Alice In Wonderland...full of so much Muchness

Prepare for some very poor writing below. =[

So similar to many other people across the globe, I went to the midnight showing of Alice in Wonderland. Contrary to many people, I have been waiting for this movie for over a year and the part I was most looking forward to was Mia Wasikowska’s acting. She is brilliant and it bothers me that the critics are ignoring that. For once it seems that Alice is an actual person, and that is entirely because of Mia’s acting. Last year when I had heard she was playing Alice I looked up her work in the show “In Treatment” all I can say is that it was brilliant as well! She brings the character of Sophie to a reality that I think would be nearly impossible for most actresses.

I had my tickets five days in advanced for Alice in Wonderland and although I had a terrible week, I was still looking forward to going and seeing the movie.

My friend Bre picked me up a little after nine thirty that night, after she got off of work, and we heading down town. We stopped to get coffee at Starbucks before heading over to the theatre, and I full regret doing so now. Upon getting to the theatre at ten thirty that night, we discovered that we missed the chance to stand in line with all the fun cosplayers and actually enjoy the light of the waiting area. Instead we got the overflow and had to wait inside the theatre where it was dark and we were separated from everyone else. There were only a maybe a dozen people there with us. It was dark making the video blog I was trying to make for the friends who were supposed to go with me (they are currently in Florida) impossible. Bre, and I hope to God she doesn’t see this, was a bore and did her homework for the half hour we waited. I definitely didn’t get as much enjoyment as I wanted to in waiting to be let into the viewing theatre.

There were a lot of people who dressed up. The same people who were there probably hours before waiting to get in. I had wanted to talk to them so badly, but because I was with Bre, we sat in the theatre texting our friends instead. I’m not saying I didn’t love spending time with Bre. She is seriously one of the greatest friends I have and I love spending time with her. It’s just that I had a different picture in my head, and I didn’t get that in reality. *Sad face* So after waiting for an hour in the actual viewing theatre we were ready for the movie to start.

As one of our pre previews, they showed Jewel’s new music video “Stay here forever.” Jewel is my favorite singer so I really enjoyed getting to listen to the song which is actually a really amazing song. I didn’t enjoy hearing the people sitting next to me bash not the song but Jewel. I really hate when people do that. Sure they didn’t know that they were sitting by a huge Jewel fan, but seriously, they were in their late twenties early thirties, shouldn’t you, at that age, be able to keep your mouth shut when it comes to talking about celebs and people you don’t even know. I think people just need to respect them for what they do because it takes gut and courage. For example as I have said before I dislike Twilight. Sure I don’t like S. Meyer much or her writing but I still admire the fact that she is doing what she is doing and she’s putting her work out there. I think the rest of the world needs to be a bit more open to things. Obviously our world really isn’t that advanced into maturity yet.

I won’t sit here and complain to long about that. I got up and went to get snakes for Bre and myself. I hadn’t realized how expensive it is to eat snakes at a theatre. Wow! The best part of going to get snakes though was the part when a couple who had been by us in line stepped away from me because I was talking into my camera for my video blog. I didn’t get it on camera but you can hear me saying something like “I recording this for my friends so they feel like they were here,” Pause, “Oh cool step away,” I couldn’t believe it. Did they honestly think I was that big of a freak? How do the YouTube vloggers get away with it? Haha. One of those great mysteries in life.

The movie started and it was everything I expected it to be. I still don’t like the layering effect of 3D animation. I don’t like fact that sometimes you can still tell that it’s layered, but the 3D glasses have come a long way. I still remember when they were paper strips with one blue eye and one red. If you’ve seen them now you have to able to agree that they almost could pass for those cool non prescription glasses like Meekakitty seems to love so much. But I really didn’t like wearing the 3D glasses. Once the movie started it wasn’t so bad because I felt sucked into the world of Wonderland, but during the previews it was just annoying to have the glasses on and have to watch the layering technique of 3D movie making.

Overall though Alice in Wonderland topped my favorite movie list. Tim Burton is a genius! I would be honored to work with him someday even it that was just fetching his coffee for him. I am in awe of his work and what he is capable of doing. Although I’m not a huge fan of Johnny Depp, I say this meaning that I don’t swoon over him like some, I have to admit that he is the most brilliant actor of his time (yes, I still agree that Mia’s acting was fabulous and should have been appreciated much more). It is rare to find a person as capable of being so many different characters. I mean he’s gone from being a pirate to Willy Wonka and now a mad hatter. And most of all they are all portrayed in the most fascinating ways. I can see now why Tim Burton is so keen on putting Johnny in all his movies. The Mad Hatter was such an interesting character in this movie. He went through stages of complete seriousness where he seemed so simply mad that he proved the point Hatter was truly mad. It’s hard to put into words honestly. Helena Carter also did a wonderful job playing the Red Queen. She was threatening yet at the same time with her giant head brought I slight amount of comic relief to the evil side of the movie.

This wasn’t at all Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass and What Alice found There. And for that I am very happy. It wasn’t supposed to be and I think that the world currently has enough renditions of Alice in Wonderland that we just need to give up and admit that they are never actually going to get the real idea of Alice’s first trip to Wonderland right. Although I am sure that if Tim Burton would be the one to make an Alice he would be the closest. But Burton didn’t go with the original idea of Alice’s first trip, and if he did I think the movie would have had a bit creepier of an edge. He might have focused on Alice’s distorted view of the people and things in Wonderland. Seeing how she was so young on her first trip there, there was no way that she could have seen things clearly. But Burton took a different approach to the idea of Wonderland. He had Alice at the age of 19 running away from a life she wasn’t happy with, a place where she felt repressed, to Wonderland where she found her old friends, of course she didn’t remember them, and a Wonderland that needed her help to be saved. In Wonderland Alice found herself faced with many journeys testing her each time and forcing her to grow (not physically in size, although that did sometimes happen) a little each time. Burton never forgot the idea that Alice was a story about a girl finding herself and growing up in the end. This is one of the first Alice movies where Alice is truly a different person coming out of the rabbit hole. In the end of this movie Alice has the courage to do what she needs to be able to do. In the end Alice has regained her Muchness.

This movie was a mix of wonder, excitement, comedy, and so much more. Throughout the entire movie Tim Burton kept a creepy kind of edge but not pushing his limit. This movie by no means is scary or frightening but at the same time the characters are certainly mad each in their own way. After all, all the best people are mad. Should you go and see Alice in Wonderland? Definitely! Go! Today!

Did I not cover a point that you thought I should? Leave a comment and I will answer whatever I can about the movie.

Hopefully my next blog will actually catch you up on what my life has been like lately. I can assure you it’s been hectic. I am on semi spring break this week so you can expect a blog by hopefully Wednesday. I can catch you guys up on the fire at my school, that lovely dentist trip that I had so many months ago but haven’t been able to forget, and whatever else I need to catch you up on.