Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by Linda Woolverton. Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh with Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was shot in the United Kingdom and the United States. The story is inspired by the English author Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Wasikowska plays a nineteen-year-old Alice. She is told that she can restore the White Queen to her throne because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature that is controlled by the Red Queen and terrorizes Wonderland's inhabitants.
The film premiered in London at the Odeon Leicester Square on February 25, 2010, and was released in Australia on March 4, 2010 and the following day in the United Kingdom and the United States through IMAX 3D and Disney Digital 3D as well as in traditional theaters. The film grossed over $1.02 billion worldwide, being Burton's most successful movie so far. Despite this, the film was received with mixed reviews. Although praised for its visual style and special effects, the movie was criticized for its lack of narrative, coherence and plot. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Alice in Wonderland won for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and was also nominated for Best Visual Effects. The film generated over $1 billion in ticket sales and, as of August 2014, it is the seventeenth highest-grossing film of all time.
Movie Details:
Directed by: Tim Burton
Produced by: Richard D. Zanuck, Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd
Screenplay by: Linda Woolverton
Based on: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Barbara Windsor
Music by: Danny Elfman
Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski
Edited by: Chris Lebenzon
Production company: Walt Disney Pictures, Roth Films, The Zanuck Company, Team Todd
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios, Motion Pictures
Release dates: February 25, 2010 (London), March 5, 2010 (United States)
Running time: 108 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $150–$200 million
Box office: $1.025 billion
Plot:
Troubled by a strange recurring dream and mourning the loss of her beloved father, nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh attends a garden party at Lord Ascot's estate, where she is confronted by an unwanted marriage proposal, to Hamish Ascot, and the stifling expectations of the society in which she lives. Unsure of how to reply, and increasingly confused, she runs away to chase after a rabbit in a blue waistcoat, and accidentally falls into a large rabbit hole. She is transported to a world called Wonderland, where she is greeted by the White Rabbit, the Dormouse, the Dodo, the Tall Flowers, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum. They argue over her identity as "the right Alice", who it is foretold will slay the Red Queen's Jabberwocky on the Frabjous Day and restore the White Queen to power as told by Absolem the Caterpillar and his Oraculum. The group is then ambushed by the Bandersnatch and a group of playing-card soldiers led by the Knave of Hearts capturing the White Rabbit and the Dodo bird. Alice, Tweedledum and Tweedledee escape and flee into the woods, while the Knave steals the Oraculum and the Dormouse leaves the others with one of the Bandersnatch's eyes. Tweedledum and Tweedledee, however, were abducted by the Red Queen's Jubjub bird. The Knave informs the Red Queen that Alice has returned and threatens her reign, and the soldiers and Bayard the Bloodhound are ordered to find Alice immediately. Meanwhile, the wandering Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat, who takes her to the March Hare and the Hatter. On the way to the White Queen's castle, Hatter relates the terror of the Red Queen's reign, and comments that Alice is not the same as she once was. The Hatter helps Alice avoid capture by allowing himself to be seized instead. Later, Alice is found by Bayard the Bloodhound, who wishes to take her to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), but Alice insists upon helping the Hatter, so they go to the Red Queen's castle. The Red Queen is unaware of Alice's true identity and therefore welcomes her as a guest. Alice learns that the Vorpal sword (the only weapon capable of killing the Jabberwocky) is locked away in a case inside the Bandersnatch's den. The Knave crudely attempts to seduce Alice, but she rebuffs him; a subordinate sees this and informs the Red Queen, but the Knave replies that Alice made advances on him instead, and a jealous Red Queen orders Alice beheaded. Alice later manages to retrieve the sword and befriend the Bandersnatch by returning its eye. The Knave finds her with the sword and attempts to arrest her. Alice escapes on the back of the Bandersnatch and delivers the sword to the White Queen. The Cheshire Cat saves the Hatter from the executioner, and the Hatter calls for rebellion against the Red Queen. The rebellion is quickly put down by the Jubjub bird, but the resistance flees to the White Queen's castle, and both armies prepare for battle. Alice remains unsure about the expectation for her to champion the White Queen, and meets with a transforming Absolem. He reminds Alice of her past visit to Wonderland thirteen years earlier, and helps give her the courage to fight the Jabberwocky and accomplish "what she must to do" before completing his transformation into a pupa. When the Frabjous Day arrives, both the White and Red Queens gather their massive armies on a chessboard-like battlefield and send forth their chosen champions (armor-clad Alice and the Jabberwocky respectively) to decide the fate of Wonderland. As Alice fights the Jabberwocky, the White and Red Queen's armies start battling each other, with the Red Queen's forces faltering. Encouraging herself with the words of her late father, Alice manages to behead the Jabberwocky, ending the battle. The White Queen then banishes her evil elder sister and the Knave to the Outlands; the Knave tries to kill the Red Queen but when he is stopped by the Hatter, he begs to be killed instead of banished, which the White Queen refuses. After the Hatter performs a celebration dance called Futterwacken, the White Queen gives Alice a vial of the Jabberwocky's purple blood, which will take her home. The Hatter suggests that she could stay in Wonderland, but she decides that she must go back and promises that she will return.
Alice returns home, where she stands up to her family and pledges to live her life on her own terms. Impressed, Lord Ascot takes her in as his apprentice with the idea of establishing oceanic trade routes to China. As the story closes, Alice prepares to set off on a trading ship. A light-blue butterfly lands on her shoulder, which Alice recognizes as Absolem and greets him before he flutters away.
