Review by John M Delia, Jr.
This ageless story from the book “Through the Looking Glass†by Lewis Carroll provides the film sequel Disney’s Alice through the Looking Glass in a stunning adventure for the whole family. With the use of incredible special effects and computer graphics it’s a world filled with fantasy and comedy that entices audiences into a whole new approach to the land of Wonderland. Maybe a bit darker than Alice in Wonderland, but just as much fun.
The mysterious story continues from where it left off. Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) has now grown up and taken over her father’s career as a ship captain sailing in the South Seas. After many years of trying to create new trade with China, Alice and her crew return home.
Alice gets approached by Absolem (Alan Rickman) the butterfly and she finds herself compelled to follow him ‘through the looking glass.’ Once she gets to the other side she finds that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is very confused and upset. She accepts the challenge of finding the Hatter’s family after understanding how she has to do it.
When Alice learns she must go back to the past, according to the White Queen/Mirana (Anne Hathaway), she discovers that she will need to face Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) himself. As she continues to run from Time she discovers the true story behind the Red Queen/ Iracebeth (Helena Bonham Carter) and her sister Mirana.
Director James Bobin does a great job with depicting the storyline and developing a great backstory about the history of his characters. He offers a well played understanding about why the two sisters hate each other and the history of the Mad Hatters family. His blending of the story around “Time†gives an interesting look into each characters existence. Bobin also delivers fantastic special effects that are best seen in 3D.
This very well thought-out storyline is very appealing and won me over as the tale moved along. It has an excellent theme that teaches a good moral, “You can’t run from timeâ€. All in all, I do recommend this film for the little ones (although a bit dark), but there it’s good entertainment for the adults as well.
Final Grade: I give this a B for its amazing special effects and interesting storyline.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp, Rhys Ifans, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lindsay Duncan, Leo Bill; voices: Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall
Directed By: James Bobbin
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG for fantasy action/peril and some language
Running Time: 1 hr. 53 min.
Release Date: May 27, 2016
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures