On May 27, audiences of all ages are invited to return to Wonderland for the all-new fantasy adventure Alice Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to 2010’s blockbuster Alice in Wonderland. For the “curiouser and curiouser,” here are 10 wondrous reasons not to miss what’s sure to be the most magical movie tea party of the year.
Alice is back!
Acclaimed actress Mia Wasikowska reprises her signature role as Alice Kingsleigh, the plucky heroine who relied on her quick wit and resourcefulness to defeat the evil Red Queen in the original Alice in Wonderland. We expect Wasikowska to bring the same grace and wry humor to the role in the sequel, in which she travels through a mysterious new world to stop the evil Time. At last summer’s D23 convention, Wasikowska told YouTube’s Flicks and the City she was excited to see footage from the finished film: “We shot most of it on green screen so I don’t always know where or what I am [while filming], so... it’s really exciting.”
A madder Hatter
In 2010, audiences went mad for Johnny Depp’s scene-stealing turn as the Mad Hatter, Alice’s most unlikely and unusual ally in her first Wonderland adventure. In Looking Glass, Depp is back in action as the orange-haired and googly green-eyed trickster and we’re excited to see what new levels of Mad-ness he brings to the role. Here’s Johnny discussing his Hatter transformation for the original Alice:
A time-ly new villain
Sacha Baron Cohen joins returning Wonderland players Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp for this all-new Alice adventure, in which he plays the villain Time. After entertaining adult audiences with his satirical comedies Borat, Bruno and the recent The Brothers Grimsby, Cohen has the chance with Looking Glass to leave audiences of all ages grinning like Cheshire cats. It’s about -- er -- time.
Return of a red queen…
Alice appeared to successfully vanquish the Red Queen at the end of the first Alice, but we’re delighted to see that our favorite oddball character actress Helena Bonham Carter is back in burgundy for the sequel. We can’t wait to see what new evil scheme she’s been plotting in that oversize cranium of hers. Chances are, she’ll have us all seeing red.
And an Oscar-winning white one
A few years after starring as the lovably strange White Queen in the original Alice in Wonderland, actress Anne Hathaway took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her very serious and somber turn as Fantine in Les Misérables, which she followed up with more serious and somber turns in Song One and Interstellar. Thankfully, she’s back in full-on weirdo comic mode as Alice’s palest pal in Wonderland in Looking Glass. Here she is in the original Alice cooking up a rather peculiar potion:
The Tim Burton touch
Although original Alice in Wonderland helmer Tim Burton has relinquished directorial duties to James Bobin (The Muppets) for the sequel, he’s still on board as producer and his trademark touch is all over the film’s trailer. Here’s a fan-made look at some of the wondrous worlds created by Burton, including Wonderland:
Looking at Wonderland through a new set of eyes…
Looking Glass director James Bobin certainly knows his way around a comically eccentric character or two, having directed both recent Muppet movies -- The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted – along with TV’s Flight of the Conchords and Da Ali G Show. Now he’s taking on the colorful oddballs of Wonderland, including the White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen) and Tweedledee and Tweedledum (both played by Matt Lucas). With Bobin in the director’s chair, we expect the laughs to come in all shapes and sizes!
Here he is with the cast of The Muppets:
But with a familiar sound
Danny Elfman has helped transport moviegoers to worlds Wonderland-ish and strange since 1985, when the former Oingo Boingo front man composed the score for Tim Burton’s feature-film debut, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Since then, he’s added magical musical soundscapes to such beloved fantasy adventures as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Oz the Great and Powerful and the original Alice in Wonderland. Our ears are excited for more Alice music. Here’s a sample of the original film’s Wonder-ful score:
A rocking new “White Rabbit”
In addition to its Danny Elfman score, the new Alice adventure will feature an all-new rocking cover of Jefferson Airplane’s acid-rock classic “White Rabbit,” the lyrics of which reference the characters and themes featured in Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. The song will be sung by Grammy-winning pop star Pink, who also wrote and recorded an original song for the movie. Here’s a video clip of Pink discussing her involvement with the project:
Girl power
Female moviegoers can not only celebrate the Alice movies for their strong message of female empowerment, they can also take pride in the fact that a team of empowered women helped bring them to the screen, including returning Alice in Wonderland screenwriter Linda Woolverton --whose credits also include the female-led hits Maleficent, Mulan and Beauty and the Beast -- and producers Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd. It’s an all-around girl-power affair!
Rickman’s final encore
Actor Alan Rickman entertained movie audiences for decades with his unforgettable performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, the Sheriff George of Nottingham Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and, of course, as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series. Sadly, Rickman passed away last year but not before reprising his voice role as the amusingly cryptic Blue Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. Catching Rickman’s final performance gives us one final opportunity to pay tribute to one of the greatest character actors of all time.
Are you excited to return to Wonderland? If so, tell us why in the comments section below:
