Tim Burton and children’s story books. For me this combination hasn’t worked so well in the past (cough, Charlie Bucket). But, by the time the cute little Dormouse plunges his sword into a Bandersnatch's eyeball, rips the beast's eye meatout of its socket and carries the trophy around on his belt, it becomes more than apparent that Burton's creation is NOT the Disney Alice of the 1950s. And that makes this pairing of the whimsical tale and the dark, quirky director all the better.

DON'T WORRY THAT YOU JUST LEFT YOUR KIDS HOME ALONE WITH DRUGS--READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

This latest incarnation of Alice in Wonderland picks up 10 years after where the other Alices left off--only this time Wonderland isn’t a dream, it is a very real land that Alice has visited before. The now 19 years-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is being forced to attend a posh Victorian garden party where she is to become engaged to a sniveling Lord. While standing in the gazebo, her would-be fiancé waiting on her answer to his marriage proposal, Alice sees a white rabbit dart in and out of the perfectly manicured landscape. She follows it out of the party and--you guessed it--down a rabbit hole, where she is transported back to what she calls “Wonderland.”

Alice immediately encounters several of Lewis Carroll’s classic characters, who are loyal subjects of the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) who used to rule Wonderland before she was violently overthrown by her sister, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). After much speculation if she is even the "right Alice" by the feisty Dormouse, Alice learns that she has been to this magical land before, and it is foretold that she is to battle the Red Queen’s favorite beast, the Jabberwocky, to claim back the White Queen's kingdom.

The film treats us to a stunning 3-D visual display of Wonderland, complete with dragonflies and unicorn-flies, anthropomorphized flowers, and some truly terrifying beasts, such as the aforementioned Bandersnatch and Jabberwocky--all of which leap from the screen (literally) and some of which instilled ungodly fear in the under-10 crowd in the audience. These beasts help to snap the  Disney incarnation of the Alice story out of its groovy, psychedelic legacy and into a stunning visual storybook that is a desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, which is more beautifully gruesome than the old "let's listen to Jefferson Airplane and take a hit every time the caterpillar does” cartoon of the past.

Burton has adapted Carroll's nonsense fiction into a compelling story that emphasizes the very real emotions, insecurities, and fears of its characters. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is no longer a frivolous tea party host but a man, who, while very mad indeed, longs to regain the life he once had before the Red Queen destroyed it. Depp's characterization is tinged with sorrow and anger--and it works. Wasikowska plays Alice with graceful poise, and Bonham Carter brings an insecure, needy edge to the bloodthirsty Red Queen. Her scenes with her “marital element,” The Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) are full of light comedic agility that prevents the “bad guys” from being too terribly evil. Only Hathaway disappoints as the White Queen in an underwritten and a poorly characterized mess that exists only to further the plot.

Overall, Burton and a fantastic cast bring together an enjoyable, and at times breathtaking, adventure for its audience. Yes, there are some cringe-worthy Disney-esque moments that remind you that we are watching a familiar story unfold. The final battle scene was all too overdone for me, and Alice's tale wraps up in such a saccharine sweet way that I got no less than six cavities just by watching. But the entire product was pretty damn inventive and so captivating that I was willing to overlook my painful tooth holes.

Dare I say it? Alice in Wonderland almost has me excited proper for Burton and Walt Disney Pictures' next endeavor, the Frankenweenie remake.... almost.

--Jessica Hixson