I finally saw the much anticipated Alice in Wonderland [3D] (2010) on Saturday and let me tell you, another film lived up to the hype. First Avatar, now Alice…. I’m a pretty happy moviegoer.

Tim Burton creates a much more adult “Underland” in this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll book. Alice has returned to Wonderland, where everything seems vaguely familiar to her, but she thinks it is a dream. The audience journeys along with Alice as she deals with a darker Wonderland than in her childhood and has more decisions to make. Parts of the movie may seem superfluous or misguided at times, but that is because Alice is feeling misguided; the film immerses the audience very well. You feel how Alice feels. It’s pretty sweet. It may be a bit darker and dealing with heavier subject matter, but it was still funny.

Johnny Depp, of course, plays the Mad Hatter, who has a lot more depth than I remember from the animated classic. Depp does a spectacular job. Mia Wasikowska also nailed her role as Alice. I was extremely impressed with the performances…even the CG performances. The characters felt real to me. (That’s a good thing.)

Danny Elfman’s score was brilliant. It helped create the mystery and was an essential part of this film. The only thing is that it felt like I had heard it in another film; it just felt familiar. I love this score, so I’m not going to knock it. Here’s a sample:

Overall, this movie rocked. Alice in Wonderland is rated PG and runs 108 minutes. This one can be shown to all ages, though kids probably wouldn’t get the deeper meaning. 9 ramheads out of 10.