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Movies / On DVD / Phoebe In Wonderland
Phoebe In Wonderland

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Phoebe In Wonderland (2009)

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58 %
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Reviews Counted: 45

Fresh: 26

Rotten:19

Average Rating: 5.8/10

Consensus: Blessed with a good cast, Phoebe's heart is in the right place, but its execution is dicey.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for thematic material and brief strong language.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins 1 sec

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 6, 2009 Limited

Synopsis: So much of what constitutes psychological inquiry in cinema is overly simplistic, boiling down the complexity of behavior to clichés. So it’s exceptionally gratifying, when dealing with subjects as... So much of what constitutes psychological inquiry in cinema is overly simplistic, boiling down the complexity of behavior to clichés. So it’s exceptionally gratifying, when dealing with subjects as difficult as parenting and growing up, to find as rich an inquiry as Daniel Barnz’s remarkable Phoebe in Wonderland. This is at once a tale of Phoebe (Elle Fanning), a young girl who is different, and a portrait of her mother (Felicity Huffman), a woman caught between trying to raise a child and striving for success in an academic career, while feeling a failure in both. It also includes an unusually gifted, but peculiar, educator—a drama teacher (Patricia Clarkson), who is directing the school production of Alice in Wonderland, which Phoebe longs to be part of. As talented and exceptional as Phoebe appears to be, she is also increasingly far away, retreating into fantasy, and frustrating her parents and teachers. As an examination of normalcy and madness, this is realistic and cerebral storytelling, but it is also extravagantly magical, a metaphorical fable that examines childhood, our attempts to understand it, and the way we, as parents and teachers, navigate its treacherous shoals. A film full of strangeness, exhilarating moments of realization, and painfully real revelations, Phoebe in Wonderland is an honest and thoughtful work that is not to be missed. --© Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman

Starring: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott

Director: Daniel Barnz

Director: Daniel Barnz
Screenwriter: Daniel Barnz
Producer: Ben Barnz, Lynette Howell
Composer: Christophe Beck
Studio: ThinkFilm

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Release:

Jun 23, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English SDH, Spanish
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Phoebe In Wonderland

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

An off-putting, misguided disease-of-the-week picture that tries to disguise itself as something else before finally coming clean.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/25/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

[The movie] resists being pigeonholed or easily labeled -- because, like Phoebe herself, the movie is brilliant and a little strange and wonderfully unique.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
04/24/09
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Ultimately, watching the film becomes a frustrating and annoying experience.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
04/17/09
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Movies featuring exceptional young actresses have always been near and dear to my heart. Elizabeth Taylor, Tatum O'Neal, Anna Paquin ------ to mention a few ----- are particular favorites of mine. Now I must add Elle Fanning to that list.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
03/10/09
Jeanne Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

"Phoebe in Wonderland" gradually morphs into a psychological drama of deep intensity, with an astounding performance by Fanning.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
03/10/09
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

It needs the power of imagination to be done effectively and I just didn’t think it was here.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
03/09/09
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

I thought this was delightful, a little depressing at times but with three stellar performances from Fanning, Huffman, and Patricia Clarkson.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
03/09/09
Ben Lyons
At the Movies

Elle Fanning, the ten-year-old sister of Dakota, can act like nobody's business, and it is her remarkable ability that carries an otherwise artistic mess of a movie.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/09/09
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net

There's a lot more perspiration than inspiration.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
03/09/09
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

It's 'Fanning'tastic!

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
03/09/09
Kam Williams
NewsBlaze

Though Phoebe is nearly too dark for children and nearly too simple for adults, it succeeds as a swirling reminder of what it felt like to get lost in imagination

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
03/09/09
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Phoebe in Wonderland has strong, well-nuanced performances and occasionally moving scenes, but often feels pretentious, uneven and slightly vapid.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
03/08/09
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

Despite slow pacing and stretches of clunky dialogue, it is visually imaginative, frank and sensitive as it avoids being another tearjerker about children who are different.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
03/08/09
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com

A small movie in size, but large in heart and enthusiasm. Global warming be damned, Elle Fanning's smile alone could melt the polar ice caps.

Full Review Source: TheMovieBoy.com | comment Comment
03/06/09
Dustin Putman
TheMovieBoy.com

Visuals aside, what drags Phoebe in Wonderland along is Fanning's performance, but the rest of the film never rises up to the level of her simple moments counting steps or explaining that she has to wash her hands a certain number of times.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
03/06/09
Sean Gandert
Paste Magazine

[Elle Fanning is] an astonishingly natural and unmannered actress who carries this rather ungainly movie on her narrow shoulders.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
03/06/09
Dana Stevens
Slate

Barnz has made a poignant family movie that, despite its thematic material and brief profanity, is appropriate for mature 10-year-olds and older.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
03/06/09
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Let Clarkson and Fanning take you to the rabbit hole of seductive enchantment that defines this movie.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
03/06/09
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Writer-director Daniel Barnz manages to achieve a true and delicate balance for much of Phoebe in Wonderland, his first feature, but ultimately undermines himself with heavy-handed and rather hackneyed whimsy.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
03/06/09
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a rare thing when a labor of love turns out to be worth both the labor and the love.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
03/06/09
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Phoebe In Wonderland

March 18, 2009: Elle Fanning excels in character study of mentally-troubled child. Opens in new window
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