Phoebe in Wonderland (2009)

I saw this movie last night, and it was excellent. Young Elle Fanning is gorgeous, and her acting is so good it's unfair. Patricia Clarkson plays the theatre teacher who is seemingly detached from reality, and plays it well. Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman both did well, but Pullman's role was, I felt, too small. Campbell Scott was both hilariously inept and depressingly realistic as a (presumably) elementary school principal unwilling or unable to see the beauty and talent in each of his charges. However, where this movie falls apart is the ending. Yes, it was cute and sweet, disgustingly so, but I had two problems with it. My first problem is that there's no way in hell that what Phoebe had was a simple case of Tourette's Syndrome. I saw another review saying that she showed symptoms of OCD, depression, and schizophrenia. I agree with this, and I have to ask what the writers were thinking when they decided that TS was an appropriate explanation for what was clearly so much more. My other problem is the way they ended the film. Yes, it's sweet, and cute, and it makes me want to puke, but it's not how a lot of these stories end. Lots of these types of stories end with the child killing or severely injuring themselves. This was also the direction I thought the movie was going to go, what with Mrs. Dodger constantly telling her students to "jump", and then Phoebe's comparison to jumping off a roof. While I don't think suicide or severe injury is a good thing, I feel that a more powerful message may have been conveyed had Phoebe died or been irreparably injured, and had the students, parents, and school faculty been forced to face and deal with the tragedy. I love this movie. Elle Fanning is an amazing actress, and unfairly gorgeous even at a young age, but I hate the ending, and it makes me sad to think that if this movie had been done today, and by a more talented writer, director, etc., it could have been perfect.

"The books are a kind of Rorschach test, a screen onto which people project their own ideas" -Jenny Wolf, author of The Mystery of Lewis Carroll- It's no secret that I love the Alice books by Lewis Carrol - all two of them - and I agree with Jenny Wolf's assertion. These books are so loved because it's different for every reader. It's why there are so many movies, cartoons, series and stage versions (soon my own) of these books. Everyone has their favorite version or versions. In other words: Your interpretation says more about who you are rather than what the books are. For that fact alone is probably why I enjoyed Phoebe in Wonderland as much as I did. Phoebe - played by Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) - uses Wonderland as a device to explain what she doesn't understand in the world she inhabits. Then she really gets to escape to Wonderland when she gets cast as the lead in her school's production of Alice in Wonderland along with her male friend Jamie (Ian Coletti) who gets cast as The Queen of Hearts. What really drives this story home though is not Phoebe's tourettes or even when Jamie is called a fag (the movie was a GLAAD award nominee), but in the way that adults just don't understand what it's like to be a child.Patricia Clarkson (goddess) plays the drama teacher Miss Dodger (get it?) who seems to be the only one in the faculty that really knows how to nurture these children. The best scenes in the movie are the audition and rehearsal scenes for school play Alice in Wonderland, and I'm not just saying that because I can "borrow" their stage ideas. Miss Dodger takes these kids seriously and expects them to take her seriously and that's what children really need. Someone not condescending and someone who commands authority. She owns every scene she is in. The movie also has Bill Pullman and Felicity Huffman as Phoebe's parents. Felicity Huffman does what she does best, play the concerned mother, and Bill Pullman is pretty much Bill Pullman. Elle Fanning as Phoebe was phenomenal. People are going to call her a younger version of Dakota Fanning - and she is for obvious reasons - but she also has an acting style that is purely her own. She also gets to show off her singing voice in one of the cutest recreations of Looking Glass World's infamous "Welcome Queen Alice" scene. Directed by Daniel Barnz - who's directing the upcoming Beastly, a modern take on Beauty and the Beast with Mary Kate Olsen and Neil Patrick Harris among other famous faces - Phoebe in Wonderland is what it is: It's a movie about a little girl dealing with tourettes. The added layer of Wonderland is just a device and it never takes over the movie completely. It's complementary as opposed to distracting and really does help us to almost fully understand what's going on in this little girl's head as she deals with the frustration and confusion of her world. A world that neither she or the people around her can fully understand. I enjoyed this movie fully and plan to watch it again and again. It's beautifully filmed and very well acted, especially Elle Fanning and Patricia Clarkson. It's almost sad that it's theatrical release was limited. So go get it on DVD or Blu Ray or The Queen will have your head.Check out my Movie Blog:http://neonboy619.blogspot.com

Back in 1998, Kate Beckinsale played the title character in a modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The adult Beckinsale went into the reverse world behind the looking glass in a confusingly marketed children's film that many potential viewers believed was for mature audiences.Ten years later "Phoebe In Wonderland" provides another visit to the looking glass world. The title character is played by a child (Elle Fanning) and thanks to more confusing marketing, this time potential viewers think that it is a children's movie. I've even seen the DVD of this PG-13 film proudly on display in the children's sections of video rental stores.It's not a children's film although there are sequences in the film that would appeal to many children. It is a strange blend of "Girl, Interrupted" and Jena Malone's 1997 film "Hope"; with the same thematic structure as "The Dust Factory". Writer/Director Daniel Barnz has crafted a puzzling little film that seems to have a lot to say but doesn't do a very clear job of saying it. I suspect that much of the story is autobiographical. The story is told from the point of view of the title character and Barnz does an excellent job of acting for the camera direction with all members of his film's strong cast. Which means that the confusion seems to lie not in the execution but in the construction. Branz apparently intends the story to be more allegorical than real; with general themes about freedom, individualism, conformity, and expectations. The only clear message is the importance of having the courage to live life to the fullest, to not let fear or the need for acceptance keep you from letting go of security and "jumping" (like Alice jumping down the rabbit hole although technically that is a different story).The Tourett's Syndrome stuff is inserted as a literary device. Everyone spends much of their interaction time suppressing the impulse to "spit" out a few assorted truths and unkind comments. These things are better left unsaid and the task of leaving them unsaid is more difficult for those who tend to resist conformity and have the least need for the approval of others.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This movie is about a 9-year-old whose obsession is Alice in Wonderland. Although she has mental illness but the school sets up a play about Alice in Wonderland more like a musical and Phoebe requests to play Alice but everyone wants a try out for Alice (which is not a responsibility...) Phoebe has a sister named Olivia, played by the charmer Bailee Madision at about 7 years of age. Phoebe is obviously older than her sister but has a spitting illness, when something doesn't go her way that makes her angry, she starts spitting on people which I kinda eww'ed about. I don't think this film could be for little children due to strong foul language and rough crude humor. But in that case, I really enjoyed a kind of spin-off of Alice in Wonderland called Phoebe in Wonderland but there's also other versions of Alice in Wonderland with a character-name-in-title thing, Malice in Wonderland that almost rhymes with Alice and some other versions I can't think of. Phoebe in Wonderland was tres delightful and imaginative for me, with a little inspiration and imagination, you get to see your own wonderland only through a Child's eye. Which is called Child's point of view. I'm young but I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed every minute of this movie and laugh at every five humorous minutes. It's comic and drama, good for the whole family viewing. In that case, it reminds me of movies like My Girl but different. She as a friendly sister and is already taught to get over an over dramatic little sister. Bailee Madison still had her charming touch on Bridge to Terabithia but still wins the hearts of millions at only her tender age of ten. Every actress and actor did well performing dramatic acting and comedy mixture, well done.