Walt Disney Pictures
There are movies out there that are just not going to get a fair shake from the critics, no matter how good it may be. It could be because of the star, the director or the genre. Some critics just hate anything commercial … if it doesn’t have subtitles, they’ll snub it. Here at HOTCHKA, we pride ourselves on writing about movies and TV shows from a fan perspective, connecting with our readers on a more personal level like friends having a conversation (and we do encourage your feedback in the comments section below, whether you agree or not). So with that in mind, I’m going to buck the current trend of hating on Alice Through the Looking Glass, which dropped 20% on Rotten Tomatoes in two days, and give it a positive review.
Now I enjoyed the first Alice in Wonderland, and while it was visually amazing it still felt a little empty in the story department. Alice Through the Looking Glass keeps the amazing visuals, but ups the story and character development as well. But let’s be completely honest here … the movie has absolutely nothing to do with the book except absconding with the title. Perhaps this is enough to enrage the critics and purists, but we’ll take the film on its own merits.
The plot finds Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now a sea captain on her late father’s ship, returning home after three years sailing around the world. In that time, her mother had sold the family’s shares in the ship to Alice’s loathesome ex-suitor Hamish (Leo Bill), who is also about to foreclose on her home unless she agrees to sign a contract and become a clark in his office. Offended by the offer and disappointed in her mother, Alice spots a blue butterfly in the Astor mansion which leads her to another room with a large mirror. The butterfly is Absolem (Alan Rickman), and the mirror is a doorway back to Wonderland.
There she sees many of her old friends including Princess Mirana (Anne Hathaway) who tells Alice that the Hatter (Johnny Depp) is not himself since he found a small paper hat that he had once given to his father. The Hatter now believes his family was not killed by the Jabberwocky but no one will believe him. When Alice pasy him a visit, he’s sure she will help him but she also tells him it’s impossible for them to have survived which sends him into an emotional and physical tailspin. But Mirana says there may be a way to see if the Hightopp family did survive — travel back in time. Alice is the only one who can do so since she is not from Wonderland and can’t cross paths with her past self (to do so would spell destruction for their universe). But she has to convince Time (Sasha Baron Cohen) to allow her to use the Chronosphere, something he refuses to do. So she “borrows” it and her latest adventure begins. She has to be very careful though not to alter any past events or the future will also be changed.
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a special effects extravaganza to be sure, but it’s not as overwhelming as the first time since there are a lot of smaller set pieces that don’t seem to have required computer generation of the sets. Wonderland still looks amazing, and there are some neat images as Alice traverses the seas of time. And Time has some very cool eyes. I really could not stop looking at them.
But it’s not all about the special effects. Alice Through the Looking Glass has a good story as well with a touching message about treasuring family and friends. Depp’s performance this time out is less manic has his present day Hatter is so distraught that no one, including his Alice, will believe his belief that his family is still alive. Depp gives a very heartfelt performance and you can feel the Hatter’s sense of loss as he feels betrayed by everyone he called a friend. And the past Hatter is also emotionally damaged by what he perceives to be the disappointment of his father, which leads to them parting on bad terms and why finding the family is so important to him. This whole storyline and Depp’s performance really touched my heart, making my eyes well with tears. You really have to have something wrong if you’re not moved by the feelings of loss and heartbreak, the sense of finality that comes with the end of the movie.
In addition to the Hatter’s story, we also get more background on why the sisters Mirana and Iracebeth don’t get along, which also adds a nice bit of emotional weight and character development to the story and gives Helena Bonham Carter a chance to do more than scream at people.
Director James Bobin has pulled together a story that focuses more on the human characters than all of the CG creatures, and balances everything very nicely. I know I’m a lone voice here (although there was a smattering of applause at the end of our screening), but I have to say I totally enjoyed Alice Through the Looking Glass. It entertained me, it made me laugh, it made me cry, and what more could you ask for from a movie? Ignore all the critical reviews of the movie and take it from a movie fan, Alice Through the Looking Glass is a good movie!
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