The Wonderland

Teenage Akane is unmotivated and moody, just like any teenage girl. She always feels put out by her mother's requests, never more so when she's sent to see her shopkeeper aunt Chii to pick up her own birthday present! Once there, however, Chii and Akane are visited by strangers from the basement, Mr. Hippocrates and his apprentice Pipo. But Mr. Hippocrates is an alchemist, Pipo is an elf, and the basement is a portal into another world, one that desperately needs Akane's help to avoid utter destruction.... A few years ago I saw another animated film by director Keiichi Hara, "Miss Hokusai," and was very taken with the incredible beauty of the work; the director works the same magic here, with some stunningly gorgeous backgrounds (and foregrounds for that matter), along with a story filled with imagination from an evil mouse-shaped monster machine to oversized sheep who provide wool *and* protection, to the very real crisis that the Wonderland is facing, that of running out of water. Oh, and there's an enchanted Prince, too! Even if the viewer isn't taken by the story itself (based on "Strange Journey From the Basement," a children's book by Sachiko Kashiwaba), s/he will certainly enjoy simply watching this very colorful feast for the eyes.

Animation quality very typical cheaply mass produced, nothing special, flat, 2-D, non-moving backgrounds. Foreground central characters also flat, lacking detail, movements very typical almost mechanical. Usual odd characters with magical associates, usually animal or spirit, but in this case a miniature boy, and interacting with humans. Usual another dimensional world needing human help to save it. In this case we have a couple of steampunk baddies out to steal a precious resource - water. Usual prince & pretty girl hooks. Storyline lacked flow with a few incomprehensibls (sp).

It's never a good thing when you pause a boring movie and go 'Jesus christ how has this thing only been on for an hour?!' The Wonderland has very little going for it. The script feels like about five different movies got shredded and they frankensteined them into one big mess. Scenes just kind of start and then are cut off by the next without any kind of cohesion, to the point it can feel like narrative whiplash. The main plot is to cure a ailing prince, but that plot line is mashed in with about six or seven other plot lines thst the movie kind of just dumps in whilly-nilly. Don't expect any satisfying resolution to any of them either, the movie doesn't even remember half of them by the end.

Couple all that with an absolutely terrible heroine who whines, sulks, and literally doesn't want to be in the movie, and it's an easy skip for this one.

The main standout of this movie are its visuals. The visuals alone are reason enough to give it a watch. Every scene is so colorful and there are so many beautiful landscapes in this film. The character designs of many of the Wonderland residents are also pretty cool! The visuals are definitely the film's strongest aspect.

The story is a bit weaker, and I never really felt a deep connection with the main characters. However, the story is decent enough, and it makes enough logical sense for me to follow.

This movie left me with a sort of warm fuzzy feeling after watching it that I felt compelled to write this review. In many ways this movie feels like a cult classic. Is it the best movie in the world? No, but it's a fun way to spend a Friday night!

Doesn't do anything especially interesting in plot or visuals. Enjoyable enough as it goes a long but leaves you with nothing in the end. The story stops and the lesson was told in the first five minutes. Likely good enough for small children but rather boring and unexceptional for an older audience.

Generally fine but nothing to sink your teeth into. Lacking in its own identity when so many better films exist.