Discussing SyFy's ALICE Retelling...Set 150 Years in Our Future!

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I don't know about you, but I get a little underwhelmed when there are a bajillion retellings of one story out there....and they're all versions of the same thing, bleeding into one another and becoming hard to separate from the rest of the crowd. When I find a version that's different, even if it isn't perfect, I celebrate!!!

A few years ago, SyFy channel aired a really interesting movie called Alice that is more of a sequel to the original tale than it is a retelling. It takes place about 150 years in the future, and stars another girl named Alice (Leading the citizens of Wonderland to wonder if she could be the Alice of legend, but I digress).

 I liked all the nods to the original story such as Alice and her blue dress, and I liked the way Wonderland warped and changed into something scary and dreadful. The Queen of Hearts now captures humans from "our" world, called "Oysters," and harvests their emotions into a drug she uses to control the citizens of Wonderland. The March Hare is a cyborg assassin. If that alone doesn't tell you this is a twisted, sci-fi retelling of a classic tale, nothing will.

This time around, Alice is given a ring by her boyfriend Jack right before he's kidnapped and dragged into Wonderland. She follows to save  him--and she teaches martial arts, so this is one girl who can take care of herself and be the one to save the dude!!! She's captured as an Oyster, but manages to escape and is helped by the Mad Hatter. She discovers Wonderland's creepy underbelly, ruled by the Queen of Hearts, and fights to save Jack...all while uncovering secrets better left unsaid.

And you guys!!! The Mad Hatter!!!!!! Can we just stop and talk about Andrew Lee Potts for a minute?

 
He was absolutely a highlight of the miniseries for me, and I was happy every time he had a scene. My one friend loved discovering so much that she went on to watch his BBC series Primeval, which is a little too gory for me to try. But I'd love to see him break through more in other roles!

If you want a completely new version of Wonderland that's different from anything you've seen before, you definitely want to add Alice to your list. It's available on DVD and sometimes airs on the SyFy Channel. (I'm not sure if it's still regularly stocked in stores or not, but I know that when I bought my DVD a couple of years ago, it was on the shelf at my local Barnes and Noble, as was SyFy's Tinman, which is a new spin on The Wizard of Oz also worth checking out!)

Want a little more persuasion? Check out the original trailer for Alice:

YouTube Link