DVD Review: Phoebe in Wonderland: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott, Ian Colletti, Mackenzie Milone, Austin Williams, Tessa Albertson, Max Baker, Maya N. Blake, Conor Carroll, Bobby Bukowski, Daniel Barnz, Ben Barnz, Doug Dey, George Paaswell, Lynette Howell, Nissa Ren Cannon: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Phoebe in Wonderland: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott, Ian Colletti, Mackenzie Milone, Austin Williams, Tessa Albertson, Max Baker, Maya N. Blake, Conor Carroll, Bobby Bukowski, Daniel Barnz, Ben Barnz, Doug Dey, George Paaswell, Lynette Howell, Nissa Ren Cannon: Movies & TV
Amazon.com
Daniel Barnz’s directorial debut, Phoebe in Wonderland, is an important film in regards to teaching children not to fear psychological challenges. Of course, this is also the key effort in about half of all children’s films. But what sets Phoebe in Wonderland apart from other more saccharine examples is the accurate portrayal of protagonist Phoebe’s onset of Tourette’s syndrome, and the fantasy scenes that hedge her tragic reality against an Alice in Wonderland escapism. Phoebe in Wonderland is a family drama about Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning), who lives with two author-parents, Hillary (Felicity Huffman) and Peter (Bill Pullman), who encourage her imagination. Phoebe yearns to participate in the school’s Alice in Wonderland performance, headed by the mysteriously alluring drama teacher, Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson), who also champions Phoebe’s strange digressions. The film traces Phoebe’s imagination as it becomes increasingly obsessive, and the viewer is privy to both Phoebe’s internalized interpretation of what is happening to her and her behaviors from an exterior perspective. This is smart, and makes for some interesting scenes, such as when Phoebe sits in the principal’s office being reprimanded, hearing both his comments and those from Wonderland, warning her about the future. Another layer of story enriches the symbolic significance of Wonderland, when one learns that Phoebe’s mother is writing a novel inspired by Carroll’s. From here, the mother-daughter evolves in complex ways, and the mother’s defense of her child is an integral part of the narrative. Like Juno, Phoebe is a bright, witty girl whose eccentricities make the movie a charmer. Though there is an unfortunately facile ending attached to Phoebe in Wonderland, it feels tacked on to a movie that provides wonderful insight into cultivating children’s tolerance of atypical behaviors, which is much needed. –Trinie Dalton
Product Description
This heartfelt, fantastical story of a troubled, imaginative girl (Elle Fanning, The Door in the Floor) devoted to Alice in Wonderland explores the agonies of growing up as an outsider and the complexities of parenting. Oscar nominee* Felicity Huffman (Transamerica, TV’s Desperate Housewives) gives one of the most powerful performances of her career as Phoebe’s guilt-ridden mother. She and her perplexed husband (Bill Pullman, Independence Day) initially see Phoebe’s unusual behavior as signs of creativity, but with the help of an unconventional drama teacher (Oscar nominee** Patricia Clarkson, Lars and the Real Girl), they soon realize that their daughter is in danger of falling “through the looking glass.”
*Best Actress: Transamerica, 2005 **Best Supporting Actress: Pieces of April, 2003
Stills from Phoebe in Wonderland (Click for larger image)
Great performances, great film,
By Steve Kuehl “SLV Video” (Ben Lomond, CA) -
The hype of this film prior to me even getting it in the store was higher than I had anticipated and I am actually having to order twice as many now. After playing it for screening audiences, word of mouth is making the demand even greater.
The Amazon editorial delves plenty deep into all of the characteristics and relationships being played in this film and to what adequacy the acting appeared. I was thoroughly impressed with how everyone filled their roles to where both kids and adults would get something out of this. The visuals of fantasy and reality blurring together were done believably, and the resulting outlooks left with the viewer about adults in a kids world were moving and well written.
Pullman was useless in the film as a father, but he played it perfect, as did Huffman in another obscure mother character role. Fanning proves she has a bright future with how she convinced both kids and adults what she was feeling and seeing in both worlds. The quality of the picture was adequate, and would be a solid case for HD with all of the colors used. The 5.1 gets used more often than one would think for a dialogue and fantasy film, but they stopped short with no special features of any kind.
The two cover art DVDs are exactly the same except for the picture, no content or feature differences (both 100 minutes). For parents that are wondering about the rating, the PG13 does exist due to several gay themed words being used and a couple cuss words. Hope you enjoy.
Search Phoebe in Wonderland: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott, Ian Colletti, Mackenzie Milone, Austin Williams, Tessa Albertson, Max Baker, Maya N. Blake, Conor Carroll, Bobby Bukowski, Daniel Barnz, Ben Barnz, Doug Dey, George Paaswell, Lynette Howell, Nissa Ren Cannon: Movies & TV from AmAzon
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