Ah, the ability to call our own shots.

To be our own person.

To cast tradition into the wind and break free of the bonds of those who would hold us back.

Ah, the dream of Alice.

Alice in Wonderland, the latest offering from the team of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, certainly scores points in the “giving me things to think about category” although I’m not sure it is one I would rush to think about again.  Burton’s Alice, the captivatingly airy Mia Wasikowska, finds herself in a tough predicament.  Marry a man she does not love or…run.

(SPOILER ALERT COMING UP!)

She runs.

And falls.

Down the hole she goes into a world of red queens, mad hatters, talking rabbits, and eye-poking mice.  The Burton-esque world that awaits is surely one viewers will find tantalizing, filled with digital creatures and dreary backgrounds (of course), but the quality certainly suits the mood of the movie and does much where the rest fails.  Alice has her hero’s journey and we root for her, but there was something in it all that seemed to come up short.  Depp is, as always, worth the price of admission, but don’t expect that you won’t regret missing at least some of that $10 you spent.

However, despite that, we are certainly given the chance to consider, like Alice, if we are making the most of our lives…are we only in the dreams of Wonderland wandering, or do we take life by the horns and face a new destiny of our own design?

With friends like Depp, we would be brave, too.  But for those of us who live in the real world, Alice’s story is something to consider.  If we have dreams, and we live in reality, then when they merge, that is where beauty can be found.

In essence, we can live the dream…even if Burton’s film leaves us feeling somewhat sleepy.

-josh