| Alice Through the Looking Glass | |
|---|---|
_poster.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | James Bobin |
| Written by | Linda Woolverton |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Stuart Dryburgh |
| Edited by | Andrew Weisblum |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 113 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $170 million[2] |
| Box office | $299.5 million[1] |
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a 2016 Americanlive-action animatedfantasyadventure film produced byWalt Disney Pictures in association withRoth Films, Team Todd, andTim Burton Productions. It was directed byJames Bobin, written byLinda Woolverton, and produced byTim Burton,Joe Roth, and the filmmaking duo ofSuzanne andJennifer Todd. It is based on the 1871 novelThrough the Looking-Glass written byLewis Carroll and is the sequel/prequel toAlice in Wonderland (2010).[3]Johnny Depp,Anne Hathaway,Mia Wasikowska,Helena Bonham Carter,Matt Lucas,Alan Rickman (in his final film role),Stephen Fry,Michael Sheen,Barbara Windsor,Timothy Spall,Paul Whitehouse,Lindsay Duncan,Geraldine James, andLeo Bill reprise their roles from the previous film withSacha Baron Cohen andRhys Ifans joining the cast.
In the film, a now 22-year-oldAlice comes across a magical looking glass that takes her back toWonderland, where she finds that theMad Hatter is acting madder than usual and wants to discover the truth about his family. Alice thentravels through time (with the "Chronosphere"), comes across friends and enemies at different points of their lives, and embarks on a race to save the Hatter before time runs out.
Alice Through the Looking Glass premiered inLondon on May 10, 2016 at the Odeon Leicester Square, and was theatrically released on May 27, byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who praised its visuals but criticized its story.[4] It was also abox-office bomb, grossing roughly $299.5 million against a production budget of $170 million[5] and losing the studio an estimated $70 million.
For three years,Alice Kingsleigh has been following her father's footsteps and sailing the high seas. Returning toLondon fromChina, she learns that her ex-fiancé Hamish Ascot has taken over his deceased father's company and plans to have Alice sign over her father's ship in exchange for her family home.
Alice follows a butterfly she recognizes asAbsolem, who was previously a caterpillar, and returns toWonderland through a mirror. Alice is greeted by theWhite Queen, theWhite Rabbit, theTweedles, theDormouse, theMarch Hare, theBloodhound and theCheshire Cat, who reveal that theMad Hatter is acting madder than usual because his family is gone.
Alice tries to console the Hatter, but he remains certain that his family is still alive. Seeing it as the only way to restore his health, the White Queen sends Alice to consult Time and convince him to save the Hatter's family in the past. The Queen warns Alice that history will be destroyed if a person's past and present selves meet. In Time's Castle of Eternity lies the Chronosphere, an object that controls all of time in Wonderland. After Time tells Alice that altering the past is impossible, she steals the Chronosphere and travels back in time.
The exiledRed Queen orders Time to pursue Alice, who accidentally travels to the Red Queen's crowning. There, a younger Mad Hatter mocks the Red Queen when the crown does not fit her abnormal head. When her father deems her unfit to rule, the Red Queen throws a tantrum that causes her head to swell and vows revenge on the Hatter. Alice learns of an event in both the Queens' pasts that causes friction between the two and travels back in time again, hoping to change the Red Queen's character.
The young White Queen steals atart from her mother and leaves crumbs under her sister's bed. When confronted by their mother, the White Queen lies and lets her sister take the blame, causing the young Red Queen to run out of the castle in tears. Alice sees her about to run into a clock being carried across the square; believing this to be the event that changes her head, she pushes the clock out of the way. However, the young Red Queen still falls and hits her head. Alice is confronted by a weakened Time, who berates her for putting all of time in danger. She runs into a nearby mirror and back into the real world, where she wakes up in a mental hospital, diagnosed withfemale hysteria. With the help of her mother, she returns to Wonderland, travels to theJabberwocky attack and discovers that the Hatter's family was captured by the Red Queen'sRed Knights.
Returning to the present, Alice sees that the Mad Hatter is at the brink of death. After Alice tearfully says she believes him, the Hatter awakens and reforms back to his normal self. The Wonderlanders go to the Red Queen's second castle and find the Hatter's family shrunk and trapped in an ant farm. The Red Queen apprehends them and steals the Chronosphere from Alice, taking her sister back to the day she lied about the tart to hide behind a door and listen to the scene. The White Queen whispers "No," as her younger self denies stealing the tart; the Red Queen furiously bursts through the door and screams at her sister's younger self. The young Red Queen sees her older self, creating a time paradox, and their faces and bodies rust. All of Wonderland then begins to be taken over by the rust.
Using the Chronosphere, Alice and the Hatter race back to the present, where Alice runs for her life to place the Chronosphere back in its original place. Initially, she outruns the rust, but is stopped with her hand just above the stand. Sparks make the connection and the rust dissolves. The Mad Hatter reunites with his family, while the White Queen apologizes to the redeemed Red Queen for lying. Alice bids her friends farewell and returns to the real world.
Upon Alice's return, her mother refuses to turn Alice's ship over to Hamish. Alice and her mother start their own company and travel on its behalf.
The film was announced viaVariety in December 2012.[14] Bobin was first approached about the project while doing post-production work on Disney'sMuppets Most Wanted.[15] Of being asked, Bobin has said that "I just couldn't pass it up", as he has a passion for the works of Lewis Carroll as well as history in general.[16] On January 21, 2014, the film was again retitled toAlice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.[17][18]
In July 2013, it was announced thatJohnny Depp would return asthe Hatter,[19] withMia Wasikowska's return confirmed the following November.[20] In January 2014,Sacha Baron Cohen joined the cast to play Time.[21] In May 2014,Rhys Ifans joined the cast to play Zanik Hightopp, the Mad Hatter's father.[22] In developing the character of "Time", Bobin sought to avoid creating a "straight-up bad guy", noting that it would be "a bit dull", and also that the role in that universe already existed in the form of The Red Queen.[15] Instead, Bobin sought to make Time a "Twit", further explaining that "There's no one better at playing the confident idiot trope than Sacha Baron Cohen", and adding that "it was very much with Sacha in mind".[15] Additionally,Toby Jones andJohn Sessions were originally announced to voice Wilkins and Humpty Dumpty in the film, the roles were eventually given toMatt Vogel andWally Wingert.[12][13]
Principal photography began on August 4, 2014, atShepperton Studios.[23] In August 2014, filming took place inGloucester Docks, which included the use of at least four historic ships:Kathleen and May,Irene,Excelsior, and theEarl of Pembroke, the last of which was renamedThe Wonder for filming.[24][25][26][27][28] Principal photography ended on October 31, 2014.[29]
The film's score was composed byDanny Elfman. The soundtrack was released on May 27, 2016, byWalt Disney Records.Pink recorded the song "Just Like Fire" for the film, and also coveredJefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", only used in the film's promotional material.
All music composed byDanny Elfman.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alice" | 6:35 |
| 2. | "Saving the Ship" | 3:40 |
| 3. | "Watching Time" | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Looking Glass" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "To the Rescue" | 0:56 |
| 6. | "Hatter House" | 3:47 |
| 7. | "The Red Queen" | 2:29 |
| 8. | "The Chronosphere" | 4:15 |
| 9. | "Warning Hightopps" | 2:23 |
| 10. | "Tea Time Forever" | 1:45 |
| 11. | "Oceans of Time" | 1:15 |
| 12. | "Hat Heartbreak" | 2:27 |
| 13. | "Asylum Escape" | 4:06 |
| 14. | "Hatter's Deathbed" | 3:22 |
| 15. | "Finding the Family" | 2:04 |
| 16. | "Time Is Up" | 4:24 |
| 17. | "World's End" | 1:50 |
| 18. | "Truth" | 4:09 |
| 19. | "Goodbye Alice" | 2:13 |
| 20. | "Kingsleigh & Kingsleigh" | 1:19 |
| 21. | "Seconds Song" | 0:11 |
| 22. | "Friends United" | 1:06 |
| 23. | "Time's Castle" | 1:49 |
| 24. | "The Seconds" | 1:55 |
| 25. | "Clock Shop" | 0:50 |
| 26. | "They're Alive" | 2:23 |
| 27. | "Story of Time" | 3:03 |
| 28. | "Just Like Fire" (performed byPink) | 3:35 |
| Total length: | 76:53 | |
Alice Through the Looking Glass premiered inLondon on May 10, 2016, and was theatrically released on May 27, 2016, in the United States byWalt Disney Pictures.[30]
Alice Through the Looking Glass grossed $77 million in the United States and Canada and $222.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $299.5 million, against a production budget of $170 million.[1]The Hollywood Reporter estimated the film lost the studio around $70 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[31]
Alice Through the Looking Glass opened in the United States and Canada on May 27, 2016, alongsideX-Men: Apocalypse, and was initially projected to gross $55–60 million from 3,763 theaters over its four-dayMemorial Day opening weekend, but projections were continuously revised downwards due to poorword of mouth.[32] It had the added benefit of playing in over 3,100 3D theaters, 380 IMAX screens, 77 premium large formats and 79D-box locations.[33][34] It made $1.5 million from Thursday previews (to the first film's $3.9 million)[35] and just $9.7 million on its first day, compared to the $41 million opening Friday of its predecessor.[36] Through its opening weekend, it earned $26.9 million, which when compared to its predecessor's $116 million opening is down 70%.[32] While 3D represented 71% ($82 million) of the original film's opening gross, 3D constituted only 41% ($11 million) for this sequel, with 29% coming from traditional 2D shows, 11% from IMAX, and 1% from premium large formats.[37] It was the studio's third production with a low Memorial Day opening afterTomorrowland in 2015 andPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010.[37] During its first week, the film grossed $40.1 million.[38] In its second weekend, the film grossed $11.3 million (a 57.9% drop), finishing 4th at the box office.[39]
The film was released across 43 countries (72% of its total market place) the same weekend as the US, and was estimated to gross $80–100 million in its opening weekend. It faced competition fromWarcraft andX-Men: Apocalypse.[40] It ended up grossing $62.7 million, which is well below the projections of which $4.1 million came from IMAX shows.[41] It had an opening weekend gross in Mexico ($4.5 million), Brazil ($4.1 million), and Russia ($3.9 million).[41] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it had an unsuccessful opening by grossing just £2.23 million ($3.1 million) during its opening weekend, a mere 21% of the first film's £10.56 million ($15.2 million) opening from 603 theaters. It debuted in second place behindX-Men: Apocalypse which was on its second weekend of play.[42] In China, it had an opening day of an estimated $7.3 million[43] and went on to score the second biggest Disney live-action (non-Marvel orLucasfilm) opening ever with $26.6 million, behind onlyThe Jungle Book.[41] However, this was down from its $35–45 million projections.[44] It debuted at the No. 1 spot among newly released film in Japan with $5.2 million and $4.1 million on Saturday and Sunday. By comparison, the first film opened with $14 million on its way to a $133.6 million a total.[45][46]
Alice Through the Looking Glass was released onBlu-ray,DVD,Blu-ray 3D anddigital download on October 18, 2016, byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[47][48] It debuted at No. 2 in the Blu-ray Disc sales charts.[49]
Rotten Tomatoes reports that 29% of 260 reviews are positive, and the average rating is 4.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Alice Through the Looking Glass is just as visually impressive as its predecessor, but that isn't enough to cover for an underwhelming story that fails to live up to its classic characters."[4]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 34 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[50] However, audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, the same grade earned by its predecessor, while those atPostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 79% and a "definite recommend" of 51%.[51]
Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times wrote in his review, "What does all this have to do with Lewis Carroll? Hardly anything" and that overall, "It's just an excuse on which to hang two trite overbearing fables and one amusing one".[52]Ty Burr ofThe Boston Globe gave the movie 1.5 out of 4 stars and called the film, "gaudy, loud, complacent, and vulgar."[53] Stephen Whitty ofNew York Daily News called the film "hugely expensive and extravagantly stupid" and that, overall, the movie "is just one more silly Hollywood mashup, an innocent fantasy morphed into a noisy would-be blockbuster".[54]Matt Zoller Seitz ofRogerEbert.com was deeply critical ofAlice Through the Looking Glass, calling it "junk rehashed from a movie that was itself a rehash of Lewis Carroll" and describing it as "the most offensive kind of film" due to its blockbuster tropes, lack of magic and wonder, and perceived sole purpose of financial gain.[55]
Matthew Lickona ofSan Diego Reader said that while he found the visual effects to be "stupidly expensive" and the story familiar, he called it "a solid kids' movie in the old style".[56]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Nominated | [57] |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Johnny Depp | |||
| Worst Screen Combo | Johnny Depp and His Vomitously Vibrant Costume | |||
| Golden Trailer Awards | Best Animation Family | "Poem" | [58] | |
| The Don LaFontaine Award for Best Voice Over | "Poem" | |||
| Best Fantasy Adventure TV Spot | "Grammys" | |||
| Best Original Score TV Spot | "Grammys" | |||
| Grammy Awards | Best Song Written For Visual Media | "Just Like Fire" – Oscar Holter,Max Martin,Pink andShellback | [59] | |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Song – Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film | "Just Like Fire" – Oscar Holter, Max Martin, Pink and Shellback | Won | [60][61] |
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite Family Movie | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Nominated | [62] |
| Satellite Awards | Best Art Direction and Production Design | Dan Hennah | [63] | |
| Best Costume Design | Colleen Atwood | |||
| Saturn Awards | Best Costume Design | Colleen Atwood | [64] | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Music: Song from a Movie or TV Show | "Just Like Fire" by Pink | [65] | |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature | Jacob Clark, Joseph Pepper, Klaus Seitschek and Cosku Turhan | [66] |
| Films | _Logo_Black.svg){kind=logo} | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Television | |||
| Amusement parks | |||
| Music | |||
| Video games |
| ||
| Related | |||
