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Not one of my favorite stories as a child (too much pandemonium for my taste), Tim Burton's retelling is more to my liking. Loved his wife Catherine as the Queen of Hearts and, of course, Johnny Depp is charming as the Mad Hatter. They, along with the young actress portraying Alice, "made" the show. Disney's magical treatment of the story greatly lent to the fantastic backdrop of characters, scenery and cartoon-like images.

What mattered most for me is that there was a reason for Alice's journey to Wonderland. She returns to the realm of her dreams in order to restore it to the rightful monarch, the White Queen, portrayed by Anne Hathaway. The story was very believable, in an unbelievable sort of way. Although "off with his or her head" was frequently proclaimed by the Queen of Hearts, there was so much less violence than in most movies these days.

I've never enjoyed Alice in Wonderland more than I did this movie. Maybe I'll even reread the book to see if I can understand it better. Maybe I missed something in the first reading. I hope so.