I usually don't go in depth much about my thoughts on movies, and that's because in most cases, I feel like everything there is to say about a movie has already been said because so many people, not just critics, are able to voice their opinions now with the advent of social media. I also understand that it's very hard to make a movie, especially a good one, so I generally try not to give much attention to bad movies or waste my time and energy bashing them.
With "Alice Through the Looking Glass," though, I feel like I have to put my opinion out there. I'm in the minority with this one in that I loved "Wonderland" and was incredibly excited to see "Looking Glass." Having finally seen the movie, I'm really disappointed. I feel burned.
Tim Burton directed "Alice in Wonderland" but chose not to direct this one - in his place is James Bobin, director of the two most recent "Muppets" films (the first of which I thought was great, the second much less so but still fine). I think it would be unfair to put all of the blame on him, but he's certainly responsible for some of what went wrong here... as is screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who I almost can't believe is the same person who wrote "Alice and Wonderland," "Maleficent," and the original "Beauty and the Beast." While her previous work is whimsical but subtle and sophisticated, "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is an uninspired mess, and I can't help but suspect that she really didn't care about this at all.
You know, it seems like almost no one involved in making this movie cared. Mia Wasikowska is probably the only member of the cast who deserves any praise, and I thought she did an even better job playing Alice here than she did in the first movie. Everyone else though, ESPECIALLY Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway, should be embarrassed. Johnny's Mad Hatter was one of the best things about the first one, but here, he's just really weird and annoying. Like, super annoying...
I don't even think the composer, the usually amazing Danny Elfman, put forth much of an effort here. The score for "Alice in Wonderland" is one of my favorite scores for a movie ever, but it's like for this one, he thought he could just recycle the stuff he wrote for the first one and that no one would notice? Well, I did, Danny. I noticed.
The visual effects and production design are pretty great, as they should be, but you never get that sense of wonder or escapism that you should get with a movie like this because so much of the movie is just people standing around bantering or delivering boring exposition. The movie is loud and sometimes frantic but rarely fun or engaging. It's a major disappointment and a major step back from "Alice in Wonderland" and Disney's other recent live-action fairytale adaptations. It's just not good.
With "Alice Through the Looking Glass," though, I feel like I have to put my opinion out there. I'm in the minority with this one in that I loved "Wonderland" and was incredibly excited to see "Looking Glass." Having finally seen the movie, I'm really disappointed. I feel burned.
Tim Burton directed "Alice in Wonderland" but chose not to direct this one - in his place is James Bobin, director of the two most recent "Muppets" films (the first of which I thought was great, the second much less so but still fine). I think it would be unfair to put all of the blame on him, but he's certainly responsible for some of what went wrong here... as is screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who I almost can't believe is the same person who wrote "Alice and Wonderland," "Maleficent," and the original "Beauty and the Beast." While her previous work is whimsical but subtle and sophisticated, "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is an uninspired mess, and I can't help but suspect that she really didn't care about this at all.
You know, it seems like almost no one involved in making this movie cared. Mia Wasikowska is probably the only member of the cast who deserves any praise, and I thought she did an even better job playing Alice here than she did in the first movie. Everyone else though, ESPECIALLY Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway, should be embarrassed. Johnny's Mad Hatter was one of the best things about the first one, but here, he's just really weird and annoying. Like, super annoying...
I don't even think the composer, the usually amazing Danny Elfman, put forth much of an effort here. The score for "Alice in Wonderland" is one of my favorite scores for a movie ever, but it's like for this one, he thought he could just recycle the stuff he wrote for the first one and that no one would notice? Well, I did, Danny. I noticed.
The visual effects and production design are pretty great, as they should be, but you never get that sense of wonder or escapism that you should get with a movie like this because so much of the movie is just people standing around bantering or delivering boring exposition. The movie is loud and sometimes frantic but rarely fun or engaging. It's a major disappointment and a major step back from "Alice in Wonderland" and Disney's other recent live-action fairytale adaptations. It's just not good.