Alice’s wonderland is fantastical and absurd enough, but when director Tim Burton takes over, the timeless children’s classic takes on a whole new level of oddity.

Burton’s re-creation of Alice’s adventures in the world of Wonderland is nothing short of fascinating. Such a monumental piece of fiction is perfect material for Burton, a director who has demonstrated a certain fascination with strange and fantastic places.

Frustrated by the pageantry and elitism of upper-class society in England, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) makes an accidental escape to another world that turns all of the rules she previously resisted upside down.  

While it would be unfair to compare a living actress to the animated character in the previous adaptation by Disney, Wasikowska is remarkable in her interpretation. Alice is shrewder than her age suggests. This is the result of Wasikowska, a 20-year-old, playing the role. She is innocent, curious and brave — a quality referred to by characters in the peculiar Wonderland-dialect as “muchness.” As the plot progresses and Alice changes from bewildered visitor to reluctant heroine, Wasikowska plays the evolving part with considerable grace. The character emerges from the experience a changed young lady.

As soon as Alice finds herself in the realm of Wonderland, viewers see this is nothing like the Wonderland that Disney created in 1951. This can only be Burton’s work, as the exaggerated colors and personality of characters, such as the Red Queen, create an extreme world.

Johnny Depp has been a frequent fixture in Burton’s movies and gives a solid performance that ranks with his previous work in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Edward Scissorhands.” He plays the Mad Hatter, a red-headed lunatic bent on revolution. Despite being a secondary character, Depp is, as always, fully engaged and creates a memorable character.

The beginning is not what some people expect from Burton, as the film opens with a noticeably tame picture of Alice in the real world. The experimental visuals often associated with Burton in his recent releases “9” and “Corpse Bride” don’t appear until Alice goes to Wonderland.  

Wonderland is in extreme contrast to the real world. The world Burton has crafted is dazzling and bizarre. Much like the worlds created in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or “James and the Giant Peach,” Wonderland is dreamlike and tinged with a haunting darkness.

The film is a marvel of computer animation, and it has created a product that shows Burton smoothly operating within the technological domain of the 21st century. It is highly evolved and flawless in its execution.  As Alice ventures deeper into this mysterious world and encounters bizarre people and creatures, the setting also has a very disorienting effect on the audience. It is the creativity and methodical design that ultimately gives the movie its edge.

Created by one of the most inventive minds in the industry, “Alice in Wonderland” will have viewers across the country throwing themselves down the rabbit hole.

“Alice in Wonderland” was written by Linda Woolverton and directed by Tim Burton.