Tim Burton has been the force behind dark, quirky movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. Now, he takes on the challenge of portraying the elaborately insane world of Alice in Wonderland in his 2010 remake starring none other than his partner in crime, Johnny Depp.

At the beginning of the movie, Alice is but a young girl who awakes from a reoccurring nightmare. Her father comforts her, especially when she worries that she is going mad; he insists that all the best people are. Years later, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is sullen, trapped in a world of strict manners and politeness after the death of her father. While attending a garden party, people describe her as easily distracted, for her mind often dwells on other thoughts rather than her social obligations. Alice is then proposed to by the son of one of her father’s business partners and she flees to chase a rabbit in a waistcoat without giving him an answer. She tumbles down the rabbit hole and arrives in Wonderland. A variety of characters including the White Rabbit, the Dormouse, a Dodo bird and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum ask her numerous questions as to whether she is the “right” Alice or not, for the “right” Alice is meant to return to Wonderland to slay the Red Queen’s Jabberwockyis on Frabjous Day. Alice insists that she doesn’t slay anything and that everything she is experiencing is simply a dream. She is then cast off by the caterpillar Asolom (Alan Rickman) as the “wrong” Alice. The evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), however, still sends her creatures and Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) after Alice, so she must run and hide with assistance from the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry). He takes her to the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) who tells her the story of what happened since she left Wonderland and how the Red Queen overthrew the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). Together, the Hatter and Alice embark through Wonderland on a quest to return power to the White Queen; along the way, Alice searches for her “muchness” and the strength to destroy the Jabberwockyis.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland does not completely follow Lewis Carroll’s novel, but it instead combines Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with some of Through the Looking Glass and some of his own creative twists. While it is, in some ways, a separate story, Burton effectively captures the mood and themes of the beloved stories that fans will greatly enjoy.

Visually, Alice in Wonderland is jaw dropping. The imagery is fantastically balanced between unrealistic and life like, precisely what one would expect the world of Wonderland to be. While it doesn’t directly reflect Burton’s style the way his previous works like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride do, his twisted, spooky style is seen throughout the film, much less psychedelic than other film versions of this beloved tale. He still manages to capture the outrageous fantasy elements of Alice in Wonderland without sacrificing his own creative voice.

One again, Burton and Depp have proven themselves a force to be reckoned with. The two have worked together many times on movies including Sweeny Todd, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Edward Scissorhands. Depp is the perfect actor to bring Burton’s twisted and offbeat world to life. His performance completely makes the film and saves it from being one of only visual excellence. Audiences will fall in love with the truly mad Hatter’s crazy antics and delicate heart.

Wonderland is also surprisingly funny. Whether it’s the random outbursts of the March Hare, the babble of rubbish between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the hilarious orders of the Red Queen, or the Mad Hatter constantly asking why a raven is like a writing desk, viewers will constantly find themselves chuckling at the brilliant nonsense that is Alice in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland is a refreshing remake of the classic tale, a harmony between new imagery and cherished themes. Both fans and non-fans will fans in love with Burton’s wondrous creation.