Turn Back the Hands of Time (Disney's Alice Through the Looking Glass, 2016)

Alice returns to the magical world of Underland, only to find the Hatter in a horrible state. With the help of her friends, Alice must travel through time to save the Mad Hatter and Underland's fate from the evil clutches of the Red Queen and a clock like creature, known as Time. - IMDb

Story

   The only similarity between this film and the book of the same title is going through the looking glass. It really isn't similar in any way, shape, or form. It's important to remember that the original animated film and the first Burton film were actually a combination of the books Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. You couldn't exactly make the sequel film like the sequel book in this case. This film was made to give backstory to the first one. Why is the Mad Hatter the only Hatter left? Why is the Red Queen's head swollen? Where did the sibling rilvarly between Iracebeth and Mirana come from? It did this very well, and I was very happy with the result.

Visuals

     The film was as visually stunning as the last, maybe even more. It seemed a bit brighter and happier than the last one. This could be because it was mostly set in the past or in the White Queen's palace. I really loved Time's palace as well, which had a darker Steampunk theme.

Acting

     As I said last week in my review of Alice in Wonderland, I really didn't enjoy Mia Wasikowska's performance in the first movie. However, I thought her acting really improved this time. It was not nearly as dry as last time, and when she was supposed to be excited you could actually see she was excited. My favorite FAVORITE character was Time, who was played by Sacha Baron Cohen. He really brought the character to life. The Mad Hatter's father, Zanik Hightopp, was played by Rhys Ifans (Nanny McPhee Returns and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). I enjoyed his performance, but he kind of looked like Mr. Noodle from Elmo's World. (Sorry.)

Final Rating

     This sequel was one of the best sequels I have ever seen. I loved it even more than the original! If you're not a fan of Disney remakes or Burton films, this movie could change your mind. (Also, the movie is dedicated to Alan Rickman. Yes, I did cry.)

Bonus gif:

What is your favorite thing about Alice Through the Looking Glass?