‘Alice in Wonderland’

“How is a raven like a writing desk?”
This was the question the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) asked throughout Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.”
Shown in digital 3-D, the movie offers a new adventure in the already famous Wonderland. Rather than twisting the original story, this plot takes place years later with a new Alice (Mia Wasikowska).
Wonderland has fallen into despair under the rule of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), and the creatures of Wonderland need Alice’s help in restoring peace as well as the White Queen’s (Anne Hathaway) throne.
The problem is The White Rabbit, sent by the Hatter to retrieve Alice, manages to return with wrong girl.
This is a new take on a well-known story. But there is darkness within the movie that tells the audience this isn’t the happy story of a girl finding her way home.
Though the tale is less gleeful, there is some humor as well. The Hatter provides many examples of why he is considered “mad.”
The majority of the characters have been digitally altered. The most obvious is the Red Queen, whom has a head three times larger than the rest of her body.
There are more subtle changes as well. For example, the Hatter’s appearance is mostly made up make-up and wigs, but movie-goers will also notice his right pupil is larger than his left one.
Over all, this is an excellent movie with unique ideas and scenery that’s unmatched.
It’s a must-see movie for almost all ages; it’s suggested small children avoid it due to several fight scenes.
Everyone else will just have to see it to learn how a raven is like a writing desk!

— Hannah Souers is a sophomore at West Valley High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

Sweeney Todd: “Lovett!”

By COLLEEN FONTANA
UNLEASHED STAFF

I still remember the cool evening last summer when, bored and curious, my sister and I rented a DVD from the library.
Who knows what spurred us to choose one with “Demon Barber” in the title, starring Angela Lansbury, whom we loved in “Beauty and the Beast,” and George Hearn.
That night I had my first experience with “Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” It was not my last.
The story of a man driven by his bitterness, the play depicts the barber as he enters the pie shop and life of one Mrs. Lovett. Their stories — presented as a musical that’s both murderous and magical — unfold through sporadic killings and haunting songs.
The play is both macabre and suspenseful.
Movie director Tim Burton couldn’t pass up the chance to make his own version, which was released last year and starred Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.
“Sweeney Todd” is a story full of songs I could listen to over and over again and never tire of, and a string of plot twists that never cease to amaze me.
This is why, when I heard it was coming to Yakima’s Capitol Theatre, I was thrilled.
At the same time, I thought: What makes the semi-crazy and somewhat evil characters so appealing?
Their actions are not what any sane human would call reasonable, so why do I feel such joy in Stephen Sondheim’s songs about baking humans into pies?
The truth is that I have no idea. Perhaps I pity Mr. Todd as the play unfolds, revealing how his perfect life was torn apart.
Perhaps the cruel injustices dealt him allow him the leeway to commit such acts. Perhaps Mrs. Lovett is simply too charming, too clever and witty, and lulls us into a false sense of security that what she says seems to be the right thing to do.
Most of all, though, I blame it on that cool summer evening that drew me to this demon barber and his Fleet Street home. Bored and curious, I fell into the trap of the sinister pie shop and have been stuck there ever since.
I can’t help but blame Johnny Depp, too, for his part in making Sweeney Todd all the more likable, and Helena Bonham Carter for adding extra spunk to Mrs. Lovett.
No doubt I will be comparing the Capitol Theatre production to the movie version, but I know I will enjoy it all the same.
After all, it’s Sweeney Todd. I have to “Lovett!”

• Colleen Fontana is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.