So when later writers and filmmakers try to make a Tolkienesque alternate-world fantasy out of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, they rin into countless problems: incoherent geography, sudden time shifts, queens without countries, worlds without history. They closer they stick to the source material, the worse the results are.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, a spin-off of Once Upon a Time, sticks too close.
Oh, there's a new plot, with new characters and the extensive back stories we expect from the original. But the convoluted interconnections make no sense.
The plot: An adult Alice returns to Wonderland to rescue her True Love, Cyrus (Peter Gadiot, left), who happens to be a genie. She is assisted by the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha, above) and the White Rabbit, and foiled by the Red Queen and Jafar from Aladdin.Meanwhile, the Knave of Hearts turns out to be Will Scarlet from Robin Hood, who is searching for his lost True Love, Anastasia (not the heir to the Romanovs; the daughter of Rapunzel), who happens to be the Red Queen.
The White Rabbit and the Caterpillar are actual animals, but the Lizard is just a nickname. You can't have it both ways.
There are woefully out of place puns ("Forget-Me-Knot") which destroy the versimilitude.
At least, like the original series, Wonderland is a hunk paradise. Here are the top 10 hotties:
1. Michael Socha2. Peter Gadiot
3. Matty Finochio as Tweedledee. He and his Tweedledum counterpart are Anastasia's servants.
6. Dejan Loyola as Rafi, Cyrus's other brother, also a genie.
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How about another peek at Darren Shahlavi?