Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016 film)
Sequel to Alice in Wonderland (2010), released in 2016.
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a 2016 American fantasy adventure movie from Walt Disney Pictures. It follows up on *Alice in Wonderland* (2010), with James Bobin directing and Linda Woolverton writing. Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall all came back for their parts, while Sacha Baron Cohen and Rhys Ifans joined the cast. The plot has a 22-year-old Alice finding a magical looking glass that sends her back to Wonderland. There, the Mad Hatter is physically ill and depressed due to believing his family is dead, and she works to uncover the truth about his family.
The movie premiered on May 10, 2016, at London’s Odeon Leicester Square and hit theaters on May 27 through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Critics gave it mixed to negative reviews, liking the visuals but not the story. It also flopped at the box office, earning $299.5 million against a $170 million budget and costing the studio an estimated $70 million.
**Plot** For three years, Alice Kingsleigh has been sailing the seas, following her father’s path. When she gets back to London from China, she finds out her ex-fiancé Hamish Ascot now runs his late father’s company and wants her to sign over her father’s ship in exchange for her family home.
Alice follows a butterfly she recognizes as Absolem (once a caterpillar) and goes back to Wonderland through a mirror. The White Queen, White Rabbit, Tweedles, Dormouse, March Hare, Bloodhound, and Cheshire Cat greet her, saying the Mad Hatter is acting even madder because his family is gone. Alice tries to comfort him, but he’s sure his family is still alive. To help him, the White Queen sends Alice to talk to Time and get him to save the Hatter’s family in the past. The Queen warns that history will break if a person’s past and present selves meet. In Time’s Castle of Eternity is the Chronosphere, which controls all time in Wonderland. After Time says changing the past is impossible, Alice steals the Chronosphere and travels back.
The exiled Red Queen orders Time to chase Alice, who accidentally lands during the Red Queen’s crowning. There, a younger Mad Hatter mocks her when the crown doesn’t fit her odd head. Her father says she’s unfit to rule, and the Red Queen throws a tantrum that makes her head swell, vowing revenge on the Hatter. Alice learns about an
- release_year
- 2016
- director
- James Bobin
- writer
- Linda Woolverton
- budget
- $170 million
- box_office
- $299.5 million
- studio
- Walt Disney Pictures
Lore & Background
The film was announced in December 2012 via Variety. James Bobin was approached while doing post-production on Disney's Muppets Most Wanted and accepted due to his passion for Lewis Carroll's works and history. Principal photography began on August 4, 2014, at Shepperton Studios, with additional filming in Gloucester Docks using historic ships including Kathleen and May, Irene, Excelsior, and the Earl of Pembroke (renamed The Wonder for filming). Principal photography ended on October 31, 2014.
Reader's Guide
Alice Through the Looking Glass premiered on May 10, 2016, at the Odeon Leicester Square in London and was theatrically released on May 27 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who praised its visuals but criticized its story. It was a box-office disappointment, grossing $300 million against a budget of $170 million and losing the studio an estimated $70 million. The film is notable as Alan Rickman's final film role, voicing Absolem the Butterfly. The score was composed by Danny Elfman.
Did You Know?
- Alan Rickman's role as Absolem the Butterfly was not his final film role; his final film role was in 'The Limehouse Golem' (released posthumously in 2017).
- Sacha Baron Cohen played Time, a powerful god-like human/clockwork hybrid.
- The film lost the studio an estimated $70 million.
- Principal photography took place at Shepperton Studios and Gloucester Docks.
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