And well, it is clear from the performances of returning actors such as Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Mia Wasikowska, that their hearts weren’t in this. As the Mad Hatter, who is both dying and depressed after losing his family, Depp is strangely one-dimensional as if uninterested in the role. As the Queen of Hearts, Carter spends all of her screen time shrieking and shouting, lacking nuance in a thoroughly lazy and irritating performance. As the White Queen, Hathaway simply comes off as another boring caricature. And as Alice, Mia is just dull and uncharismatic.
Replacing the eccentric and unpredictable Tim Burton (who produced this film), is Director James Bobin, who has two very good Muppets films under his belt. Here, he struggles to get the best out of his actors, and it could be because the actors performed almost entirely in front of the green screen, with the bulk of the work happening in post-production. Bobin also worked on Da Ali G Show as a writer and director, which as you may know was the launching pad for Sacha Baron Cohen’s career. Cohen, of course, plays Time in Through the Looking Glass.
Alice through the Looking Glass doesn’t carry the spirit of Lewis Carroll
Perhaps it is because Cohen has proven chemistry with Bobin, or because he is new to the franchise, but he is the best part of the film as this being who controls all of time. Initially, I expected him to be the villain of the film as he plays an antagonistic role to Alice, but he is rather sympathetic.
Alice, in her enthusiasm to find out what happened to the Mad Hatter’s family, appeals to Time to let her travel into the past. When Time tells her that this would be dangerous for life itself, Alice steals the ‘chronosphere’, a device that allows her to travel back in time. Yes, way to go Alice, put life itself at peril to save your friend.
Aside from Cohen’s interesting performance, the other saving grace of the film is the gorgeous visuals. I didn’t enjoy how Alice in Wonderland looked at all. In fact, I was rather repulsed by Tim Burton’s one-size-fits-all Goth look, which was unsuited to the work of Lewis Carroll. Here, the art direction isn’t excessively weird, and the film is wonderful to look at. There are also a few action sequences that are entertaining to watch.
Having said that, the narrative of Through the Looking Glass doesn’t carry the spirit of Lewis Carroll, as it lacks the sense of wonder and whimsy which made his books a defining part of literature. Sure, his Alice books are a bit creepy, but it seems that that’s all the film-makers working on material based on his books want to shoot.
Rated PG for fantasy action/peril, and some language
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