Alice returns to the whimsical world of Wonderland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter
(Source-Imdb.com)
Alice through the Looking Glass Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3IWwnNe5mc
_poster.jpg)
I didn't really enjoy the Alice in Wonderland I grew up with as a child, which was the 1951 cartoon version that was a similar copy of the original written version by Lewis Carroll, named Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
I wouldn't have considered it a story back then because I thought it had no moral and it was only a series of ridiculous scenes that didn't connect to anything. I wouldn't have predicted that years later, director Tim Burton would re-adapt the story in 2010 with the same title Alice in Wonderland. I ended up watching that movie as well and I didn't enjoy that one either.
What is with my dislike for this story?
Well, after much thought, I realized that my dislike for these two versions were for two very different reasons. The 2010 version bored me with its talk of war and prophecies and how only the adult Alice-who should have been a child- could defeat a dragon that was terrorizing Wonderland.
It was way too serious for Alice in Wonderland...Note: too serious.
In the cartoon version, nothing was serious in that story but Alice for the most part. She was the only one who always thought of why the Mad Hatter was so mad or why the Cheshire Cat couldn't just give her a straight answer.
Everything in that world was mad and like Alice, little me couldn't understand the joy of the ludicrous antics back then, but now I see the message the cartoon was trying to send to me.
The more I think about it, I believe that the intention of the story was meant for people like me. I didn't always have to be so uptight and straight-laced, I could be as silly as I wanted to be and I didn't have to be afraid of what people thought of me.
That doesn't mean that children and adults shouldn't be serious sometimes, but we can allow our imaginations to grow and enjoy the fantasies that we create in our heads because it's a gateway to more fun than reality can provide.
I was too ignorant to see its purpose back then, but the original material and cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland was created to help children see a wacky side of life that wasn't only weird, but liberating from the real world. As long as you don't completely submerge yourself in a life of whimsy, it's okay to be "mad" sometimes.
While I was simply too ignorant to see the moral behind the madness of the cartoon version, the Tim Burton one seemed like a different story altogether. There was wackiness sure, but not enough of it, it wasn't the main focus of the story, at least it didn't feel like it.
Carroll's Wonderland only had the threat of the Queen of Hearts and even she was hilarious in her own way with her incessant temper and irrational decisions, but in the Burton version we are given the weight of how Alice would defeat a dragon while taking down the Red Queen and helping the Mad Hatter and other characters stay their crazy selves. This isn't needed for this story, these new ideas only muddle the message.
(HERE)
I'm going to try my very best to not judge Alice through the Looking Glass by comparing it to its original source material in 1971 with the same title. After all, this is Burton's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland and he's allowed to make it any way he wants as long as he stays true to the characters and the main message.
So to be clear, I will only judge the movie based on its storytelling, characters, and animation/scenery. No comparisons whatsoever.
So did Alice through the Looking Glass exceed my expectations and have me going mad over it or was it just a sign that it's finally time for this story to be put to rest?
The story for this sequel felt really complicated to follow. It begins with Alice (Mia Wasikowska) going to Wonderland (for the 3rd time, according to the Burton adaptions) to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) from-what I would call-a depression because he wants to find his family. But the ways Alice attempts to save Hatter are very confusing.
It involves working with a man who is literally Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) and going into the past, and as it's obvious with every movie that involves time travel, anything that you change in the past can drastically change the future. The things Alice does in the past should have drastically altered the present, but nothing changed at all. So not only was this story confusing but it was technically incorrect with how time travel should work. The story gets to the point where Alice goes so far into the past to fix a mistake of another character that you start to forget what was the purpose of the entire trip.
I did like how Alice's actress seemed more invested in her role with greater enthusiasm than I remember seeing in the first movie. I genuinely enjoyed her acting, but I wish it was incorporated in another story. I still don't think she can hold up a role as charmingly stoic as the original Alice.
The Hatter's role in this story seemed so forced to me; I enjoyed the acting from Johnny Depp but I just feel like the purpose for Hatter being there was only to keep Depp in the movie since he's a popular actor. The journey to the past could have focused solely on the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and her past, which even then seems forced as well but at least she's still the villain so the consequences that can come from not giving her a happy ending is more dire than Hatter's.
The reason behind why Alice travels back in time to help the Red Queen after trying to help the Hatter is extremely petty. To be fair, in Wonderland things should be stupid so the reasoning behind why the Red Queen is so angry and bent on killing people could be justified, but with all of the themes in this story about gaining family approval, sibling rivalry, and death, it's hard to remember this story as one that should be silly overall.
I can't really argue about the art style, it certainly fits with Burton's usual gloomy atmosphere. There's a scene where Alice is trying to enter Time's castle and the strategy that she must do to enter shows how great the visuals are and the creativity put into it. Other than that, I didn't enjoy this sequel at all. Even if it was an original piece, the story is again so conflicting it gave me a headache, the characters are treated like actual sane people instead of the wacky ones the movie tries to make them be and because of this their silly actions come off more annoying than comical or likable.
If you're looking for an adaption of Carroll's version of Alice through the Looking Glass you will not find it here. It is not similar to the book at all, aside from a few references like Humpty Dumpty and the chess pieces, but they're more comic relief. It tries to make you sympathize with characters who don't need it or are arguably too far gone to be considered a good person.
I believe whether you're an Alice fan or not, this movie won't satisfy you and you'd be better off investing your time watching the news than seeing this.
SPOILER ALERT!
.
.
.
.
.
My list of complaints and compliments throughout the movie:
Again, I must commend Mia Wasikowska for her great acting in this. Compared to her previous performance in the first movie, this was a big step up. I also liked how they didn't make Alice get a boyfriend, even though that brunette male assistant could've easily fit the role.
The scene where Alice and her mother are talking in the very beginning.
Alice- "When I'm scared, I think of father"
Mom- "You sound just like him"
How does she sound like her father? Did her father also think of himself when he was afraid?
For a children's movie, there is a lot of talk about pensions, loans, and selling shares in the first act. These are things that children will not care for.
Why should we know about the Mad Hatter's family? I get that Hatter's feelings about his family being alive affects him so much now because of the piece of his first hat that he found, but his depression just seems like so much after not seeing them for over a year...or years actually! Weren't they taken away before Alice returned in the first movie? That would make it so many years and for his emotions to flare up this bad to the point where he would shun everyone he cares about because they doubt him is weird, and not the good kind.
Alice's friends, specifically the Cheshire Cat says to save Hatter's family in the past, but don't do anything to change the present...by saving the family she would change the present!
They don't explain how the Red Queen ended up with Time at all. Last time we saw her she was banished with her soldier who she had the hots for.
Obvious exposition lines like, "I never forgot that time where she hit her head in towns square"
Hatter's family was stuck in the Red Queen's ant farm for years. If they didn't die by the dragon, they should've died in the ant farm; there was clearly no food or water for them.
The Mad Hatter was dying of broken heart until Alice admits that she believed that his family was alive. It's not like he knew they were alive, it was just someone saying they think it's possible and he's completely okay. So he becomes alive again because Alice believes in him...what is he, Tinkerbell?
The Hatter's reconnection with his stern father is similar to Depp's other character Willy Wonka connecting with his father in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Fun Fact: Sacha Baron Cohen who plays Time is also the actor who played Borat (2006) and Bruno! (2009)
No comments:
Post a Comment