Director: James Bobin
Release Date: 2016
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Running Time: 1hr 53 minutes
Rating: PG
Format: Blu-Ray
Synopsis:
Alice returns to Wonderland once more, this time to help the Mad Hatter, before it's too late.
Making a sequel is a very big risk for a director to take. Directors, naturally have proven over the years that they are capable of producing magnificent sequels and trilogies with the likes of "Back to the Future" and Marvel's "Captain America", however there have been many over the years that have simply not worked. One could say that director James Bobin took a risk with making this film, after Tim Burton's terrific adaptation of the beloved story "Alice in Wonderland", however Bobin did a magnificent job in recreating "Through the looking glass", it's full of imagination and beautifully creative. Alice finds herself in Wonderland once again, only this time she must travel through time in order to save The Mad Hatter's (Depp) family from the Red Queen. Finding herself in the arms of Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Lucas), Absolem (Rickman), Bayard, Mallymkun (Windsor), Wilkins and Mctwisp (Sheen) once more.
Johnny Depp returns as the fantastic Mad Hatter. Hatter Tarrant Hightopp believes that only Alice is person who can bring back his family. Johnny Depp as always delivers a tremendous performance, beaming with characterisation and imagination. A lot wasn't really explained in the first film about his character. I really love that James Bobin has dived deep in showing his emotions, his family life, his beliefs. Time isn't a thing, but simply a person. A character that wasn't originally in Lewis Carroll's books. It is however mentioned in "Alice's adventures in Wonderland" during one chapter. Time is played superbly by Sacha Baron Cohen. Marvellously funny and full of emotion, Cohen really steps up the mark with his performance. Proving that he is more then just Ali G.
Although we saw a lot of the Red Queen (Carter) in "Alice in Wonderland", we did not learn how she became the evil queen that she is now. I always look forward to seeing Helena Boham Carter in a film. Carter's performance really is excellent. I love that we learn more about her childhood and the relationship that she shared with her sister Mirana (Hathaway), of whom also delivers a terrific performance as the White Queen. Australian actress, Mia Wasikowska, returns to our screen as the adventurous and impossible Alice Kingsleigh. Although she is not your typical leading lady, she delivers a great performance. The characters work brilliantly together, forming deeper and more meaningful relationships as the film goes on.
The intricate details shown in each and every scene are magnificent. Colourful and euphoric, James Bobin hasn't missed a beat in allowing you to see something different every single time you watch it. I love how much it resembled the novel, or in my case I suppose my imagination. The beauty of film is that it can recreate our imagination in so many incredible ways. Going into more detail and creativity than our brain can withstand. I love that unlike the first film, Alice wasn't consistently seen in her typical blue and white petticoat dress. The costume department really worked with her eccentric personality and put her in something fantastically colourful. It's unfortunate that a few scenes didn't particularly work, one in which Alice wakes up in a mental hospital could easily have been left out, audiences would have been none the wiser. It was almost as if it was put in simply to make up time. The special effects really are superb.
Composer Danny Elfman returns with a terrific score. I love the use of contemporary music too in the very creative closing credits. Avril Lavigne produced a great track at the end of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" that described the film beautifully. Although Pink's song "Just like fire" doesn't necessarily explain the film, it works excellently alongside the animation used in the closing credits. It's catchy, fun and works really well with the storyline. It's certainly now a firm favourite of mine. I find myself watching this time and time again. A great film for the whole family.
4.5/5 stars
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