I think it needs saying that anyone going into this show expecting an attempt to outdo or outshine the upcoming Tim Burton movie will not be able to enjoy it fully, because that is not this movie's purpose. However, that's not to say that Tim Burton's is a standard to achieve. Nick Willing has written a story that is a retelling, a remaking, and an epilogue to the original story all wrapped up into one brilliant script.
From the very start, we get to see that this is not the old Alice. Our Alice is a strong, believable leading lady: black belt, charitable, and yet scarred by her father leaving when she was just 10 years old. Scorsone plays it well. When she tries to rescue her boyfriend from being abducted, she winds up falling through the Looking Glass into Wonderland. It's here that she learns how the Queen of Hearts has been abducting people to harvest their emotions to keep the people of Wonderland on an emotion "high". Alice gains an early (if at first questionable) ally in Hatter. Hatter makes a good match for Alice. Street-smart, witty, and dashing, Potts brings real flair and life to the character. Oh, and he really was quite smooth with his hat handling, which just helped make the character better. Matt Frewer, true to his talent, gave a brilliant performance as the realm's last White Knight, both in the comedic and the more serious scenes. The quick scene where he's finding himself and Hatter a path through the casino is a personal favorite. Jack was a good character, and he looked the part. He looked like a Jack. ;) The on-screen chemistry was outstanding, as was the pacing at which inter-character relations developed. Hatter's subtly developing affections for Alice were done nicely: increasingly apparent, yet not overplayed and main-point-of-all-scenes obvious. To put it shortly, it was cute. True, honest "cute", not "god why are they making me watch this" cute.
At this point, I need to gush about the costumes. They. Were. FANTASTIC. Everything from Caterpillar's caterpillar-looking coat, to Hatter's hat (needs a mention all its own), to Alice's simple blue dress. Personally, I loved how the styling on Alice's dress gave the hinting appearance of the petticoat apron without being overly, finger-pointing obvious. It was a nice touch. I felt the same way about Willing's Tin Man. His costuming team is just getting it so RIGHT.
On a personal note, I feel this movie had only one flaw. In the end, and those of you who have seen it know which scene I'm referring to, Hatter's hair sported not enough fluff and not enough hat! ^_^
So to wrap this up, I hope nobody's going into this show expecting the same mind-trip that Burton will soon be providing us with. Separate the two, because otherwise you're doing them both a disservice. As another commenter said, this is a show for those of us who love stories along the same vein as "10th Kingdom", where the children's story worlds of our childhood have grown-up with us, for better or for worse. Alice, like Tin Man (but dare I say better), is a retelling, a remake, and an epilogue all rolled into one utterly fantastic story. I can't wait to see what Willing brings us next.
From the very start, we get to see that this is not the old Alice. Our Alice is a strong, believable leading lady: black belt, charitable, and yet scarred by her father leaving when she was just 10 years old. Scorsone plays it well. When she tries to rescue her boyfriend from being abducted, she winds up falling through the Looking Glass into Wonderland. It's here that she learns how the Queen of Hearts has been abducting people to harvest their emotions to keep the people of Wonderland on an emotion "high". Alice gains an early (if at first questionable) ally in Hatter. Hatter makes a good match for Alice. Street-smart, witty, and dashing, Potts brings real flair and life to the character. Oh, and he really was quite smooth with his hat handling, which just helped make the character better. Matt Frewer, true to his talent, gave a brilliant performance as the realm's last White Knight, both in the comedic and the more serious scenes. The quick scene where he's finding himself and Hatter a path through the casino is a personal favorite. Jack was a good character, and he looked the part. He looked like a Jack. ;) The on-screen chemistry was outstanding, as was the pacing at which inter-character relations developed. Hatter's subtly developing affections for Alice were done nicely: increasingly apparent, yet not overplayed and main-point-of-all-scenes obvious. To put it shortly, it was cute. True, honest "cute", not "god why are they making me watch this" cute.
At this point, I need to gush about the costumes. They. Were. FANTASTIC. Everything from Caterpillar's caterpillar-looking coat, to Hatter's hat (needs a mention all its own), to Alice's simple blue dress. Personally, I loved how the styling on Alice's dress gave the hinting appearance of the petticoat apron without being overly, finger-pointing obvious. It was a nice touch. I felt the same way about Willing's Tin Man. His costuming team is just getting it so RIGHT.
On a personal note, I feel this movie had only one flaw. In the end, and those of you who have seen it know which scene I'm referring to, Hatter's hair sported not enough fluff and not enough hat! ^_^
So to wrap this up, I hope nobody's going into this show expecting the same mind-trip that Burton will soon be providing us with. Separate the two, because otherwise you're doing them both a disservice. As another commenter said, this is a show for those of us who love stories along the same vein as "10th Kingdom", where the children's story worlds of our childhood have grown-up with us, for better or for worse. Alice, like Tin Man (but dare I say better), is a retelling, a remake, and an epilogue all rolled into one utterly fantastic story. I can't wait to see what Willing brings us next.