad as a hatter to go and see it.

Tside rating: TTT

TAGS: 3d, Alan Rickman, Alice In Wonderland, Helena Bonham Carter, Hopper, imax, Jessica, jessica hopper, Johnny Depp, Matt Lucas, Mia Wasikowska, Stephen Fry, Tim Burton