The Post-Gazette reviews movies from a family perspective:

Rated: PG.

Best for: Elementary school age and up.

What you should know: Several of Lewis Carroll's works have been woven to revisit Alice at almost age 20, when she's considering an unwanted proposal. Newcomer Mia Wasikowska is Alice, who follows the White Rabbit and tumbles down a large hole into "Underland" (this is a Tim Burton film, after all). She meets up with the bizarre Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and other wild characters, who enlist her in a conflict between sisters, the brutal Red Queen and ethereal White Queen.

Language: None, unless you're bothered by the Red Queen constantly yelling, "Off with her head!"

Sexual situations and nudity: The nasty Stayne (Crispin Glover) tries to force his attentions on Alice, who rebuffs him. Alice's constant shrinking and growing create potential wardrobe malfunctions, but creative solutions keep her clothed.

Violence/scary situations: There is peril throughout for Alice and anyone who gets in the way of the Red Queen, a digitally retooled Helena Bonham Carter as a huge heart-shaped head, hollering atop a tiny body. She slaps Stayne around and forces the Mad Hatter to face the executioner. An idyllic scene ends in a town burned to the ground, and mechanical armies gather for war. Alice is slashed by a huge, hairy dog-like creature, and she battles a deadly monster. Creepy is the prevailing ambiance in many scenes, aided by the grinning Cheshire Cat and a bit of in your-face 3-D. And if you're disturbed by such things, Depp's makeup and red hair owe a lot to Bozo the Clown.

Alcohol and drug use: There is a hookah-smoking caterpillar. The White Queen mixes a potion for Alice with some disgusting ingredients.

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