Everyone knows the story of Alice in Wonderland: a little girl named Alice falls into a world named Wonderland, and she has some crazy adventures there. So anyone seeing this movie would know the story right?... Actually, no.
The story takes place after the sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland, Though the Looking Glass, and finds our 19 year old Alice back at Wonderland, which she belives isdream, because in the begining of the movie, we see that she always had the same dream since she was a child, a dream where she was in Wonderland. So she thinks it is dream, and don't take anything too seriously. The story makes a good job on following what is already known from the past books, though it is dull in the first half, as it is anoying when Alice thinks everything is a dream, so she dosen't need to help to save Wonderland, but the ending mostly is great.
The characters are very well developed. In good or for worse, the most predominant character is the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Deep. He does a good job on following the character insane way of being, but also his dilemmas. Though, it seems that the story follows to much the Hatter and less of Alice, which is played by Mia Wasikowska, who make a... so-so job in playing Alice. I say that because her acting is kinda bland, but Alice herself is not much developed as it should be, and her accent is annoying.
My favorite character from the stories, the Cheshire Cat, is here better than ever. He is funny and very well voice acted. Though, other suporting characters such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Mallymkin are there for no reason, are not funny and at times very obnoxious. The villan, the Red Queen, is played by Helena Bonham Carter, who does a good job on developing her, and keeps her a b*tch as ever. The White Queen is played by Anne Hathaway, who i personaly love, but she has to little time on the screen.
What should be mentioned is that this is the most hyped film since Avatar to come out in 3D. While there aren't alot of 3D "in your face" effects, it becomes much prettier and alive in 3D. Also, the overall design of the film is incredible, as the backgounds are incredibly detailed and really feel like Wonderland should.
Overall, this movie made a great attempt on following the story of Alice, and though there are some story and acting problems, it won't disapoint the viewer, due to its strong character development and visual effects. (B)