One thing that always struck me was the unique relationship between Alice and the Mad Hatter, it transcends love, respect and friendship, it’s something of a grey area in between and it forms the heart of this movie.
After returning from a year at sea, Alice finds herself in a conundrum as her former betrothed, Hamish, takes away her ship and reveals he has acquired her family home. Obviously unhappy, she runs away (in fitting Alice fashion) only to find everyone’s favourite butterfly – Absolem – who tells her all is not well in Wonderland.
After slipping through a mirror, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself back in Underland (that’s Wonderland’s real name) with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
They tell her that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is depressed over the death of his family and in an attempt to save his loved ones, Alice steals the Chronosphere from Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) to travel into the past. While there, she encounters the younger versions of her friends and the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).
The concept of time travel has been explored numerous times throughout the history of cinema. From Back to the Future to the Terminator franchise – all follow the same premise … what happened, happened. However, why it happens is another matter.
It’s great fun to see these iconic characters as younger versions of themselves – it really provides a new dimension and helps you to understand them better.
There is a seamless blend of live action and special effects, creating a remarkable setting that Carroll would no doubt be pleased with. Wonderland is once again given the Tim Burton treatment and looks, well, wonderful!
Poor old Johnny Depp has been going through a tough time recently and allegations about his personal life unfortunately seem to have cast a shadow over his performance in this movie. That is a real shame because, in my opinion, he really shines in his role as the Hatter.
Depp is widely regarded as being a cinematic chameleon, each of his performances more whacky and wonderful than the last. He slips back into this role like a duck to water and delivers a wonderful performance.
Another standout performance comes from Sacha Baron Cohen who attacks his role as Time with gusto. There are some fantastic puns about his name thrown in for comedic effect and I found myself chuckling the whole time… get it, the whole time?
Sadly, Mia Wasikowska lets the film down with her wooden portrayal and that is a big problem considering she is the protagonist. She says all the right things and looks great, but I just feel the role would’ve been better placed in someone else’ hands.
Some have criticised this movie for being over the top – they’re fools. Of course it’s over the top, that’s the whole point ... if you don’t go over the top you never see what’s on the other side.
Overall Alice Through The Looking Glass probably won’t win Johnny that illusive Oscar, but it does provide a fun and frivolous way to spend a couple of hours.
