Our Amazing Movie Adventure: Alice In Wonderland

The Search Begins

Yesterday afternoon, the boys, hubster and I took to the city on an adventure in Wonderland! It all started right here on the laptop. A simple Google search for “movies” along with my city and state produced listings of movie show times sorted by title and theatre location. I was pleased to find a new theatre, locally owned, we could visit to view Alice in Wonderland.

Normally, I use Goby to find places to eat or things to do but, they don’t have movie listings yet. Don’t worry, I kindly suggested they add movie listings to their search engine!

Destination – River Cinema

River Cinema is a fantastic theatre different from any other theatre in my area. It’s deceivingly large. Located in a strip mall; they have 12 different viewing screens. Equipped with stadium reclining seats, arcade area, private birthday party rooms, comfy couches to hang out while you wait for the movie to begin, even special booster seats for the littlest ones; I was completely enchanted by the facility! They’ve managed to create a place for kids to hang out.

You buy your movie tickets at the concession counter which makes it so much easier when you’ve got little kids in tow. One transaction, one payment, one pit stop before the movie! Thank YOU! They have free refills on all fountain drinks and on large popcorn saving me a few dollars on concessions. To save even more, we caught a matinee. The surprising thing, the movie with concessions and sales tax cost about $10 per person. Considering movie and concession prices these days, that’s a steal of a deal.

Once we found our seats (all the way in the very back thanks to J’s selection) we settled in with our 3-D glasses and anxiously awaited the beginning of the movie. The previews required use of the 3-D glasses. Toy Story 3 and Tron were among the previews shown and we can’t wait for their release. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a 3-D movie and WOW! I was ducking and jumping throughout the previews and Alice In Wonderland. The graphics and effects are amazing and beautiful in their own right. You truly feel like you are in a Wonderland but the performance from actors completes this fantabulous world. The only draw back was Wild Man didn’t want to keep his glasses on but he seemed entertained by the movie regardless.

The Movie in 3-D

The movie begins when an grown up Alice is faced with a life changing decision. She can choose to follow tradition and the expectations of her family and friends OR she can follow her heart and dreams breaking with traditional London formalities. At the moment when she must make her choice, she notices the White Rabbit from her childhood “dream”. The overwhelming pressure of the moment combined with the confusion at seeing the rabbit from her dreams drives Alice to seek an escape. She abruptly breaks into a chase after the White Rabbit and once again falls into the rabbit hole. Just like her childhood “dream”, Alice lands in a room of doors. All shapes, all sizes, all locked. Alice and a side table are the only items in the room. Much like before she finds the key on the table then goes through the process to find what door it unlocks. Unfortunately for her, it’s the smallest door she cannot possibly fit through. Then she notices the potion bottle with the “Drink Me” tag. From here this story progresses just like the traditional Alice in Wonderland fairytale. When she finally gets out of the room of doors, she finds herself back in Underland where the Red Queen has taken over with the help of the Black Knight and her Jabberwoky. Through an epic story of fate, love and finding your inner “muchness”, you will be transported to a land of yadder galleymonger creatures who long for they day they can futterwacken in triumph of the White Queen’s victory!

Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen), Anne Hathaway (White Queen), and Mia Wasinkowska (Alice) give us an exciting performance in my new favorite movie! You can certainly tell Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have worked well together in the past. Their movies are full of beautiful graphics and fantastic effects - tell tale signs of a Burton film. The movie trailers and previews show lots of Mad Hatter Johnny Depp scenes (which I certainly don’t mind since I’m a Johnny Depp fan) but the true star of this movie is the quiet Mia Wasinkowska who plays Alice. She portrays Alice in a very sincere and genuine way. She delivers an exquisite performance making you believe in her Wonderland. I was completely mesmerized. Her character’s make up and costume paled in comparison to the rest of the characters but her performance was outstanding.

My Verdict

This is a hands down must see movie. Great film for kids and grown ups. Run time at 108 minutes, the movie is long enough you feel like you get your money’s worth without it going on too long. It’s a remarkable movie; I cannot wait for Alice in Wonderland to hit DVD shelves. ;D

Alice in Wonderland Links

Alice in Wonderland IMDb’s webpage (cast information)
Official Alice in Wonderland website (lots of graphics, games, downloadables,)
Glossary of terms for Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland crafts and recipes from Family.go.com

*This is 100% my honest opinion. I have not received any compensation or freebies for this post!