Tim Burton's version of the Lewis Carroll fable is quite unlike any other version I've seen. Of course, that comes as no surprise, but given that both the Syfy version and the Disney cartoon version are somewhat fresh in my memory, this one plays out of its own set of rules, taking the main tenets of Alice In Wonderland lore and twisting them in a way that's quite mad, beautiful, and entertaining all at once. And that doesn't even take into account the scene stealing of a certain Johnny Depp, out for more bounty following his significant success with the creation of Captain Jack Sparrow and his own twist on Willy Wonka. Given the complete package, the special effects, the acting, and the story, it's hard to argue that Disney, Burton, and Depp have not outdone themselves again.

The story of Alice in Wonderland, er, Underland, has never been a personal favorite, given how utterly strange the story and its inhabitants are. I guess that's saying something given my enjoyment of Star Wars, Star Trek, and all things fantastic, but somehow, the story of Alice has just never really captured my attention. But even if the Burton version was made in ancient Latin and there were no subtitles, you could collect a certain amount of meaning from the depiction itself, and the fantastic landscape that the film creates is something akin to the world that James Cameron created in Avatar. One fell down a hole, the other disappeared inside a "false" body, but both entered worlds that were significantly different from the world as we know it. It's just the latest in a long line of works influenced by Carroll's fable, like The Matrix, Labyrinth, and Pan's Labyrinth to name a few.

The other way that Avatar crept into my consciousness of the film is that the level of animation and depiction of the real life actors and their fantastic backdrop, their transformation, and the completely CGI-created beings is pretty ridiculous. Whether it's the Jabberwocky and Alice's battle with the beast, or the Red Queen (Helen Bonham Carter) and her ginormous head, the integration is pretty sweet. But this wouldn't have achieved what it did without the Lord of the Rings, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and a host of others before it where animation and real life people were worked in together. The end result is something akin to LOTR or The Chronicles of Narnia, where the fantastic is close enough to seem real.

In the midst of a story which boils down to being the battle between two siblings who long to rule the world in completely different ways, the story of one nineteen-year-old, who must remember who she is and her place in the world, steals the show. Mia Wasikowska, known to some for her roles in In Treatment, Defiance, and Amelia, ends up being the everywoman champion that the Underland has needed all of this time, and her faceoff with the Christopher Lee-voiced Jabberwocky is something similar to the battle at the end ofSleeping Beauty. It's the coming of age story, the battle of truth against the villainous lies we are told about ourselves and our world, and the empowerment of a young woman by her father.

But more than any of these, it's the story of a girl who enters a world in need of a savior and realizes that she is the only one who can achieve the salvation of that world. Now, I don't recall Jesus having to face down a dragon with sword in hand, but the Christian understanding of a world under the terrible rule of death and fear is one that I do find scripturally. Alice is "not of this world" but she's the one equipped to accomplish the task, and her fierceness, which she grows into over time, propels her onto an even bigger stage. She unites the unwanted and the left out in a common task, to rid themselves of evil, and she proves true to her heart and the needs of "her" people. Sure, we've seen this in movies before, even as recently as The Chronicles of Narnia, but Carroll's story about a girl who chased a white rabbit is pretty timeless, especially with Burton's "update."

You've got to give this one a spin, and get "futterwacken."

Disney graciously provided me with a chance to check out the myriad of special effects behind-the-scenes, as well as the music, the dancing, the characters, and more. With the special three-disc edition, you can download the film to go, watch it in standard, and consider the deepening beauty of Blu-ray!