Adventures in Beauty Wonderland (original) (raw)

I was originally convinced that this film was some sort of abstract meditation on beauty in relation to sameness and identity or something like that, until I saw that it was commissioned by Sephora, which led me to believe that what this really was was just a very eye-catching rendition of Alice in Wonderland made to serve as proof that Sephora's brand could be outside of the box, which is definitely a bit disappointing.

It's hard to rate this using the same metrics as you would any other anime, since it's not meant to be consumed as such. As another review pointed out, although this is... classified as anime by the site, it really is more like a fine art project, with no concrete story or characters. However, I'll give it a go:

Story: N/A
I'm sure the story behind Keiichi Tanaami's quest to procure the psychedelics necessary to produce this work was fascinating, but unfortunately, that's not what we're here to discuss. As I hinted at before, whatever "story" you want to see here is completely your own interpretation, since there's no real plotline that can be discerned from any of this. Sources say that it's an adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but I have a hunch that it might be missing a few key scenes here and there. Then again, maybe I'm just not artsy or cool enough to notice them.

If I had to guess, I'd say that it's about Eye-lice (Get it? HA HA? RIGHT???) venturing into the underworld to get her some of that bangin' new Too Faced collection from Sephora because it sold out on the surface world, only to find that all of her clones went down there to get it too, and now they're stuck there forever left to gaze upon reflections of their own pride and greed. Either that or the weirdest house party ever got flooded. You decide.

Art: 5
As much as I can appreciate what's been done here, it's hard to deny that it's a bit of an eyesore. The film is like an atom in that it never stops moving, not even for a second. Different parts move at different speeds and there are a million different parts for you to semi-focus on, though everything is so painfully vibrant that it feels like there is no real focus. It's not quite unbearable to the point of creating sensory overload, but it's difficult to digest since it's clearly meant to be as trippy as possible. I might have stronger opinions if I was under the influence, but, alas, I lack the proper facilities. However unpleasant it may be to look at at times, though, Tanaami's style is so distinct and yet so varied that it's hard not to at least be enthralled by the imagery. Yet knowing that this is all for some makeup megacorporation kind of frames whatever I thought it was in a different light.

Sound: 5?
Yup, there was definitely sound! No doubt about that!
I just loved it how whenever one of the surely hundreds of eyeballs in this blinked, you couldn't miss it because it played something that sounded like the mating call of one of those sea creatures you find at the bottom of the ocean. It really helped me in understanding what the underlying themes of this film were: friendship and finding your way back home.
Just kidding. The noise was f--king annoying.
Like the artwork, the soundtrack here was ceaselessly busy, just noise after noise after noise, but I suppose the two went hand in hand, since the music was such a huge component of what created the sometimes uneasy atmosphere in this piece. There were definitely some...interesting...choices, like the brief inclusion of some slowed down moans from someone who was orgasming, giving birth, getting tortured, or all of the above, but that's for Keiichi Tanaami to understand and for the rest of us plebes to sit back and admire. So I guess it gets a 5, since I can't really think of anything else to give it.

Character: N/A
Are there characters? Is "Alice" a single character, several characters, the personification of some abstract concept, or merely a figment of our imaginations? Is the eyeball a motif or do each of the individual eyes count as characters, or are they all perhaps one character showing up in different forms? Do all of the figures floating down the river have backstories or do they start and end when we see them? Do I know? Do I care? As a matter of fact, no. No, I don't. Moving on!

Overall: 5
I can't believe I just wrote a review this long for something that is less than 5 minutes and doesn't even have an actual narrative, but that's art for ya, folks!
Anyway, might watch whatever the hell this is if I ever decide to drop acid.